Assigned to Danger

1948 film by Budd Boetticher

Assigned to Danger

Theatrical release lobby card

Directed by| Budd Boetticher
Screenplay by| Eugene Ling
Story by| Robert E. Kent
Produced by| Eugene Ling
Starring| Gene Raymond
Noreen Nash
Robert Bice
Cinematography| L. William O'Connell
Edited by| W. Donn Hayes
Music by| Albert Glasser

Production
company

Ben Stoloff Productions

Distributed by| Eagle-Lion Films

Release date

* May 19, 1948 (1948-05-19) (United States)

Running time

| 66 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

Assigned to Danger is a 1948 American crime film noir directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Gene Raymond, Noreen Nash and Robert Bice.[1] The film's sets designed by the art director Edward L. Ilou. It was distributed by Eagle-Lion Films.

## Plot

[edit]

Frankie Mantell's gang pulls an $80,000 payroll stickup in Los Angeles. But getaway driver Nip Powers is killed and Frankie shot and wounded.

Insurance investigator Dan Sullivan is assigned the case by the company that's been robbed. Following a lead, Dan goes to a mountain lodge. It is run by Bonnie Powers, the dead getaway driver's sister, with the help of Joey, a deaf mute. Dan doesn't disclose his identity, and Bonnie mistakenly believes him to be a doctor.

Frankie and his gang members, Louie, Matty and Biggie, come to the lodge. They are suspicious of Dan, but Bonnie vouches for him. Since he's said to be a doctor, Frankie demands that Dan remove the bullet from his arm. He sends Louie into town to get the necessary instruments.

Dan learns that Bonnie is married to Frankie, but hates him now, not knowing of his criminal nature when they wed. Frankie tells his men to kill Dan if the operation doesn't succeed. Louie panics and tries to leave, so Frankie kills him. Now fearing for Bonnie's life, her deaf employee Joey slips into Frankie's room and suffocates him to death.

The other gunmen shoot Joey and try to prevent Dan and Bonnie from getting away. Dan gets his hands on a gun and manages to overcome them. Bonnie is placed under arrest and charged with harboring a fugitive, but Dan promises to be waiting when she gets out of jail.

## Cast

[edit]

* Gene Raymond as Dan Sullivan
* Noreen Nash as Bonnie Powers
* Robert Bice as Frankie Mantell
* Martin Kosleck as Louie Volkes
* Mary Meade as Evie
* Ralf Harolde as Matty Farmer
* Jack Overman as Biggie Kritz
* Gene Evans as Joey
* Emory Parnell as Sheriff

## Production

[edit]

Boetticher had a three-picture deal with Eagle Lion Films.[2]

## Reception

[edit]

Film critic Hal Erickson has praised the film, writing, "An early effort from director Oscar 'Budd' Boetticher, Assigned to Danger was a worthwhile showcase for Gene Raymond, who'd been absent from the screen for several years..Director Boetticher is at his best in the closing reels, slowly and methodically building tension upon tension as Sullivan seeks an avenue of escape."[citation needed]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Assigned to Danger at IMDb.
2. ^ Budd Boetticher: The Last Interview Wheeler, Winston Dixon. Film Criticism; Meadville Vol. 26, Iss. 3, (Spring 2002): 52-0_3.

## External links

[edit]

* Assigned to Danger at IMDb
* Assigned to Danger at the TCM Movie Database

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Budd Boetticher

* One Mysterious Night (1944)
* The Missing Juror (1944)
* Youth on Trial (1945)
* A Guy, a Gal and a Pal (1945)
* Escape in the Fog (1945)
* Assigned to Danger (1948)
* Behind Locked Doors (1948)
* Black Midnight (1949)
* The Wolf Hunters (1949)
* Killer Shark (1950)
* Blades of the Musketeers (filmed 1950, 1953)
* Bullfighter and the Lady (1951)
* The Cimarron Kid (1952)
* Bronco Buster (1952)
* Red Ball Express (1952)
* Horizons West (1952)
* City Beneath the Sea (1953)
* Seminole (1953)
* The Man from the Alamo (1953)
* Wings of the Hawk (1953)
* East of Sumatra (1953)
* The Magnificent Matador (1955)
* The Killer Is Loose (1956)
* Seven Men from Now (1956)
* The Tall T (1957)
* Decision at Sundown (1957)
* Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)
* Westbound (1959)
* Ride Lonesome (1959)
* The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960)
* Comanche Station (1960)
* A Time for Dying (1969)
* Arruza (1972)
* My Kingdom For... (1985)

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