Second Chance (1953)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Clare Sinclair (Linda Darnell) is hiding in Mexico to avoid testifying against her gangster boyfriend. Her seclusion is made difficult by Cappy Gordon (Jack Palance), a mob strongman out to kill her unless she runs off with him. Trying to help Clare is Russ Lambert (Robert Mitchum), an American prizefighter.
- Actors:
- Robert Mitchum, Linda Darnell, Jack Palance, Sandro Giglio, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., Reginald Sheffield, Margaret Brewster, Roy Roberts, Salvador Baguez, Maurice Jara, Judy Walsh, Dan Seymour, Fortunio Bonanova, Milburn Stone, Abel Fernandez, Ricardo Alba, Luis Álvarez, Orlando Beltran, Dan Bernaducci, Bob Castro
- Directors:
- Rudolph Maté
- Producers:
- Sam Wiesenthal, Howard Hughes
- Writers:
- Oscar Millard, Sydney Boehm, D.M. Marshman Jr., Robert Presnell Sr
- Aka:
- Mörder ohne Maske
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
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Reviews (1) of Second Chance
Technicolor Noir - Second Chance review by Steve
This begins like it was made for the Mexican tourist office to promote one of their fabulous holiday destinations. There’s a very slender idea for a thriller as a gangster’s moll (Linda Darnell) is chased around the sights of Taxco in Guerrero by a psycho-assassin (Jack Palance).
Her second chance is to testify against the mob. Robert Mitchum is a boxer, and his is to survive the guilt of killing an opponent in the ring. He protects/romances her among the historic hotspots of Mexico, trading sardonic dialogue which might easily be leftovers from his role in Out of the Past (1947).
Almost nothing happens. Then suddenly in the last 20m the action lurches into motion as the protagonists face off on a vertigo inducing cable car- which I now want to visit- as the support wires fray… threatening to pitch them into the rocky abyss… This should have been the whole film!
It gives this humdrum Technicolor-noir a thrilling climax. It was originally released in 3D which apparently was even more effective. The print is is need of an upgrade. But still the denouement is worth seeing, and the stars make the rest worthwhile. And who knows? If you visit, you may have an adventure too!