Postmark for Danger (1955) User Reviews

One of few British crime dramas with some of the atmospherics of American noir

[bmacv · 6/10 · 18 January 2003]

With its distant echoes of Laura, Postmark for Danger (a.k.a. Portrait of Alison) survives as one of the few English crime dramas of the post-war period with some of the grit and menace of American film noir. (Americans, plus one Canadian, make up the principal cast. But the film betrays its British provenance with its assumption of the utter incorruptibility of the London police - a notion that wouldn't pass muster on the west side of the Atlantic - as well as with its the-butler-did-it resolution.)

Robert Beatty, a commercial artist, hears some bad news from his pilot-for-hire brother (William Sylvester): a third brother has died in a fiery car crash in Italy, along with a young actress he had met. Then strange things begin to happen: The police grow interested in a postcard his dead brother may have sent him, as do elements of the underworld; and the father of the actress commissions him to paint a portrait, working from a photograph, of his daughter. Next, he returns to find the portrait vandalized, the photograph missing, and his favorite model dead in his bedroom, wearing the gown in the painting. He becomes the prime suspect in the murder when no evidence can be found to support his wild claims - until the supposedly dead actress (Terry Moore) shows up at his door.

At the end of the day, Postmark for Danger settles down into a tidy police procedural about a ring of diamond smugglers. But for much of its course it unfurls in a tantalizing mist of eerie and unlikely coincidences, many of them centering on the word `nightingale.' Credit should probably go to director Guy Green, who started out as a cinematographer (he shot David Lean's Great Expectations). It's an enjoyable if minor entry, albeit one with just a little bit extra.

Enjoyable Brit Noir

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 23 April 2018]

As I watched this I kept thinking it reminded me of something Frances Durbridge would write, no mention of his name in the credits, but low and behold, he's the writer. Typical of his work, use of photographs, mistaken identity, and of course the clever sense of misdirection his work was well known for.

The film opens with a very dramatic scene, that car going over the edge grabs your attention, and so begins a web of intrigue and suspense. It's very well acted, cleverly written and well paced, on the downside there are some dodgy fight scenes and a horrid, syrupy ending which had no place in this film.

The same year a TV series was made, featuring Patrick Barr and Lockwood West, sadly it's missing from the archives. If I'm honest I would think this story would be better suited to a six part TV series, with the deep plot and twists allowed to develop a little slower, less forced.

Good, I enjoyed it. 7/10

Pretty good Brit murder/suspense

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 17 September 2014]

This UK film from 1955 opens with a car racing along the road, over the cliff it goes, and bursts into flames when it hits the canyon below. Geoffrey Keen is Inspector Cobly, who is investigating the accident. We are introduced to Tim and Dave, the brothers of the deceased driver. You'll recognize "Henry" (Allan Cuthbertson) from Fawlty Towers, and whole lot of British TV. I see Hopscotch (AWESOME film) in Cuthberson's list of roles, but can't remember what he did in it. Tim (Robert Beatty) also starts checking out what's going on, and he bumps into people who have the answers, but don't want to give them up. Terry Moore stars as Alison, and seems to be at the center of all this grand adventure. Pretty entertaining. I've never seen this one before, and as of today, doesn't have any comments on the discussion board. Must be new to Turner Classics. There is a twist here and there, but nothing earth shattering. Story by Francis Durbridge, who wrote this in between all the (British) TV series for which he was known. Directed by Guy Green, who had received an Oscar for directing the 1948 Great Expectations.

good British film

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 2 January 2015]

This British film from 1955 stars Robert Beatty, Terry Moore, and William Sylvester.

Commercial artist Tim Forrester (Beatty) is visited by his brother (Sylvester) and learns that a third brother was killed in a car accident in Italy. A young actress, Alison Ford, was with him and she, too, died.

The police seem to be looking for a postcard they believe the dead brother sent to Tim - a drawing of a chianti bottle with a woman's hand holding it, but Tim doesn't have it.

The father of the dead Alison commissions him to paint her portrait and gives Tim a photo of her and the dress she wore in the photo. When he returns home one night, the painting has been ruined and one of his models (Josephine Griffin) is dead in the bedroom, wearing the dress from the portrait. He now is a suspect in her murder. Then Alison Ford shows up, not dead at all.

The premise is Laura-esque as far as the portrait and the dead woman not being dead, but the similarity ends there. The plot concerns international smuggling, and the postcard is very important as police search for the mysterious head of the ring, Nightingale.

