RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

brennanjp I was reading the reviews on here and generally agree with them regarding the story and acting, but it seems no one has seen this in 3-D. I did a few years ago, the only 3-D movie from the 50s that I've seen as intended. The 3-D makes all the difference. The plot is still nothing special, but from the RKO logo in 3-D with the letters popping out at you to the cable car scene at the end, it is at least visually memorable in 3-D. The scenery in Mexico is especially nice with the depth, and of course the cable car scene is another matter with the 3-D effects. This is well worth seeing if you ever get the chance to see it in 3-D, even with the annoying glasses. There was an intermission when I saw it to give your eyes a rest.

MartinHafer Robert Mitchum played in some wonderful noir-romances during the late 40s to about the mid-1950s. Films like "His Kind of Woman", "Out of the Past" and "Macao" heated up the screen and were terrific entertainment. "Second Chance" is in that same tradition, though it didn't deliver quite the same level of film. It wasn't quite as thrilling, the noir-like cinematography was gone and the romance seemed far less steamy or as believable. It's still watchable...but is a bit of a disappointment.The film is set in Mexico. Linda Darnell plays a woman who is being pursued by an assassin (Jack Palance). Into the middle of this arrives a boxer (Mitchum) who falls hard for her and won't let anyone, even a psychopathic killer, get in his way. It all ends with a very memorable scene aboard a cable car.My biggest problem with the film was not the pretty color cinematography. The problem was the romance. It never got particularly hot but what really bothered me is how fast it all occurred. There was no real buildup nor was there any sort of chemistry between them. Too bad the film wasn't slightly rewritten and didn't co-star Jane Russell--a 'broad' who was a great co-star with Mitchum.

dougdoepke The producers could have skipped the first hour, which is just filling time until the tram trip climax. And what a nail-biter that teetering-over-the-abyss is-- very well done in the special effects department. My only regret is the Palance-Mitchum face off, which should have been a bigger doozy than it is, considering it was for the broad-shoulders championship of Hollywood. Then too, both guys remain immaculately dressed the whole 90-minures—not what you'd expect of tough guys south of the border.The first part, unfortunately, is pretty listless, except when poor Doc Adams, oops!, I mean Milburn Stone gets it in the gut. Looks like the producers knew they were short on substance, so they filled the Technicolor screen with a bunch of local color. Still, there's a lot of rather aimless walking around to and fro. And, oh yes, I almost forgot Mitchum's big boxing match that looks like it was filmed in a bull ring. Good thing he finally decided to use his power-house right, otherwise there might have been no story. And what a topical plot device putting the lovely Darnell across the border to escape a crime commission. Audiences no doubt connected that with the Kefauver Commission, so much in the news at the time.On the acting front, Mitchum is his usual laid- back self, while, unfortunately, Darnell isn't given much to work with. At the same time, director Mate's non-use of close-ups denies Palance the skull-like menace that would otherwise fill in needed drama. Anyway, don't expect much until a climax that almost makes up for all that earlier dithering around.

manuel-pestalozzi These are the last spoken words in this movie, before it ends rather abruptly. They characterize the whole affair accurately. Second Chance is a beautiful movie, the locations in Mexico look superb and made me yearn for my next holiday, despite the faded colors. In the middle there is a long sequence of a typical fiesta with fireworks and a surprisingly lascivious and suggestive dance scene – just for the fun of it. The action moves on to a spectacular old suspension railway which I also found impressive and entertaining.Unfortunately the story development is not good. It looks like nobody could decide what kind of movie this should be. It starts out like a film noir, then becomes a dreamy romance before turning into a classic, full fledged disaster flick with a suspended cable car full of different characters (look how all passengers assemble on the rear platform without the whole thing keeling over as I expect it should). Every part is OK in itself, but the different pieces do not tie together well.Anybody who is interested in old movies, where locations, objects and events may or may not have symbolic significance will like this Technicolor movie made by RKO studios in its last stages of existence.