Appointment with Crime

Year: 1946

Runtime: 92 mins

Language: English

Director: John Harlow

DramaCrime

Small-time jewel thief Leo Martin is abandoned by his partners—club owner Gus Loman and driver Hatchett—when a robbery goes awry. After serving his prison term, determined to settle the score, Leo resurfaces with an elaborate revenge scheme that intricately weaves false evidence to frame Loman and his unscrupulous boss Gregory Lang for murder, while Inspector Rogers remains convinced of Leo’s guilt.

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Timeline & Setting – Appointment with Crime (1946)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Appointment with Crime (1946). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Location

Jewellery store, Prison, Train, Cab, Antiques dealer shop

The story moves through a jewellery district and ends up in a grim penitentiary, anchoring the film in a harsh urban underworld. Key action unfolds on a crowded city street, during a tense cab ride, and on a moving train. The antiques dealer setting serves as a backdrop for the motive and exchanges surrounding the loot.

🏙️ Urban crime setting 🔒 Prison environment 🚂 Train sequence 🚕 Cab scenes 🏬 Antiques dealer setting

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:10

Main Characters – Appointment with Crime (1946)

Meet the key characters of Appointment with Crime (1946), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Leo Martin (William Hartnell)

A thief leading a crime gang, Leo is quick-witted, volatile, and consumed by anger after Gus deserts him during the heist. He crafts a dangerous plan to escalate his revenge, including framing others and manipulating alleys of crime. His charm masks a ruthless willingness to kill, as seen when he murders the getaway driver to tie Gus and Gregory to the murder. He talks his way through danger but his lies threaten to implode around him.

🗝️ Criminal mastermind 💔 Romantic entanglements 🎭 Deceit and manipulation

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:10

Major Themes – Appointment with Crime (1946)

Explore the central themes of Appointment with Crime (1946), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:10

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Movies like Appointment with Crime: Calculated Underworld Revenge

Stories of meticulous revenge plots unfolding against a gritty criminal backdrop.If you enjoyed the intricate revenge plot of Appointment with Crime, explore more movies where protagonists craft meticulous schemes against their betrayers. These films share a gritty criminal setting, a steady build of tension, and a somber tone, delivering a similar feeling of grim, methodical payback.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative typically follows a betrayed individual—often a criminal themselves—who, after a period of suffering, returns with a cold, intelligent plan for vengeance. The story methodically details the setup and execution of this scheme, creating a cat-and-mouse game with their targets, and often culminating in a high-stakes, morally complex conclusion.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped by their shared focus on a specific revenge archetype: the planner. They feature a similar dark tone, steady pacing that builds suspense, and a heavy emotional weight stemming from themes of betrayal and the high cost of vengeance, creating a cohesive viewing experience for fans of intricate, character-driven crime dramas.

Bleak and Fatalistic Crime Movies like Appointment with Crime

Grim crime stories where characters are trapped by circumstance and a bleak fate.Fans of the grim ending in Appointment with Crime will appreciate this selection of movies that share a fatalistic tone. These stories feature characters caught in inescapable cycles of crime and punishment, resulting in sad or bleak conclusions and a consistently dark, heavy atmosphere.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative journey in these films is often a spiral, where a character's initial mistake or desperate act sets them on an unavoidable path toward downfall. Despite their struggles, the world of the film is unforgiving, and the ending reinforces a sense of inevitability and poetic, if tragic, justice.

Why These Movies?

They are united by a shared, dominant mood of grim fatalism. The combination of a dark tone, heavy emotional weight, and predominantly sad or bleak endings creates a distinct viewing experience centered on the inescapable consequences of a life of crime and moral compromise.

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Appointment with Crime Summary

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Appointment with Crime Timeline

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Appointment with Crime Spoiler-Free Summary

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More About Appointment with Crime

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Discover movies like Appointment with Crime that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.