1960 film by László Benedek
Moment of Danger (also known as Malaga) is a 1960 British crime drama film starring Trevor Howard, Dorothy Dandridge and Edmund Purdom.[2] It was filmed in Europe in the late months of 1959.
The film is based on the novel by Donald MacKenzie [fr], 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]
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.
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