''Search for Danger'' is a 1949 American crime film directed by

Jack Bernhard Jack Bernhard (November 28, 1914 – March 30, 1997) was an American film and television director. His films include ''Decoy (1946 film), Decoy'' (1946), ''Blonde Ice'' (1948), ''Unknown Island'' (1948) and ''The Second Face'' (1950). Personal l ...

and starring John Calvert,

Albert Dekker Thomas Albert Ecke Van Dekker (December 20, 1905 – May 5, 1968) was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in ''Dr. Cyclops'', ''The Killers (1946 film), The Killers'' (1946), ''Kiss Me Deadly'', and ''The Wild Bun ...

and

Myrna Dell Myrna Dell (born Marilyn Adele Dunlap; March 5, 1924 – February 11, 2011) was an American actress, model, and writer who appeared in numerous motion pictures and television programs over four decades. A Hollywood glamour girl in the early p ...

. The film was the last of three made by the low-budget

Film Classics Film Classics was an American film distributor active between 1943 and 1951.Slide p.72 Established by Irvin Shapiro, the company initially concentrated on re-releases of earlier hits by other studios, but began to handle new independent productions ...

company featuring Calvert as The Falcon who had previously been played by

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...

and

Tom Conway Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) ...

for

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

.Hardy p.124 The film's art direction was by Boris Leven.

Plot

Mike Waring, a private detective in Los Angeles whose nickname is "The Falcon," is on a case. He follows a man named Andrews to a hotel, then reports back to his clients, club owners Kirk and Gregory, where the man, their business partner, can be found. They pay Waring a $500 fee, whereupon Wilma Rogers, who works at the club and likes Andrews, expresses her displeasure with Waring for informing on him. She also tips off Andrews that his partners are coming. Kirk and Gregory return, angry not only that they can't find Andrews or the $100,000 he embezzled, but that a hotel clerk, Perry, was under the impression that Waring left Andrews' room carrying what appeared to be a lot of money. Waring believes the club owners are trying to frame him. Elaine Carson offers to help, but before long Waring becomes suspicious of her behavior, too. Waring eventually is able to locate the missing money, which he gives to a police lieutenant, Cooper, for safekeeping. Then he exposes the real culprit behind Andrews' murder and the theft, Perry, the clerk.

Cast

* John Calvert as Michael 'The Falcon' Waring *

as Kirk *

as Wilma Rogers *

Ben Welden Ben Welden (born Benjamin Weinblatt; June 12, 1901 – October 17, 1997) was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows. Early years Welden was born in Toledo, Oh ...

as Gregory * Douglas Fowley as The Inspector * Michael Mark as Mr. Perry *

James Griffith James Jeffrey Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter. Education Griffith attended Santa Monica High School, where he was a classmate with Glenn Ford. Both were active in s ...

as Lt. Cooper * Ann Cornell as Elaine Carson *

Mauritz Hugo Mauritz Hugo (January 12, 1909 – June 16, 1974) was a Swedish-born American film and television actor. Selected filmography * ''Wanted by the Police'' (1938) * ''Criminal Investigator'' (1942) *''The Crime Smasher'' (1943) * ''Outlaws of St ...

as Larry Andrews *

Peter Brocco Carl Peter Brocco (January 16, 1903 – December 20, 1992) was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 credits, notably ''Spartacus'' (1960) and '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), during his career spanning over 60 ...

as Morris Jason * Peter Michael as Jailer * Jack Daley as Drunk * Billy Nelson as Gunman in Back Seat of Car

References

Bibliography

* Hardy, Phil. ''The BFI Companion to Crime''. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

* * * * 1949 films American crime films 1949 crime films Films directed by Jack Bernhard Film Classics films American black-and-white films The Falcon (film character) films Films scored by Karl Hajos 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-crime-film-stub