Malaga (1960 film)

For other uses, see Malaga (disambiguation).

Malaga
Directed by	László Benedek
Written by	Donald Mackenzie (novel) David D. Osborn (screenplay)
Starring	Trevor Howard Dorothy Dandridge Edmund Purdom
Release date(s)	January 26, 1960 (London) February 21, 1962 (United States)

Malaga (also known in foreign countries as: Moment of Danger) is a 1960 crime drama film starring Trevor Howard, Dorothy Dandridge, and Edmund Purdom. It was filmed in Europe in the late months of 1959 under the original title, Moment of Danger,^[1] but when filming was completed the title was changed to Malaga, for reasons unknown. The film's low-budget-ness delayed its American release for nearly two years.

The film is based on the novel by Donald Mackenzie, and it was brought to the screen by David D. Osborn. The film proved to be the final completed film for Dorothy Dandridge.

In the movie Dorothy Dandridge was cast as a woman of color of European descent with the Italian name of Gianna.^[2] In the pre-release publicity, one magazine article made a point of the fact that when Trevor Howard's character kissed Dorothy, it was the first time she had received an on-screen kiss from a white man in her career.^[3]

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.^[4]

Before the movie's release, Jet magazine said the movie "concerns a girl (Dorothy Dandridge) and a man (Trevor Howard) who, broke and stranded, are on the run from the law...(at one point) the girl goes out and gets money as a prostitute."^[3] 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]

Cast

Trevor Howard as John Bain
Dorothy Dandridge as Gianna
Edmund Purdom as Peter Carran
Michael Hordern as Inspector Farrell
Paul Stassino as Juan Montoya

References

1. ^ Charlene B. Regester (2010). African American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility, 1900-1960. Indiana University Press. p. 305. http://books.google.com/books?id=iBuZbgDRb54C&pg=PA305#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved February 8, 2011. 
2. ^ Regester, page 318
3. ^ ^{a b} "Dandridge Makes Toughest Movie of Her Career". JET (Johnsons Publishing Company) 16 (13): 60–61. July 23, 1959. http://books.google.com/books?id=kEEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved February 8, 2011. 
4. ^ "Moment of Danger". http://www.starpulse.com/Movies/Moment_Of_Danger-V101034/Summary/. Retrieved February 8, 2011. 
5. ^ Terence Pettigrew (1982). British film character actors: great names and memorable moments, Volume 1982, Part 2. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 93. http://books.google.com/books?id=z3Wl9qRevrEC&pg=PA93#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved February 8, 2011.