DANGER AHEAD (1940) James Newill, Dorothea Kent & Guy Usher | Adventure | B&W

Danger Ahead is a 1940 American adventure film directed by Ralph Staub and written by Edward Halperin. It is based on the 1933 novel Renfrew's Long Trail by Laurie York Erskine. The film stars James Newill, Dorothea Kent, Guy Usher, Maude Allen, John Dilson and Al Shaw. The film was released on January 22, 1940, by Monogram Pictures.

SYNOPSIS
The Royal Mounties are called in when one of the armored cars owned by Maxwell, containing a gold shipment, disappears with driver George Hill suspected of theft. Actually, Maxwell and his henchmen had sabotaged the vehicle by pouring acid on the brake lines, causing it to crash. Genevieve (Dorothea Kent), the daughter of the Mountie chief and a criminology student, suspects Maxwell and Thomas Hatch, the bank president. However, her interference proves more troublesome than helpful to Sergeant Renfrew (James Newill), who is leading the investigation.

Renfrew and Constable Kelly (Dave O'Brien) take charge of the next shipment, but Maxwell plans to sabotage them as well. When Renfrew steers the vehicle into a hillside, he realizes what happened to the previous car. Diving into the nearby lake, Renfrew and Kelly discover the missing car and Hill's body, and they also find that the gold shipment is a fake.

When Renfrew attempts to arrest Maxwell and his cronies, they escape in an armored car. However, the air brakes fail, leading to the gang's demise in a crash. Meanwhile, Genevieve, believing Hatch to be part of the scheme, locks him in a vault. Renfrew releases Hatch and makes Genevieve promise never to play detective again.

CAST & CREW
James Newill as Sgt. Renfrew
Dorothea Kent as Genevieve
Guy Usher as Inspector
Maude Allen as Mrs. Hill
John Dilson as Thomas Hatch
Al Shaw as Johnny Yergerson
Dave O'Brien as Corporal Kelly
Dick Rich as Maxwell
Harry Depp as Jones
Bob Terry as Gimpy
Lester Dorr as Lefty
Earl Douglas as Eggface

Directed by: Ralph Staub
Screenplay by: Edward Halperin
Based on: Renfrew's Long Trail by Laurie York Erskine
Produced by: Philip N. Krasne
Cinematography: Mack Stengler
Edited by: Martin G. Cohn
Production company: Criterion Pictures
Distributed by: Monogram Pictures
Release date: January 22, 1940
Running time: 60 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English