Appointment with a Shadow (1957) User Reviews

George Nader as a washed up reporter with one helluva story

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 22 September 2019]

An alcoholic, out of work newspaper reporter is given another chance in "Appointment with a Shadow," from 1957, starring George Nader, Joanna Moore, Brian Keith, and Virginia Field.

Nader plays Paul Baxter, whose girlfriend Penny (Moore) is a reporter as well. After he is dropped off at her place by her brother, Lt. Spencer (Keith) and sobered up, she tells him she has the inside scoop on a story. It's his if he can stay sober for the entire day.

Penny's brother is a police detective and has agreed to allow Paul in on the arrest of a wanted criminal (Frank DeKova). He will then scoop all the crime reporters and get a newspaper job. Her brother thinks she's crazy and doesn't think she should bother with Paul, but she insists that she loves him and can't give up on him.

Paul manages to stay sober for the day. Penny calls him with the information about the stakeout and arrest. Unfortunately, once Paul gets to the scene, something goes terribly wrong. He's the only one who knows how wrong it went, and no one will believe him.

While the film deals realistically with an alcoholic's struggle to refrain from taking a drink, it doesn't really deal realistically with the illness. Still, it's an involving story, if a little too pat, directed by actor Richard Carlson.

George Nader was an attractive man who had a decent career in television and later did films in Europe. He never reached stardom in the U..S. because Universal outed him to Confidential magazine so the publication wouldn't out Rock Hudson. He was a good type for noir and detective stories - he played Ellery Queen on television as well as two other TV series.

Battle of the bottle

[johno-21 · 6/10 · 2 June 2008]

I recently saw this at the 2008 Palm Springs Film Noir Festival. Actor Richard Carlson is behind the camera as director for this film from the later part of the Film Noir genre. Paul Baxter (George Nader) is a former newspaper reporter who is washed up and unhireable at only 30 years old because he's an alcoholic. Penny Spencer (Joanna Cook Moore) is his soon to be former girlfriend who is giving him one last chance. She wants him to go on the wagon for one day and has arranged with her police detective brother Lt. Spencer (Brian Keith) for Paul to observe a stakeout and apprehension of the city's most wanted criminal. She's in the newspaper business herself and has put together a file on the criminal Dutch Hayden (Frank DeKova) for Paul to study up on so he can write a story of the arrest and scoop all the crime reporters which will lead to him getting a full-time newspaper job and he'll stop drinking and Paul and Penny will then be able to live happily ever after if only he can stop drinking for one day and write the story. I'm sure most people who have dealt with alcoholism and those who treat it would have a hard time buying into this 24 hour self curing treatment but the film does deal with the destructiveness of alcoholism. Paul is faced with a series of temptations throughout the film as he struggles to stay off the hooch. Virgina Field is in the cast as burlesque dancer Florence Knapp, the moll of Dutch Hayden. Alec Coppel and Norman Jolley write the screenplay based on an Argosy Magazine story by Hugh Penecost. Three time Oscar nominee William E. Snyder is the film's cinematographer. The story is highly implausible and simplistic but isn't too bad and it's a relatively short film at 73 minutes and I would give it a 6.0 out of 10.

Just Shy Of The Delirium Tremens

[boblipton · 6/10 · 12 May 2023]

George Nader is a reporter. Perhaps more accurately, he was a reporter until his extreme alcoholism got him canned from every newspaper. Only fellow reporter Joanna Moore cares, and she persuades her brother, police lieutenant Brian Keith, to let Nader know about the forthcoming arrest of evil criminal Frank DeKova. But DeKova is dead, and Nader has the shakes so bad he can't hold a shot glass with two hands. Or is he? And can he?

Nader was never a big star, even by the standards of Universal, taking the roles that Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis turned down. Here, under the direction of Richard Carlson, he turns in a fine performance of a drunk on his last legs. Director Richard Carlson -- he was much better known as an actor -- also gets a fine performance out of Miss Moore, who is far sexier here than stripper Virginia Field. It's a movie worth watching for the performances.

