5 Steps to Danger
| 5 Steps to Danger | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Henry S. Kesler |
| Written by | Henry S. Kesler Donald Hamilton (novel) Turnley Walker (story) |
| Produced by | Henry S. Kesler |
| Starring | Ruth Roman Sterling Hayden |
| Cinematography | Kenneth Peach |
| Edited by | Aaron Stell |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
Production company | Grand Productions |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
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Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
5 Steps to Danger is a 1957 American crime film. It was directed by Henry S. Kesler, and starred Ruth Roman and Sterling Hayden, with a cast that also included Werner Klemperer, Richard Gaines, Charles Davis, and Jeanne Cooper. It was based on the novel The Steel Mirror by Donald Hamilton.[1]
Plot
John Emmett, an American everyman, is on a fishing and hunting trip when his car breaks down. He is offered a ride by a stranger, Ann Nicholson, who is driving to Santa Fe and asks him to take turns behind the wheel.
During a stopover a woman identifying herself as a nurse takes John aside in a diner and says she has been following them because Ann is an escaped mental patient of a Dr. Frederick Simmons. And although he isn't sure what to believe, John begins to doubt Ann when two policemen attempt to arrest them, claiming to be investigating a murder in Los Angeles.
John and Ann manage to slip away. He demands the truth, whereupon Ann says she is an ex-German citizen who stumbled upon a government plot and is in possession of valuable scientific transcripts embedded on a small cosmetic mirror. In order to prevent Simmons from having Ann committed to a mental institution against her will, John asks Ann to marry him, while also declaring his love for her. They wed in a small town and then continue their journey to find the scientist who wrote the transcripts. The chase ends in a confrontation between Simmons, who is actually a Soviet spy, and his accomplices versus FBI and CIA agents, who verify Ann's story. Ann and John enjoy their honeymoon on the fishing trip John had originally planned.
Cast
- Ruth Roman as Ann
- Sterling Hayden as John
- Werner Klemperer as Simmons
- Richard Gaines as Dean Brant
- Charles Davis as Kirk
- Jeanne Cooper as Helen Bethke
- Peter Hansen as Karl Plesser
- Karl Ludwig Lindt as Kissel
References
- ^ 6 FILMS PLANNED BY AM-PAR CORP.: $3,000,000 Will Be Invested in Medium-Budget Movies During Next Half Year Of Local Origin By THOMAS M. PRYOR Special to The New York Times.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 28 Jan 1957: 18.