Wings of Danger [Dead on Course] ** (1952, Zachary Scott, Robert Beatty, Naomi Chance, Kay Kendall) – Classic Movie Review 11,151

‘COUNTERFEIT CARGO!… a fortune in loot… a fabulous woman… a sinister fugitive!’

Director Terence Fisher’s 1952 British black and white crime film Wings of Danger [Dead on Course] imports Zachary Scott as the visiting American star this time in Hammer Films’ twisty but basic thriller.

Scott plays Richard ‘Van’ Van Ness, an America pilot in love with Avril Talbot (Naomi Chance), the sister of another pilot, Nick Talbot (Robert Beatty), who is up to his neck in a fake dollar-bill smuggling plot centred on their boss Boyd Spencer (Arthur Lane)’s Spencer Airlines airline that plies between London and the Channel Islands.

Kay Kendall plays Spencer’s girl friend Alexia LaRoche, asked by Van to exchange pounds for dollars. Avril is being blackmailed by Snell (Harold Lang) to keep her father from discovering Nick’s black market business.

It is based on the 1951 novel Dead on Course by Elleston Trevor [Trevor Dudley Smith] and Packham Webb, with a screenplay by John Gilling.

It is Kay Kendall’s tenth film, as Alexia LaRoche.

Also in the cast are Colin Tapley as Inspector Maxwell, Diane Cilento as Jeannette, Harold Lang as Snell the blackmailer, Jack Allen as Tniscott, Sheila Raynor, Ian Fleming as Talbot, Douglas Muir as Doctor Wilner, Larry Taylor as O’Gorman, henchman, Darcy Conyers as Signals Officer, Sheila Raynor as Nurse, Nigel Neilson as Duty Officer, Courtney Hope as hotel tenant Mrs Clarence Anthony T Miles as desk clerk Sam, James Steele as First Flying Officer, Russ Allen as Second Flying Officer, June Ashley as Blonde in Sportscar, June Mitchell as Blonde in Sportscar, and Natasha Sokolova as Blonde in Sportscar.

It was made by Hammer Films and shot at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Production began in late September 1951 with location shooting in Rye, East Sussex.

The aircraft De Havilland DH.89A Dominie, c/n 6886, G-AGSI and Percival Proctor Mk II, c/n H548, G-AIIL are seen.

It was released in the UK in a double bill with FBI Girl (1951).

Wings of Danger [Dead on Course] is directed by Terence Fisher, runs 73 minutes, is made by Hammer Film Productions, is released by Exclusive Films (UK) and Lippert Pictures (US), is written by John Gilling, is shot in black and white by Walter J Harvey, is produced by Anthony Hinds, is scored by Malcolm Arnold and is designed by Andrew Mazzei.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,151

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com