"Hamlet, take Shakespeare for a walk" - things improve sans booze

[adrianovasconcelos · 7/10 · 18 October 2023]

I know Richard Carlson far better as an actor than director but he certainly does a competent job of directing APPOINTMENT WITH A SHADOW. Mind you, he is not overly helped by the screenplay by Alec Coppell and Norman Jolley, which focuses for too long on the booziness of character Paul Baxter, rather fitfully played by George Nader (nadir would have been closer to the truth!) as a newspaper reporter lushing up every drop of alcohol he can imbibe.

Thankfully, highly organized and stunningly beautiful girlfriend Joanna Moore (what does she see in Nader?!) manages to convince her cop brother Brian Keith to give Nader another chance and let him witness the capture of rotten criminal Dutch Hayden. Whether that would have been approved by police leadership even back in 1957 is highly debatable. Incidentally, Hayden is believably played by Frank deKova, who is rumored to have undergone cosmetic surgery, and might now look completely different. Still, that is the only extant photographic record of the wanted criminal, and all Nader can guide himself by when he spies from the Lawson's whiskey rooftop.

In order to get that job-saving breaking news, Nader must follow a very specific time table drawn up by his meticulous sister, who demands that he totally avoid the bottle.

The rather feeble Nader somehow promises her that he will try to live up to her faith and plan, but neither Moore nor Keith are convinced... and rightly so, for a while, with repeated shots of Lawson's whiskey (that must have paid for production) shining in neon to emphasize the point.

But!... when Nader begins to beat the libation habit by the hour, resulting in rising self-confidence, you can tell that he will meet Moore's satisfaction demands.

APPOINTMENT WITH A SHADOW is not particularly memorable, but not bad either - certainly worthy of watching and of my 7 stars.

A quality sleeper

[lor_ · 26 March 2024]

Richard Carlson, trying his hand at directing, does a fine job with "Appointment with a Shadow", a neo-noir from Universal in glorious black & white CinemaScope.

George Nader is quite empathetic as a down & out alcoholic news scribe, given one last chance by his selfless girlfriend, Joanna Moore with an alluring pixie hairdo. Aided by her brother, tough-guy cop Brian Keith, she's got all the research ready for George to hand in a scoop, the capture of wanted hoodlum Frank de Kova, delivered on a silver platter, and guaranteed to revive Nader's newspaper career, That's if things go as planned.

A terrific plot twist at the movie's halfway mark sets in motion a quite suspenseful test of our hero's commitment to sobriety and his resourseulness, leading to a solid climax and denouement.

Rooting for an underdog is a classic Hollywood staple, and is engaging escapism heightened by this familiar B-movie cast (of couse Keith becoming quite the TV star later on).

Crime-Caper Wrapped in an Alcoholic Newsman's Recovery From the Depths

[LeonLouisRicci · 6/10 · 26 September 2023]

"B" Actor Richard Carlson Directs this "B" Police Story about a Journalist (George Nader) Battling the Bottle, who becomes Involved in Capturing a Mob-Boss.

His Girl (Joanna Moore) and Her Brother (Brian Keith), a Police Lt., Give Up on Him but Maybe a bit too Soon.

Some Good-Looking Norish Cinematography is Behind this Rather Pedestrian, By-the-Numbers Dual Story.

A bit Off-Beat as Nader Swims from the Depths of Dipsomania and Showcases the Difficulty of Recovering from Severe Alcoholism.

With a 72 Min. Run-Time it's Not Enough to Let Either Story Gain Much Suspense.

It all Plays Out Kind of Flat and Lacks the Urgency for the Film to Get Much Traction.

Well Acted, but Surprisingly Dull and Talky in Spots.

Brian Keith Looks Bored as Hell and it's Up to Nader to Carry the Film,

and along with Some Expressionistic Flourishes, Make it a Mediocre Movie (filmed in CinemaScope), but Good Enough to be ...

Worth a Watch.