The cast has British, Canadian, and American actors in it. It's a bit strange because one of the brothers has a British accent and the other doesn't. Terry Moore is very young and pretty here, and the overall acting is good.

Though this is a British film, the outside influences make it seem more American than most of these movies.

Pretty good crime caper.

[khunkrumark · 6/10 · 4 April 2017]

Pretty good crime caper.

It's far from perfect and has some silly bits in it, but this movie is still a pretty good ride. It also has a topnotch cast of British and American actors to distract nicely from some otherwise hamfisted fight scenes, a rather muddled and implausible plot and a cheesy ending.

It's a supposedly British film but even though it has UK locations it comes across as a fairly typical American noir. The director, Guy Green, is British but clearly took his cues from America for this one. There is also an uncomfortable and misguided attempt to try to capture the mid-50s London scene.

Robert Beatty is well suited to his role and doesn't overdo the wrongly suspected victim. Lots of interesting parts for movie buffs and 'face watchers' to enjoy. Even 'Captain Peacock' (Frank Thornton) from Are You Being Served makes a brief appearance! (Those Sunday nights watching PBS weren't wasted after all, eh?)

Like I say, there's a certain amount of silliness but it still holds up nicely because of the crisp pacing and superior acting talent on display.

A tale of three brothers

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 24 November 2019]

The film opens with a fiery car crash off an embankment in Italy and the brother of Robert Beatty and William Sylvester is killed. But not before he dashed off some postcards to several folks including the brothers. One of those postcards has some coded information concerning the crooked dealings he's involved with.

Having Sylvester be a pilot gives half the plot away because you know he's going to be involved. But the question is who is the ringleader of a smuggling operation?

Terry Moore was supposed to have been killed with the brother in the crash. But she shows up in London and is then a target for the bad guys. She's also a subject for Beatty who is a portrait painter.

Portrait Of Alison is a nice and tight British noir film. Starts off slow, but picks up quite nicely a quarter of the way through.

Love how Britishers Beatty and Sylvester talk like Americans or at least how they conceive what Americans sound like.

Letter Perfect

[kapelusznik18 · 6/10 · 23 September 2014]

***SPOILERS*** British film noir having to do with a mysterious postcard sent from Italy that's responsible, in trying to get their hands on it, for some half dozen murders. It's American in London artist Tim Forrester,Robert Beatty, who realizes the importance of the mysterious and missing, in the mail, postcard in that it was sent to him by his brother interpol agent Lou Forrester just before he was killed with a woman hitchhiker in a car crash outside Milan city limits. The shocking news was relaid to Tim by his kid brother commercial pilot Dave Forrester, William Sylvester, who was the last person to see him before his fatal accident.

In trying to find out the circumstances behind his brother and hitchhiker's, said to be actress Alison not actor Harrison Ford, deaths Tim soon realizes that there was foul play involved in their so-called car accident! Things get even stranger when the model Jill Stewart, Josephine Griffin,who was posing for Tim is found strangled in his loft making him the #1 suspect in her murder. What makes thing even wilder is that the hitchhiker who supposedly was killed in the car accident together with Lou actress Alison Ford, Terry Moore, turned up alive in London and in fact was the person who discovered the murdered model Jill Stewart's body!

****SPOILERS**** All these murders turned out to be connected to a postcard, of a wine bottle, that Lou Forrester sent to his brother Tim just before he was killed. It's discovered on that postcard with invisible ink and under under ultra violet light that Lou listed the members of a diamond smuggling ring that's working out of London that brother Dave is a part of! This leads the police as well as Tim to the person behind all this smuggling and murder known only as "Nightingale". It was "Nightengale" coming out of the shadows or closet in order to silence those, like Tim & Alison, who were on to him that caused his sudden demise. That by him trying to be so overcautious in his operations he in the end blew his cover in trying to murder Alison, that he met back in Italy, whom he thought could connect him with the jewel smuggling ring that he was in charge of. She couldn't but Lou's mysterious postcard certainly could and did!

Far better than I expected.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 19 November 2016]

This film begins rather inauspiciously and my advice it to stick with it! Yes, you see a car plunge off a cliff and explode...a rather clichéd scene...but it does get better.

Soon after this accident, Tim arrives to investigate about the death of his brother, Dave as well as Dave's lady friend. However, soon a bunch of weird and unexplanable things occur...and soon Tim finds that the local police inspector thinks HE is a murderer when a dead woman is found in his apartment!! What's this all about and what about all the strange twists? Well, I'll say no more as I don't want to spoil the many surprises.

