Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

one of my absolute favorites!

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I am sick and tired of every kind of crime movie shot in the 30's, 40's, and 50's that is filmed in black and white being labeled a 'film noir'. This Alan Ladd vehicle is a typical example, one scene shot in a dark alley in the rain and it's a film noir. I don't think so.It is, in fact a run of the mill heist movie with nothing to recommend it other than watching Alan Ladd (if you are a fan).The plot is straight forward with no particular twists or turns to create any interest for the viewer. The fact that it involves postal inspectors instead of one of the usual law enforcement agencies adds no interest, in fact it comes across as an advertisement for the US Postal Service Jack Webb's performance was the only thing of any value in the movie.

Appointment with Danger (1951)A good, run-of-the-mill crime story. It's more a heist film than a true noir, and it has a popular twist of featuring a government cop as the lead character. There are several FBI films like this (they start with a shot of government building and have a serious narrator or title card give the context), but this is the only one I know of about the U.S. Post Office police.Alan Ladd is a solid actor, in urban crime films or in Westerns, but he's never quite inspiring or memorable, and so the movie is hampered from the start. On the other hand, there is a slew of interesting secondary characters, and some are real characters (like the ever-impressive Paul Stewart, who had his real start in "Citizen Kane"). We get to bomb through some great sets and locations (including the waterfront), and the photography by John Seitz (one of the best, see "Sunset Blvd." and "Double Indemnity") is great. The editing seemed a little sudden at times, almost as if this was shortened version (it wasn't, as far as anyone has noted), but you have to pay attention a couple times to follow what happens. In a way, I think they expect the audience to know the usual twists of this kind of plot, and if that helps explain its fast cutting, it also reveals a kind of formula behind it all.See it? Yes, of course. It's great in particular ways.

For someone who grew up in the Fifties watching Dragnet as a kid, viewing this film in the Nineties was strange: the cop-heroes of that TV show, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, are now villains in this film!Webb played the tougher of the two characters, by far, and was effective in that role. Meanwhile, Alan Ladd played his normal good guy-tough guy role. Another odd thing about this movie is that Ladd was an agent for the U.S. Post Office, an organization - at least back then before people went "postal" - one doesn't normally think need policemen.But, as it was explained in the film, it was needed and the movie goes quickly from a corny-hokey start into a tough film noir. Phyllis Calvert adds a soft touch to the proceedings as a nun who humanizes Ladd, and helps him with the case.In all, I'm making this sound perhaps more interesting than it was, because it was okay but nothing super. Still, I'd like to see it get a DVD treatment some day and I'd consider buying it.

This is one of Alan Ladd's best film noir flicks. It's not as famous as The Blue Dahlia or This Gun For Hire, but is at least as good due to fantastic and well-delivered dialog and an interesting story.I think one of the reasons I like it so much is because this movie has an early pairing of Harry Morgan and Jack Webb as thugs. And, to make it even better, Jack Webb beats Morgan to death with a bronzed baby shoe! Talk about sick irony!!! Another choice moment is during a handball game. All movie long, Ladd has been looking for his chance to punch the lights out of Webb but he can't as he has infiltrated the gang on behalf of good old Uncle Sam. During the game, however, tough guy Webb lets down his guard and he's playing away until instead of hitting the ball, Ladd cold-cocks him with a blow that looks like it, at the very least, caused major brain damage! So, give it a try--it's well worth it just to see Webb killing the man who will later be his partner on Dragnet!