Moment of Danger

Moment of Danger (also known as Malaga) is a 1960 crime drama film starring Trevor Howard, Dorothy Dandridge and Edmund Purdom.[2] It was filmed in Europe in the late months of 1959.

Moment of Danger
Malaga
Original British quad poster
Directed byLászló Benedek
Screenplay byDavid D. Osborn
Based onnovel The Scent of Danger by Donald MacKenzie[1]
StarringTrevor Howard
Dorothy Dandridge
Edmund Purdom
Music byMatyas Seiber
CinematographyDesmond Dickinson
Edited byGerald Turney-Smith
Production
company
Cavalcade Films Limited
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • 26 January 1960 (1960-01-26) (London, UK)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The film is based on the novel by Donald MacKenzie, and it was brought to the screen by David D. Osborn. The film proved to be the final completed film for Dorothy Dandridge.

Plot

Starting with a wordless jewel heist pulled-off by thief Peter Curran and locksmith John Bain, Curran then double-crosses his accomplice, dumps his lover Gianna and escapes with his ill-gotten gains. In the aftermath Gianna teams up with Bain and the two of them decide to even the score with Curran, developing feelings for each other along the way.[3]

Cast

Background

Before the film's release, Jet magazine said it "concerns a girl ... and a man ... who, broke and stranded, are on the run from the law...(at one point) the girl goes out and gets money as a prostitute."[4] One author describes Michael Hordern's appearance in the movie as a "sympathetic copper who knows that Trevor Howard is a jewel thief – thanks to Howard's double-crossing partner Edmond Purdom – but lacks the evidence to make an arrest."[5]

In the film Dorothy Dandridge was cast as a woman of colour of European descent with the Italian name of Gianna.[6] In some pre-release publicity, one magazine article made a point of saying that when Trevor Howard's character kissed Dorothy, it was the first time in her career that she had received an on-screen kiss from a white man.[4] This was not so as the actors barely touched throughout, but director László Benedek created some strongly understated sexual tension. The actress' first screen kiss so described occurred when starring with German actor Curd Jürgens in the 1958 Italian production Tamango.

References
  1. Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 – via Google Books.
  2. "Moment of Danger (1960)".
  3. "Moment of Danger". Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  4. "Dandridge Makes Toughest Movie of Her Career". JET. Johnsons Publishing Company. 16 (13): 60–61. 23 July 1959. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  5. Terence Pettigrew (1982). British film character actors: great names and memorable moments, Volume 1982, Part 2. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 93. ISBN 9780715382707. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  6. Regester, page 318
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