A Life at Stake is a 1955 American film noir directed by Paul Guilfoyle and starring Angela Lansbury, Keith Andes and Claudia Barrett. It was an independent production, made and distributed outside the Hollywood studio system.

Plot: Los Angeles architect and builder Edward Shaw, facing hard times, is approached by Doris Hillman with a business proposal to buy land together. Doris will build and sell houses on the property, leveraging her experience as a former real estate broker. Her husband Gus, a wealthy businessman, will contribute $500,000 toward the venture.

Doris quickly seems interested in more than a purely professional relationship. Shaw starts an affair with her and accepts the business offer. However, an accidental discovery leaves him convinced that the Hillmans' interest lies less in the long-term profits of the venture than in the $175,000 key man insurance policy covering Shaw's life that he purchased as a precondition for the deal. He fears that an attempt on his life is imminent.

Credits:
Angela Lansbury as Doris Hillman
Keith Andes as Edward Shaw
Douglass Dumbrille as Gus Hillman
Claudia Barrett as Madge Neilan
Jane Darwell as Landlady
Gavin Gordon as Sam Pearson
Charles Maxwell as Lt. Hoff
William Henry as Myles Norman
Kathleen Mulqueen as Mary
Dan Sturkie as Officer Biff
Jeane Wood as Mabel, the maid
Robert Haver as Mechanic

Soundtrack:
"Summer Interlude" by Hank McCune and Les Baxter