Danger Signal (1945)

A very romantic murderer has plans to seduce, marry and kill a beautiful woman for her wealth, but finds her younger sister to be even better prey.

Director:

Robert Florey

Writers:

Adele Comandini (screenplay), C. Graham Baker (screenplay),

Stars:

Faye Emerson, Zachary Scott, Richard Erdman

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Faye Emerson	...	Hilda Fenchurch
Zachary Scott	...	Ronnie Mason
Richard Erdman	...	Bunkie Taylor (as Dick Erdman)
Rosemary DeCamp	...	Dr. Jane Silla
Bruce Bennett	...	Dr. Andrew Lang
Mona Freeman	...	Anne Fenchurch
John Ridgely	...	Thomas Turner
Mary Servoss	...	Mrs. Fenchurch
Joyce Compton	...	Kate
Virginia Sale	...	Mrs. Crockett

Storyline

Smooth-talker Ronnie Mason earns his living by murdering lonely women for their inheritances. On the run, Ronnie poses as a disabled war vet and takes a room at the Fenchurch home. He at first courts elder daughter Hilda, but changes his plans after meeting her younger, prettier--and richer--sister. Hilda discovers Ronnie's scheme, but can she act before her sister becomes his next victim?

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Plot Keywords:

evil man

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Taglines:

High Explosive! HANDS OFF! She loves hard...She hates hard...She lives hard! She's the danger dame the boys couldn't tame!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1947 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Delitti senza sangue

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Hilda Fenchurch: Funny how rich we are all, when we stop thinking about it : look at all that sky and ocean, that's ours too !

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Connections

Referenced in Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows (2007)

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Soundtracks

"It Had to Be You"
(uncredited)
Music by Isham Jones
Lyrics by Gus Kahn
Sung by Faye Emerson

User Reviews

Danger cuts both ways...

Zachary Scott plays a womanizing writer who, as the film is opening, is removing a wedding ring from the finger of a woman who is lying in a bed in a hotel room. That she doesn't wake up tells you something. The story is fairly involved with minimal intrusion by law enforcement. It plays itself out between Scott and the woman he thinks will be his next push-over, an LA stenographer played by Faye Emmerson. While the audience is expecting the worst from Scott, it's Emmerson whose character eventually goes beyond what one would expect of it. Scott's traipsing around LA and looking for a room to rent is fairly riveting and when he sees Emmerson trying to take down the "Room For Rent" sign from her nice middle class two story wood house, the story is set. Suave ruthless womanizer meets lonely stenographer who lives with her mother and easily (maybe too easily) wins them both over. And later comes the arrival of the younger and prettier sister (Mona Freeman), which pretty much sets the stage and opens a lot of possibilities. Scott himself is at his ruthless best.