''Danger Signal'' is a 1945

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

starring

Faye Emerson Faye Margaret Emerson (July 8, 1917 – March 9, 1983) was an American film and stage actress and television interviewer who gained fame as a film actress in the 1940s before transitioning to television in the 1950s and hosting her own talk show ...

and Zachary Scott. The

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, ...

was adapted from the 1939 novel of the same name by

Phyllis Bottome Phyllis Forbes Dennis ( ; 31 May 1884 – 22 August 1963) was a British novelist and short story writer. Life and career Bottome was born in 1882, in Rochester, Kent, the daughter of an American clergyman, Rev. William MacDonald Bottome, and a ...

Plot

A mysterious pulp writer—and psychopath—named Ronnie Mason, steals a dead woman's wedding ring and money and leaves a fake suicide note. The woman's husband, Thomas Turner, when questioned by the local police, believes his dead wife might have been seeing Mason behind his back. He also believes his wife was murdered, but in the absence of other evidence, the police list it as a suicide and drop the case. Mason leaves town, changes his name to Marsh and, displaying a noticeable limp he acquired jumping from the dead woman's bedroom window and a veteran's pin he steals from a fellow passenger on the L.A. bus, passes himself off as a wounded veteran and rents a room in a house Mrs. Fenchurch shares with her elder daughter Hilda, a public stenographer, and the teenaged Anne. All three women are extremely impressionable, and to the consternation of professor Andrew Lang, who secretly loves Hilda, the girls fall for Marsh's charms. Hilda and Marsh get involved, even spend a weekend retreat together - financed by the earnest, thrifty Hilda. Marsh claims to be broke, awaiting his first sale, but conceals it when the MacLellen Publishing Company sends him $200 for his short story "Dark Island," to be published in the next issue of ''Adventure Tales'' magazine. Hilda sees visions of marriage straight ahead. When Marsh learns that Anne might inherit a great deal of money, he drops Hilda cold and secretly takes up with Anne. Eventually the truth comes out about them. Hilda is both jealous and suspicious, enough so that she plots to lure Marsh to a beach house and poison him. She is unable to go through with it, but when Marsh runs off, he is surprised by Turner, who has tracked him down, and plunges off a steep cliff to his death.

Cast

as Hilda Fenchurch * Zachary Scott as Ronnie Mason / Marsh *

Richard Erdman Richard Erdman ( John Richard Erdmann; June 1, 1925 – March 16, 2019) was an American character actor and occasional film and television director. He appeared in more than 160 films and television productions between 1944 and 2017, mostly i ...

as Bunkie Taylor (as Dick Erdman) * Rosemary DeCamp as Dr. Jane Silla *

Bruce Bennett Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who prior to his screen career was a highly successful college athlete in football and in both interco ...

as Dr. Andrew Lang * Mona Freeman as Anne Fenchurch *

John Ridgely John Ridgely (born John Huntington Rea, September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968) was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits. Early years Ridgely was born in Chicago, Illinois,Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: T ...

as Thomas Turner * Mary Servoss as Mrs. Fenchurch * Joyce Compton as Kate *

Virginia Sale Virginia Sale (May 20, 1899 – August 23, 1992) was an American character actress whose career spanned six decades, during most of which she played older women, even when she was in her twenties. Over the 46 years she was active as an actr ...

as Mrs. Crockett

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

, the film critic for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', panned the film, describing it a "diluted little melodrama" in which the filmmakers resort to a car chase in order to relieve boredom.Crowther, Bosley
''The New York Times,'' film review, November 22, 1945. Last accessed: February 8, 2010. The ending proved to be a disappointment. In the Bottome novel, Hilda does indeed poison Marsh. Warner Bros., however, thought it improper to portray Faye Emerson, who was the daughter-in-law of

President Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

by her marriage to

Elliott Roosevelt Elliott Roosevelt may refer to: * Elliott Roosevelt (general) (1910–1990), American general * Elliott Roosevelt (socialite) (1860–1894), American socialite {{hndis, Roosevelt, Elliott ...

, as a murderess.

Box office

According to financial records at Warner Bros., the film was a box-office success, earning $689,000 domestically and $421,000 internationally.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Robert Florey 1945 films 1945 crime films American crime films 1940s English-language films American black-and-white films Film noir Films scored by Adolph Deutsch Films based on British novels Films directed by Robert Florey Warner Bros. films 1940s American films