Appointment with a Shadow - Interesting B Fare

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 20 October 2023]

OK, so its not Lost Weekend or The Days of Wine and Roses. And the subplot of the gangster on the run is not very original, either. However, Brian Keith, who plays a police lieutenant, Joanna Moore, who woodenly plays a reporter's girlfriend, and George Nader, who plays the recovering alcoholic reporter get the job done adequately. This aint Shakespeare, but it is entertaining. The cinematography is well done, and the bad guy is well played by a B actor. The movie is more about the trials and tribulations of a recovering alcoholic than it is about a sensational crime boss trying to go on the lamb. (I love using jargon from the era).

Character study meets noir

[tiffanie_says_stay_in_your_lane · 10/10 · 20 December 2023]

Well, I don't know about anybody else, but it gave off character study vibes to me. I'm fascinated by movies that examine someone's personal struggles, even more so if they grow and develop throughout the course of the story. Otherwise, if they're one-dimensional, and don't learn anything as they go along, that's just boring. Appointment with a Shadow is an exceptionally crafted film about former newspaper reporter Paul (George Nader) who lost his job as a result of his alcoholism. His girlfriend Penny (Joanna Moore), also a reporter, believes he has the potential to bounce back, so she gives him a tip that could help him re-launch his career. There is one condition: he has to go without a drink for 24 hours. Despite experiencing major withdrawal, he accepts the challenge. Penny's brother, Lt. Spencer (Brian Keith), thinks she's wasting her time trying to help him become sober. So essentially, Paul has to prove himself. This is one of many B films that contains brilliant performances. George Nader was so convincing as an alcoholic who was trying his hardest to stay sober for a full day. You could see the desperation, physically and emotionally. He was shaking, sweating, unable to stay focused on a task, jumpy - he got startled by every little noise. You don't see acting like that anymore. Also, a couple of amusing things were added in to lighten the mood: two beatniks playing music in a hotel room that he fell into through a window. The nerdy guy who works backstage in a gentleman's club and spends all of his time reading, completely unphased by the women around him. I just thought that was clever. The pacing was consistent and the characters were engaging. I was glad Paul wasn't made out to be a stereotypical alcoholic. He wasn't violent or nasty. He was an affable person, thus making his character likeable. Otherwise, if he was the raging type, I probably wouldn't have been interested. And to think, this was inspired by a story that was published in a magazine. It's a fantastic noir that will hold your attention. Don't pay attention to the negative reviews.

Too many holes exposed in this shadow.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 14 September 2020]

Perhaps if this had been written with more detail rather than rushed out as a cheap little B, this could have been so much better. Most of the detail missing concerns disgraced drunken reporter George Nader who is the alcoholic whose girlfriend Joanna Moore and cop brother Brian Keith believe is crying wolf. When first seen, Nader is being removed from the drunk tank by Keith, and Moore seems ready to let him go. She's trying to get him back on his feet and on the job, giving him material on gangster Frank DeCova which would blow local mob activity right out of the city sewers.

For part of the beginning of the film, the audience spends time watching Nader try desperately to avoid drinking, and eventually, he's going through withdrawals which makes him seem even drunker. But an encounter with DeKova's floozy moll Virginia Field and later DeKova himself (believed to be dead in a bizarre twist) threatens Nader both soberly and physically, and this leads to an unbelievable conclusion that really defies any logic about people under the influence of alcohol or trying to get off the stuff.

Had there been five minutes of exposition before Nader was released from the drunk tank and a little bit more detail concerning how he sobered up enough to do what he does, this might have been a bit more believable if not entirely conclusive. He is very convincing though as a man going through the shakes and desperate not to touch any alcohol, and that raises my score for this film's rating. There could have also been more intense dealings with the crime elements, and this could have been as gripping as Murder My Sweet which came out over a decade before this. As a result, this is just a easily forgettable little noir programmer, just a tad too violent for 50's television but yet small screen stuff none the less.

