George Nader plays a reporter whose career is ruined by liquor. A comeback opportunity presents itself when he is a bystander at the arrest of a well-known criminal.George Nader plays a reporter whose career is ruined by liquor. A comeback opportunity presents itself when he is a bystander at the arrest of a well-known criminal.George Nader plays a reporter whose career is ruined by liquor. A comeback opportunity presents itself when he is a bystander at the arrest of a well-known criminal.
Ralph Brooks
- Joe - Newspaper Man
- (uncredited)
Raoul Freeman
- Burlesque Club Patron
- (uncredited)
Bill Hickman
- Farrell - Police Detective
- (uncredited)
Rusty Lane
- Pat O'Connell - Bartender
- (uncredited)
John Phillips
- Reporter
- (uncredited)
- …
Jeffrey Sayre
- Burlesque Club Patron
- (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock
- Reporter
- (uncredited)
Bert Stevens
- Burlesque Club Patron
- (uncredited)
Hal Taggart
- Burlesque Club Patron
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilming began with Jeffrey Hunter in the lead, but a serious case of hepatitis caused him to be replaced with George Nader after one day of shooting.
Featured review
"Hamlet, take Shakespeare for a walk" - things improve sans booze
I know Richard Carlson far better as an actor than director but he certainly does a competent job of directing APPOINTMENT WITH A SHADOW. Mind you, he is not overly helped by the screenplay by Alec Coppell and Norman Jolley, which focuses for too long on the booziness of character Paul Baxter, rather fitfully played by George Nader (nadir would have been closer to the truth!) as a newspaper reporter lushing up every drop of alcohol he can imbibe.
Thankfully, highly organized and stunningly beautiful girlfriend Joanna Moore (what does she see in Nader?!) manages to convince her cop brother Brian Keith to give Nader another chance and let him witness the capture of rotten criminal Dutch Hayden. Whether that would have been approved by police leadership even back in 1957 is highly debatable. Incidentally, Hayden is believably played by Frank deKova, who is rumored to have undergone cosmetic surgery, and might now look completely different. Still, that is the only extant photographic record of the wanted criminal, and all Nader can guide himself by when he spies from the Lawson's whiskey rooftop.
In order to get that job-saving breaking news, Nader must follow a very specific time table drawn up by his meticulous sister, who demands that he totally avoid the bottle.
The rather feeble Nader somehow promises her that he will try to live up to her faith and plan, but neither Moore nor Keith are convinced... and rightly so, for a while, with repeated shots of Lawson's whiskey (that must have paid for production) shining in neon to emphasize the point.
But!... when Nader begins to beat the libation habit by the hour, resulting in rising self-confidence, you can tell that he will meet Moore's satisfaction demands.
APPOINTMENT WITH A SHADOW is not particularly memorable, but not bad either - certainly worthy of watching and of my 7 stars.
Thankfully, highly organized and stunningly beautiful girlfriend Joanna Moore (what does she see in Nader?!) manages to convince her cop brother Brian Keith to give Nader another chance and let him witness the capture of rotten criminal Dutch Hayden. Whether that would have been approved by police leadership even back in 1957 is highly debatable. Incidentally, Hayden is believably played by Frank deKova, who is rumored to have undergone cosmetic surgery, and might now look completely different. Still, that is the only extant photographic record of the wanted criminal, and all Nader can guide himself by when he spies from the Lawson's whiskey rooftop.
In order to get that job-saving breaking news, Nader must follow a very specific time table drawn up by his meticulous sister, who demands that he totally avoid the bottle.
The rather feeble Nader somehow promises her that he will try to live up to her faith and plan, but neither Moore nor Keith are convinced... and rightly so, for a while, with repeated shots of Lawson's whiskey (that must have paid for production) shining in neon to emphasize the point.
But!... when Nader begins to beat the libation habit by the hour, resulting in rising self-confidence, you can tell that he will meet Moore's satisfaction demands.
APPOINTMENT WITH A SHADOW is not particularly memorable, but not bad either - certainly worthy of watching and of my 7 stars.
helpful•42
- adrianovasconcelos
- Oct 18, 2023
- How long is Appointment with a Shadow?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- If I Should Die
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 12 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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By what name was Appointment with a Shadow (1957) officially released in India in English?
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