What I liked about this film is that although there are a few predictable moments, much of the picture was NOT predictable and it kept me guessing. Well acted and well done...and well worth seeing.

Solid Francis Durbridge thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 16 August 2019]

PORTRAIT OF ALISON is a complex British mystery/thriller based on a story by Francis Durbridge. The main star is American import Robert Beatty, whose hangdog looks reminded me of Mitchum a little. The story begins with a well-staged car accident before moving into a complex world of brothers, artists, models and mysterious postcards. The first half is all set-up while the second moves into pure crime territory with prowling killers and the like. The cast is well-judged, with sinister turns from the likes of Williams Sylvester and Lucas and Geoffrey Keen as the charming cop. There's plenty of incident here and plenty to keep your mind occupied, so it's all good.

dress for the job

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 30 June 2020]

Tim Forrester is hired to paint a portrait of Alison Ford from a photo. It's the start of a convoluted murder mystery. Honestly, I wasn't following too hard on the mystery. The portrait is an interesting hook. The one thing that annoyed me and I couldn't let go is how Tim is dressed. He keeps wearing a tie. Everybody is dressed to the nines. I guess cops could be a suit and tie job but I don't know any artist who dresses up for the job. More than that, the character is played like a stiff veteran cop. Even when he's dressed down, I still don't buy him as an artist. Everything else flows from that. I can't get pass it. It may be superficial but it's annoying as heck.

Solid britnoir that combines pieces of 'Laura' with hints of Hitchcock

[XhcnoirX · 8/10 · 31 May 2016]

Painter Robert Beatty and pilot William Sylvester find out their brother had a fatal carcrash in Italy, killing and burning him and the passenger, model Terry Moore. Police inspector Geoffrey Keen does a routine investigation among known associates looking for a postcard the brother sent right before he died, when Beatty gets an assignment by Moore's dad to paint a portrait of his deceased daughter. Soon after he finishes it someone paints over the face and his last model, Josephine Griffin, is found strangled on his bed, wearing one of Moore's dresses. As Beatty soon finds out, not only is Moore still alive, but his brother's death is linked to a diamond smuggling ring and people close to him are willing to kill for the postcard.

The movie is based on a story by Francis Durbridge which was originally adapted into a serial/mini-series for British TV, but (with a different cast & crew) also turned into this movie, which happened with several of this stories. While the death and 'resurrection' of Terry Moore ('Shack Out On 101', and still working!) as well as Beatty's ('Odd Man Out') personal connection to her portrait might remind of 'Laura' (I imagine this bit was expanded upon a bit in the serial), the movie as a whole does not. It is a rather nice noir/mystery with a Hitchcock- ian macguffin in the form of the postcard.

Maybe because of its serial origins, the movie is jam-packed and moves at a rapid pace, but it never feels rushed. The movie starts with a short but beautifully done pre-credits carcrash scene, and the cinematography throughout by Wilkie Cooper ('Mine Own Executioner', Hitchcock's 'Stage Fright') is atmospheric and even striking at times. Second-time director, and former DoP himself, Guy Green ('House Of Secrets') does a good job of not rushing the movie. He also co-wrote the screenplay (with another Britnor director, Ken Hughes), I imagine they trimmed quite a bit. They're also helped by the solid cast, who make the more illogical parts and actions of the plot & characters seem believable.

The main negative to the story is that the mastermind of the smuggling ring is too easy to determine through basic process of elimination. But other than that, I really enjoyed this movie. More than solid and definitely will re-watch this again. Recommended! 8/10

Typical Dirbridge Thriller

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 7 October 2019]

This is a typical Durbridge thriller with a labyrinthine plot which is filled with bodies and a whole shoal of red herrings.A good cast of reliable character actors.

England Attempts LAURA

[TheFearmakers · 4/10 · 27 March 2024]

Twenty years before Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, involving a first-act where scientists William Sylvester and Robert Beatty are figuring out an enigmatic presence on the moon, the pair was grounded as polar opposite siblings in the thriller/mystery POSTMARK FOR DANGER...

Which was originally titled PORTRAIT OF ALISON, a reworking of the classic film noir LAURA in which a cop falls for a dead woman from a painting who, it turns out, is very alive...

