A Life At Stake (1955)
A Life At Stake (1955)
„A Life At Stake“ is a 1955 film-noir drama film directed by Paul Guilfoyle. The screenplay by Russ Bender is based on a story idea by Hank McCune.
Down-on-his-luck Los Angeles architect and builder Edward Shaw is approached by a sexy seductress, Doris Hillman, with a business proposal of buying land together, on which he would build houses that she would then sell, using her experience as a former real estate broker. Her husband, Gus Hillman, a wealthy businessman, would be willing to contribute half a million dollars as capital for the venture.
Doris quickly seems interested in more than a purely professional relationship. Shaw starts an affair with her and accepts the business offer. However, an accidental discovery leaves him convinced that the Hillmans’ interest lies less in the long-term profits of the venture than in the $175,000 key man insurance policy he took on himself as a precondition for the deal, and that an attempt on his life is imminent.
The younger sister of Doris, Madge Neilan, develops a romantic interest in Shaw as well. Without knowing what Doris has planned, she reveals to Shaw that her sister was married previously to a man who died in Wyoming when his car crashed over a bridge. Shaw ends up drugged by Gus Hillman and barely keeps his car from going off a cliff.
The police are skeptical about his story and the insurance company refuses to cancel the policy, Hillman having portrayed Shaw as a man who is trying to steal his wife. Madge teams with Shaw to try to foil her sister’s scheme, but Doris lures him to her mountain cabin and shoots him. A wounded Shaw sees both Doris & Gus struggle then fall to their deaths through a clifftop doorway, just minutes before Madge and the cops arrive.
Soundtrack music: „Summer Interlude“ – Written by Hank McCune and Les Baxter
Cast:
- Angela Lansbury – Doris Hillman
- Keith Andes – Edward Shaw
- Douglass Dumbrille – Gus Hillman
- Claudia Barrett – Madge Neilan
- Jane Darwell – Landlady
- Gavin Gordon – Sam Pearson
- Charles Maxwell – Police Lt. Hoff
- William Henry – Myles Norman
- Kathleen Mulqueen – Mary
- Dan Sturkie – Officer Biff
- Jeane Wood – Mabel, Maid
- Robert Haver – Mechanic
- Fred Aldrich – Suspicious Stranger
- Forbes Murray – Businessman
- Bing Russell – Bartender
- Jeffrey Sayre – Bar Patron
- Bert Stevens – Restaurant Patron
„A Life At Stake“ (Ein Leben steht auf dem Spiel) ist ein Film-Noir-Drama aus dem Jahr 1955 unter der Regie von Paul Guilfoyle. Das Drehbuch von Russ Bender basiert auf einer Story-Idee von Hank McCune.
Der vom Pech verfolgte Architekt und Bauunternehmer Edward Shaw aus Los Angeles wird von einer sexy Verführerin, Doris Hillman, angesprochen, die ihm vorschlägt, gemeinsam Land zu kaufen, auf dem er Häuser bauen soll, die sie dann mit ihrer Erfahrung als ehemalige Immobilienmaklerin verkaufen würde. Ihr Ehemann, Gus Hillman, ein wohlhabender Geschäftsmann, wäre bereit, eine halbe Million Dollar als Kapital für das Unternehmen beizusteuern.
Doris scheint schnell an mehr als einer rein beruflichen Beziehung interessiert zu sein. Shaw beginnt eine Affäre mit ihr und nimmt das Geschäftsangebot an. Eine zufällige Entdeckung lässt ihn jedoch zu der Überzeugung gelangen, dass das Interesse der Hillmans weniger in den langfristigen Gewinnen des Unternehmens als in der 175.000-Dollar-Versicherung für den Schlüsselmann liegt, die er als Vorbedingung für das Geschäft abgeschlossen hat, und dass ein Anschlag auf sein Leben bevorsteht.