Appointment with Danger (1950) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Sister Augustine witnesses Joe Regas and George Soderquist dumping a body in La Porte during a rainstorm. When Soderquist tries to distract her by helping unfurl her umbrella and pretending the body is a drunk man, she sees through the deception and reports the incident to authorities because it clearly involves criminal activity.

• sister augustine
• body dump
• la porte
• witness report

Goddard travels to the convent in Fort Wayne where Augustine resides and gains her trust by quoting Martin Luther about personal responsibility. This appeal to her sense of moral duty convinces her to go to the police station, identify Soderquist from a mug book, and travel to Gary to testify in court.

• al goddard
• sister augustine
• martin luther
• trust
• testify

After Regas warns Boettiger to hide Soderquist because Augustine has identified him, the gang orders Soderquist to leave town. When Soderquist refuses to leave, they kill him to prevent him from potentially being captured and revealing information about the gang to authorities.

Foreshadowing: Soderquist's earlier failure to escape cleanly when spotted with Ferrar hints at his unreliability.

• george soderquist
• killed
• refuses to leave town
• gang orders

After realizing Soderquist hasn't left town and the gang must still be planning something, Goddard consults the Gary postmaster. The postmaster explains that a money shipment arrives by train but must change to another train, requiring a seven-minute truck ride between stations. This vulnerable transfer point reveals the gang's intended target.

• money shipment
• seven minute transfer
• gary postmaster
• truck
• target

The postmaster mentions that one of the truck drivers recently declined a higher-paying job opportunity. Goddard recognizes this as Paul Ferrar from prior encounters, linking him to the gang's planned robbery of the money shipment.

• paul ferrar
• truck driver
• higher paying job
• identified
• goddard

Dodie overhears Boettiger's phone call about the planned robbery from the gang's hotel suite. She doesn't want to be an accessory to murder when the police inevitably discover the crime, so she reports the planned crime to Goddard and decides to leave town to avoid being implicated.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Regas tried to stage a fatal accident for Sister Augustine, showing the gang's willingness to kill witnesses.

• dodie
• boettiger
• mistress
• overhears plot
• leaves town

The robbery plan falters because Joe Regas neglects his assigned preparations in order to take Sister Augustine hostage. When the gang gathers, Augustine blurts out Goddard's name, revealing his deception as an undercover agent working inside the operation.

• robbery fails
• joe regas
• sister augustine hostage
• reveals goddard name

Regas took Augustine prisoner as part of the chaos during the robbery attempt. Under the stress of being held hostage and fearing for her life, she blurts out Goddard's name when the gang meets, unintentionally exposing his cover and endangering his life.

• sister augustine
• reveals name
• hostage
• undercover exposed

Goddard poses as a corrupt postal inspector and pressures Paul Ferrar to arrange a meeting with the gang's leader. He then approaches Earl Boettiger directly, offering to be a more reliable inside man than Ferrar, successfully embedding himself in the criminal operation.

• undercover
• infiltrate gang
• corrupt inspector
• earl boettiger
• ferrar

When Boettiger makes a last-minute change to the plan, Goddard has no choice but to phone the police from the gang's hotel suite. He is overheard by Dodie, but she protects him by not reporting it and instead warns him about the crime. The police are then tipped off, leading to the ambush.

Foreshadowing: Dodie has already decided to leave town and avoid involvement, making her more willing to indirectly aid Goddard.

• phone police
• tip off
• dodie protects
• ambush
• raid

When Sister Augustine reveals Goddard's identity, he pleads with the gang not to kill her and starts a fight to buy time. Police arrive as the confrontation escalates into a shootout in the industrial district. All gang members are killed in the exchange, while Goddard and Augustine survive.

• shootout
• industrial district
• gang killed
• police
• al goddard survives