Excellent but underrated film

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Blistering performances.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

This is another Film whose Basic Plot and Characters Fit Neatly in the Noir Genre, but Not Entirely, due to Common Ingredients and Intrusions that keep this from Pure Film-Noir. Film-Noir was Truly an Inspired Zeitgeist of the Creative Filmmakers and this is an Example that included Scenes and Elements that would be Absent if it was a Conscious Crafting or a Beforehand Decision. No One stood Around Hollywood and said, "Let's make a Film-Noir". The Genre was Defined After the Fact and was Created in a Spontaneous, Subconscious, and a Collective, Creative Style that Emerged Without Pretense.The Sappy Ending, the awkward Comedy Relief, and other Conventional Mainstream Tropes are some of the Reasons that keep this in the Peripheral Noir. Although, Certain Actors, Cinematographers, and Directors seem Naturally at home in the Film-Noir Genre.Here We have Zachary Scott, whose Oddly Handsome Looks have a Patina of Psychopathy. James Wong Howe behind the Camera was a Stylist of the First Order. Style is something that Noir Embellishes a lot More than its Studio System Sisters and here He Paints some Eerie Pictures.Director Florey also Fits as some of His Films have Dark, Demented Elements and He is at His Best when He goes Off Beat from the Path of Safe used so Often and Tend to be Boring, Redundant, and Unremarkable.Faye Emerson gets Top Billing and Passes as a Conflicted Wall Flower Who Undergoes a Change from Romantically Naive Working Girl, complete with big Horn Rimmed Glasses residing in Her Mom's Protective and Loving Home. Mona Freeman is also Pretty and pretty Good as the Better Looking, but Young Girl Caught in the Killer's Charming but Lethal Web. Rosemary De Camp is quite Effective delivering Trendy Psychiatric Jargon with a Heavy Accent.Overall, there are Enough Noir Ingredients to Qualify Inclusion in the Genre, but it's Not Purebred. Still Enjoyable for its Above Average Triangular Melodrama. It's a bit Short and could have used more Breathing Room to Expand the Things that Worked and would have Improved on its Noir Status Without the Audience Friendly Stuff.

I don't feel like writing a whole review on this, but I can't believe the high rating this worse-than-average movie gets here.It just unfolds. There are no plot twists, nothing the least bit unpredictable. Until the end, that is, I guess.SPOILERS Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, some guy shows up and chases the anti-hero. I had no idea who he was. I had to go back and replay the movie from the beginning and found that he last appeared 14 minutes into the film, almost 75 minutes before his sudden, unannounced, unexplained reappearance. I had completely forgotten his existence by then!Then the guy falls a whole 10 feet to his death! And all this happens in like 2 minutes with no development whatsoever! I was going to give this a 5/10 before the ending came along. END SPOILERSThe only thing that makes this movie worth watching is Faye Emerson. She is not bad looking, although a bit odd, and her acting is excellent!

This is a must for film noir fans, and it deserves to be better known. If it had more of an A-list cast, it would probably be considered a classic.At the very beginning it resembles Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt." Zachary Scott plays a secretive writer on the run from the law, though for a while it's not clear whether he's really a criminal. Under an assumed name, he charms his way into a household of women.From then on, the plot is original -- consistently clever but never confusing. Male treachery and female jealousy play their parts, and just when one character's motives become clear, you have to start wondering what another character is up to. If you guess how it all turns out, you're a psychic.There is one little detail that's handled sloppily, but it comes early and is excusable. All in all, this is what a mystery should be.

Zachary Scott does what he does best, i.e., plays a worm, in "Danger Signal," a 1945 B movie also starring Faye Emerson, Mona Freeman, and Rosemary DeCamp. Scott plays a writer who kills women after he gets their money. On the lam from his last murder, he rents a room in the home owned by the Fenchurch family, Hilda (Emerson) and her mother (Mary Servoss). Scott throws himself at Emerson, and she's dazzled. Mid-romance, her younger sister Anne (Freeman) comes home from a medical treatment. When she mentions that she was Uncle Wade's favorite and he left her $25,000 (big bucks by 1945 standards), Scott loses interest in poor Hilda and makes a play for Anne. Anne looks like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm until she starts sneaking around with Scott - overnight, she ages 10 years and becomes downright nasty to her sister. Finally getting the message that her tenant is no good, Hilda calls in a psychiatrist (Rosemary DeCamp) to psyche him out and advise her.Psychological dramas were all the rage during and after World War II, and Scott does an excellent job as a smooth sociopath. This was his forte - as a weak-willed sheriff in "Flamingo Road," he exhibited no real presence. As for two-timing, we saw him do that in "Mildred Pierce," where he proved himself particularly good at it. Emerson is a bookish stenographer with her hair pushed off her face and her big glasses, but after hours, she's lovely, and gives a strong performance. DeCamp was always an underrated actress - here, she sports a soft German accent and is delightful.This is a highly entertaining film though a very routine story. The acting truly elevates it.