Second Chance
Cast & Crew
James Tinling
Kent Taylor
Louise Currie
Dennis Hoey
Larry Blake
Ann Doran
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Kendal Wolf and Joan Summers are clients of J. L. Montclaire, one of New York's leading commercial jewelers. While inspecting a diamond on behalf of a potential buyer, Wolf substitutes it with a phony. Summers informs Montclaire about the phony but helps Wolf hide the real jewel in a concealed compartment in the clasp of her handbag. Police sergeant Sharpe and a policewoman come to investigate the loss, search Wolf and Summers and allow them to leave. Wolf and Summers intend to sell the diamond to an investigator working for the insurance company providing the loss coverage, who would then return the jewel to the insurance company, making a tidy profit on the pre-arranged fee. Mr. Corwin, a representative of Jewelers' Indemnity Insurance Co., is advised of the theft and assigns free-lance investigator Barker to the case after agreeing to pay him $10,000 if he recovers the diamond. After Barker accepts Wolf and Summers' offer, they give the diamond to Barker's assistant Nick, who then receives $7,500 from Barker, $5,000 of which he is to give to Wolf and Summers, with the balance to be kept by Nick. Before he can hand over the money, however, Nick is arrested by Sgt. Sharpe. Summers accuses Wolf of engineering Nick's arrest in an attempt to scare her off and reduce his competition. Wolf suspects her of the same thing, but the matter is resolved when Sharpe lets Nick go free, unable to prove that he has been involved in anything illegal. Later, Wolf and Summers attend an exhibition of the famous Malabar diamonds at a local nightclub. Summers had met the owner of the diamonds, Conrad Martyn, in Europe. Upon leaving the club, Wolf and Summers follow the car of fellow guests Roger Elwood and Doris Greene. Wolf robs them and his chauffeur shoots the driver of the other car. Later, several police officers accompany Elwood and Greene to Summers' apartment, where Wolf is identified as the robber. Summers provides him with an alibi, unaware that the robbery has been part of an elaborate test to see whether she can be trusted or not. The "police" and drivers are part of the crime organization Elwood has created. However, Elwood is not totally convinced that Summers can be trusted, and orders his henchmen to follow her. Summers goes back to see Conrad and persuades him to allow her to model the diamonds at the following evening's show, intending to steal them with Wolf. They tell Elwood of their plan, but later Summers, who is actually working as an undercover agent for Jewelers' Indemnity, decides to back out and leave town with Wolf. She informs Sharpe about the plan, and he assures her that Wolf will not be hurt. Later, as Summers models the diamonds, the room is plunged into darkness and she disappears. Unknown to Summers, Elwood has changed the plan slightly and ends up in possession of the jewels. Wolf threatens Elwood with a gun and tells Summers to leave. During the ensuing shootout, Wolf is slightly wounded. Sharpe arrives in time to capture Elwood's gang, and Summers tells Wolf that she will wait for him while he does his jail time.
Director
James Tinling
Cast
Kent Taylor
Louise Currie
Dennis Hoey
Larry Blake
Ann Doran
John Eldredge
Paul Guilfoyle
William Newell
Guy Kingsford
Charles Flynn
Eddie Fetherston
Francis Pierlot
Betty Compson
Edwin Maxwell
Michael Brandon
Byron Foulger
Jody Gilbert
Robert Purcell
Dave Sharpe
David Leonard
Gino Corrado
Peggy Wynne
Jack Worth
Max Wagner
Lila Deane
Lloyd Whitlock
Helena Dare
Laura Treadwell
Crew
Fay C. Babcock
Frank Baldridge
Arnold Belgard
Irene Beshon
Lou Breslow
Dale Butts
William Claxton
Perry Finnerman
Max Hutchinson
Eddie Imazu
Benjamin Kline
Ted Larsen
Bert Longworth
John Patrick
Morton Scott
Howard Sheehan
Paul Wurtzel
Sol M. Wurtzel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Deadlock. On the print viewed, Sol M. Wurtzel Productions, Inc. is listed as the copyright claimant, although Twentieth Century-Fox is listed as claimant in the Copyright Catalog.
