Second Chance (1953)

• Director
  • Rudolph Maté
• Writers
  • Oscar Millard(screenplay)
  • Sydney Boehm(screenplay)
  • D.M. Marshman Jr.(story and adaptation)
• Stars
  • Robert Mitchum
  • Jack Palance
  • Linda Darnell

  Even without its 3D/stereophonic sound gimmickry, Second Chance is a crackling good suspenser. Robert Mitchum plays Russ Lambert, a prizefighter who heads to South America to forget a recent tragedy in the ring. Here he meets Clare Shepard (Linda Darnell), who is likewise running away -- not from her bitter memories, but from her boyfriend, a vicious gangster. Also newly arrived in South America is Cappy Gordon (Jack Palance), the cold-blooded triggerman for Clare's ex-beau. After several close calls and near-misses, the three main characters converge in a disabled cable car, high above a deep abyss. Filmed on location at RKO Radio's Mexican facilities, Second Chance takes a while getting started, then rapidly builds to a heart-pounding finale.