A Life At Stake (1955)

A Life At Stake / Paul Guilfoyle (1955). Actor Paul Guilfoyle (1902-1961, not the guy of the same name on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) sits in the director’s chair for this tricky noir. Cut guy Edward Short (Keith Andes, first seen in his boarding house room with his shirt off) is still depressed after losing all his money (and the life savings of several of his friends) to a scammer. When he is approached by a lawyer with a deal from a rich couple, Doris and Gus Hillman (Angela Lansbury and Douglass Dumbrille), who wants his expertise as a house architect and contractor to build tract houses, Edward comes out of his funk. When he meets Doris, he is struck by her beauty and the fact that she is floating in her swimming pool in a form revealing bathing suit. Soon, Edward and Doris are meeting on those frequent occasions when the older Gus is out of town. A turning point comes when the Hillman’s ask Edward to take out a $175,000 life insurance policy to protect their investment. He consents but finds out too late that Doris’ first husband made the same deal then died in an auto accident. Coincidence or do Doris and Gus have the same plan for Edward? Does Doris love Edward as she claims or is it a act? These questions keep your attention until the very end. Lansbury’s second and last foray into film noir as the femme fatale.

Sultry Angela Lansbury vamps helpless male Keith Andes