The cop here's an artist in Beatty's Tim Forrester, a painter, while Sylvester plays a smug pilot named Jim... and the resurrected dame is MIGHTY JOE YOUNG ingenue Terry Moore, who should have appeared mysteriously, like Gene Tierney, but by the time she's revealed to the painter, we've already witnessed her ruining a portrait commissioned by her grieving father...

It's all rather complicated, and with such a great cast including future James Bond M Geoffrey Keen and a lovely yet doomed Josephine Griffin, POSTMARK simply goes through the motions without any real surprises or revelations...

Overall, Moore lacks passion while Canadian and American actors Beatty and Sylvester, working primarily in English films, are better suited for secondary or character roles.... Beatty in particular, far more suited for villains and simply too benign for the romantic lead...

Meanwhile British-born William Lucas, beginning an eclectic crime-genre career ranging from bad guys to good and in-between, is underused as a smarmy car salesman, part of a diamond smuggling ring that never feels threatening: to the characters or the audience.

Portrait of Alison

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 14 November 2022]

Robert Beatty is an artist who learns that his brother has been killed in a Italian car accident. As you'd expect, that's just the start of it - the mystery revolves around a postcard featuring a glass of Chianti being held in a woman's hand... Who has it? What does it mean? Is it a clue to the mysterious death? This is a far more layered thriller than you'd expect - the performances are taut and the dialogue less meandering than in many other UK-made dramas of the time. Geoffrey Keen is good as the sceptical police inspector and although you do get the gist well before the end, it's still quite a suspensefully directed (by Guy Green) 80 minutes.

A fishy plot of terrible deaths and mysterious girls getting in the hands of the wrong man...

[clanciai · 9/10 · 26 May 2017]

Francis Durbridge shines through with his special knack for women mysteries and their magic presence for being absent, you are reminded both of the Paul Temple series and "Melissa" and other spellbinding thrillers with mystical ladies, and here you have two of them murdered while one of them shows up not being murdered at all.

The intrigue is spun around a portrait, a weird old man commissions Robert Beatty, a poor painter and brother of the first casualty of the racket, to paint his lost daughter from a picture of her, which task gets him into thorough trouble, especially since one of his earlier models is found murdered in his flat.

It's not a bad film although somewhat superficial, of such an intrigue Hitchcock would have brought out a masterpiece, the action is a bit thick as too many things are happening at the same time and too many threads are being woven together in some confusion, as there is another casualty of a man jumping out of a window and lots of fisticuffs which at least twice completely demolishes the painter's entire flat - there is not much space to fight, but they do it the more thoroughly.

In brief, a very entertaining thriller with some magic in it, but you would have preferred the first girl (Josephine Griffin) to Terry Moore, but that's a matter of personal taste..

Another ripping yarn from Durbridge

[lucyrf · 9/10 · 6 September 2019]

I love Francis Durbridge - most of his stories started life as serials and they are full of episodes and mini-cliffhangers. This one combines several tropes - the portrait out of Laura and also Vertigo (painted in the same style), the unjustly accused. There are Americans and Canadians in the cast, but the action takes place in London. The bachelor pad/artist's studio is a good set, with its multi levels and conservatory window. A genteel hotel with a well-spoken receptionist also plays a role. It's filmed - very well - mainly in interiors, though there's a sequence where the supposedly dead girl wanders London's night-time streets.

She (Terry Moore) is extremely pretty, and wears a succession of glamorous outfits that all fit into one small travelling bag. Another beauty is the artist's model, a witty and intelligent girl who admits that by the advanced age of 24 a girl is looking to settle down. Credit to whoever did the paintings, too!

In so many films of the period, domesticity is stressed and women are swathed in unflattering fashions. Not so here - hurrah for early 50s glamour.

Enjoyable fills an hour or so.

Neat British thriller with an excellent cast

[last-picture-show · 8/10 · 7 February 2007]

Originally a television series based on a story by crime writer Francis Durbridge, Portrait of Alison (AKA Postmark For Danger) is a neat thriller with enough twists and turns to keep anyone guessing. An excellent cast, especially Robert Beatty as artist Tim Forrester, who does a good job of underplaying the character, and Alan Cuthbertson in his screen debut, the first in a long line of oily villains. Also watch out for minor uncredited roles by Sam Kydd as a chirpy telephone engineer, Jack Howarth (later to play Albert Tatlock in long running ITV soap Coronation Street) as a hotel porter and Frank Thornton (later to play Captain Peacock in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served ) as a policeman.