Danger Signal
Encyclopedia
Danger Signal is a 1945 film noir
starring Faye Emerson
and Zachary Scott
. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Phyllis Bottome
.
Mason leaves town, changes his name to Marsh and rents a room in the house of Hilda Fenchurch and her younger sister Anne. To the consternation of professor Andrew Lang, who loves Hilda, she falls for Marsh, the new tenant.
The scheming Marsh learns that it is Anne who might inherit a great deal of money, so he suddenly switches his affections toward her. Hilda is jealous and suspicious. She plots to lure Marsh to a beach house and poison him. She isn't able to go through with it, but when Marsh runs off, he is surprised by Thomas Turner and plunges off a steep cliff to his death.
, the film critic for The New York Times
, panned the film and wrote, "A woman scorned and a handsome cad whose romantic impulses fluctuate according to the size of a lovely lady's bank account are apt to do the strangest things, especially in diluted little melodramas such as Danger Signal, ...Sometimes, too, scenarists let such plots get out of hand and wander perilously close to boredom, so close, in fact, that the director resorts to one of those screeching-tire automobile races against time—and death—in what is obviously a last desperate attempt to overcome narrative anemia."
Film critic Dennis Schwartz also was not complimentary, "This routine noir feature just doesn't cut it -- its story is too implausible and it lacks proper tension...The story simply didn't add up, but its quick pace helped move things along. Zachary Scott can always be counted on to give a competent performance. But nothing can save this film from mediocrity. It's a febrile attempt to study a psychopath."
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
starring Faye Emerson
Faye Emerson
Faye Margaret Emerson was an American film actress and television interviewer, known as "The First Lady of Television". She acted in many Warner Brothers films beginning in 1941...
and Zachary Scott
Zachary Scott
Zachary Scott was an American actor, most notable for his roles as villains and "mystery men".-Life and career:...
. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Phyllis Bottome
Phyllis Bottome
Phyllis Forbes Dennis was a British novelist and short story writer who wrote under her birth name, Phyllis Bottome . She was born in Rochester, Kent to an American clergyman, Rev...
.
Plot
A mysterious artist, Ronnie Mason, steals a dead woman's wedding ring and money and leaves a fake suicide note. Her husband, Thomas Turner, believed his wife might have been seeing Mason behind his back.Mason leaves town, changes his name to Marsh and rents a room in the house of Hilda Fenchurch and her younger sister Anne. To the consternation of professor Andrew Lang, who loves Hilda, she falls for Marsh, the new tenant.
The scheming Marsh learns that it is Anne who might inherit a great deal of money, so he suddenly switches his affections toward her. Hilda is jealous and suspicious. She plots to lure Marsh to a beach house and poison him. She isn't able to go through with it, but when Marsh runs off, he is surprised by Thomas Turner and plunges off a steep cliff to his death.
Cast
- Faye EmersonFaye EmersonFaye Margaret Emerson was an American film actress and television interviewer, known as "The First Lady of Television". She acted in many Warner Brothers films beginning in 1941...
as Hilda Fenchurch - Zachary ScottZachary ScottZachary Scott was an American actor, most notable for his roles as villains and "mystery men".-Life and career:...
as Ronnie Mason - Richard ErdmanRichard ErdmanRichard Erdman is an American film and television actor and director.-Notable roles:...
as Bunkie Taylor (as Dick Erdman) - Rosemary DeCampRosemary DeCampRosemary DeCamp was an American radio, film and television actress.DeCamp first came to fame in November 1937, when she took the role of Judy Price, the secretary of Dr. Christian in the long-running radio series of the same name. She made her film debut in Cheers for Miss Bishop and appeared in...
as Dr. Jane Silla - Bruce BennettBruce BennettBruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name, Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
as Dr. Andrew Lang - Mona FreemanMona FreemanMona Freeman is an American film actress. The 5' 1" blonde was a model while in high school, and after becoming the first "Miss Subways" of the New York City transit system, eventually signed a movie contract with Howard Hughes. Her contract was later sold to Paramount Pictures. After 1944, she...
as Anne Fenchurch - John RidgelyJohn RidgelyJohn Ridgely was an American film character actor with over 100 film credits. He appeared in the 1946 Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep as blackmailing gangster Eddie Mars and had a memorable role as a suffering heart patient in the film noir Nora Prentiss .The Chicago, Illinois-born actor...
as Thomas Turner - Mary Servoss as Mrs. Fenchurch
- Joyce Compton as Kate
- Virginia Sale as Mrs. Crockett
Critical reception
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
, the film critic for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, panned the film and wrote, "A woman scorned and a handsome cad whose romantic impulses fluctuate according to the size of a lovely lady's bank account are apt to do the strangest things, especially in diluted little melodramas such as Danger Signal, ...Sometimes, too, scenarists let such plots get out of hand and wander perilously close to boredom, so close, in fact, that the director resorts to one of those screeching-tire automobile races against time—and death—in what is obviously a last desperate attempt to overcome narrative anemia."
Film critic Dennis Schwartz also was not complimentary, "This routine noir feature just doesn't cut it -- its story is too implausible and it lacks proper tension...The story simply didn't add up, but its quick pace helped move things along. Zachary Scott can always be counted on to give a competent performance. But nothing can save this film from mediocrity. It's a febrile attempt to study a psychopath."
External links
- Danger Signa trailer at TCM Media Room