The Phoenix passage through horrors just to stay sober

[clanciai · 10/10 · 31 January 2023]

Richard Carlson was one of Hollywood's most underrated stars, as he never really achieved stardom but from the beginning was rather modest in his appearances. He made some brilliant performances in the 40s and then gradually also started to direct. His direction here is flawless. His penetration into the problems of an alcoholic, the detailed close-up curtailing of his Via Crucis into sobriety with too many death traps on the way, is on the level with Billy Wilder's "The Lost Weekend" with Ray Milland 1945, but the ordeal is more arduous and intensive here, as George Nader only has one day to go through it all. He gets the chance of his life as a journalist when he gets the opportunity to witness the capture of a long sought murderer at close hand, while this sensational adventure turns out the wrong way, and he is faced by worse sensations than he bargained for. You will bite your nails through in this tremendous challenge of life and death, following the nasty trials of the unwilling hero. Fortunately the film is only 70 minutes, so you will get through it all alive after all, but you would never for your life want to be in a similar situation. George Nader's passage through hell to sobriety leads to some kind of redemption, but that one day through that hell would teach you more than a lifetime of infernal passages.

Wow blown away by this great film noir!

[skirner · 9/10 · 30 June 2023]

Didn't expect much from this movie I just got in a Blu-ray 3 pack of vintage noir thrillers. Never been that impressed with George Nader's acting range I rate him similar to Kerwin Matthews great unique, identifiable speaking voices who can play stalwart heroes but not much dramatic range or emotional intensity. Nader has made me reevaluate his acting a little in this arguably in my opinion his best performance and film.

He gives a pretty good performance as an alcoholic newspaper reporter given one last chance at redemption. His haggard appearance that is strikingly different from his normal robust healthy anc handsome film persona certainly helps sell him being an alcoholic but he does some good layering of twitches and mannerisms that impressed me and had me question my previous opinion he was just an average leading man type of the era.

Besides Nader the film had a great supporting cast including the always capable Brien Keith plus the beautiful lady who starred in "Invaders From Mars" whose name escapes me.

Kudos go to fine direction by Richard Carlson but the best thing about the film is a really suspenseful script that I'm surprised wasn't used in an A list production with a big name star in the leading role. The story is that good with a load of twists and turns once the action starts going in the second act.

I highly recommend this very entertaining suspense film and quite frankly am surprised it had not been remade with a big budget and top line actors and directors.

Proof that a mostly forgotten actor was too good to be forgotten.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 27 September 2023]

"Appointment with a Shadow" is a gritty film starring George Nader, a famous American actor whose career slid into obscurity after it was revealed he was gay. It's a shame, as he was very good in this film and his Jerry Cotton spy films of the 1960s...which were filmed in Germany since American studios would no longer hire him.

When the story starts, you see that Paul Baxter (Nader) is a falling down drunk...and it's pretty much ruined his career as a reporter. His girlfriend, Penny (Joanna Moore), is almost ready to walk, but she gives him an ultimatum and one more chance. Although it's very tough, Paul tries his best to stay away from alcohol and write an article he can be proud of creating. The problem is when he sees a murder, the cops don't believe him...and assume he's drunk. So he has to find someone who believes him, as his reputation is so bad, no one seems to believe him. And, in the meantime, a mobster is out to keep Paul quiet...permanently!

Nader was very good playing a drunk. He didn't overplay it (an easy trap to fall into) and was quite good in this noir movie. It also helped that the writing was exceptional. Overall, a terrific film...one that deserves to be more well known.

Rare little gem from Universal Studios

[searchanddestroy-1 · 18 March 2024]

It is a rare item that I review now, it was totally unavoidable in France and I finally purchased it thru some collectors nets. It is a good atmospheric thriller from the fifties, shot in black and white and in LBX, which adds to the fifties charm. The story itself is not that exciting though, predictable and George Nader - Unversal Studios home star - is as lame as usual. He should not have had the lead role, he deserved supporting roles instead. That said, it is a more than worth watching thriller, which I highly recommend for fifties movies lovers. It is a good film from Richard Carlson, the famous actor.