Cry Danger

“Life could be beautiful with money.” There’s a stash of cash missing in Robert Parrish’s Cry Danger, so Dick Powell wisecracks his way to finding it. Powell plays Rocky Mulloy, just released early from prison thanks to a one-legged former Marine named Delong (Richard Erdman) who appeared out of the blue to provide Mulloy with a fake alibi. Unfortunately for Delong, whose goal was to get a share of the stolen loot which had never been accounted for, Mulloy had been framed so has no idea where the money is. Still, Mulloy and Delong become friends and rent a place in the same trailer park where Mulloy’s ex-girlfriend (and the wife of another inmate), Nancy Morgan (Rhonda Fleming), resides. Under 24-hour police surveillance for the time being, Rocky makes it his mission to track down the man who framed him, criminal mastermind Louis Castro (William Conrad), to demand financial compensation for his five years lost in prison, but Castro’s consolations will just lead to more double crosses. The film is standard noir fare with workmanlike direction, the highlight, as expected, Powell’s consistently entertaining performance, and the most notable feature its often biting dialogue; while not anywhere close to a comedy, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud lines like when Delong requests a new wooden leg from his doctor, adding “See if he can get it in knotty pine; I want it to match my den.”