On Dangerous Ground (1952)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Nicholas Ray
(more)

Writers:

A.I. Bezzerides (screenplay)
A.I. Bezzerides (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 June 1952 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

In One Strange Night she met both LOVE ... and MURDER!

Plot:

Hard, withdrawn city cop Jim Wilson roughs up one too many suspects and is sent upstate to help investigate...

Plot Keywords:

Snow | Redemption | Car Accident | Blind Woman | Blindness

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 10

3:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Ida Lupino	...	Mary Malden
Robert Ryan	...	Jim Wilson
Ward Bond	...	Walter Brent
Charles Kemper	...	Pop Daly
Anthony Ross	...	Pete Santos
Ed Begley	...	Capt. Brawley
Ian Wolfe	...	Sheriff Carrey
Sumner Williams	...	Danny Malden
Gus Schilling	...	Lucky
Frank Ferguson	...	Willows
Cleo Moore	...	Myrna Bowers
Olive Carey	...	Mrs. Brent
Richard Irving	...	Bernie Tucker
Patricia Prest	...	Julie Brent (as Pat Prest)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Arnold	...	Man (uncredited)
Vince Barnett	...	George the Waiter (uncredited)
Leslie Bennett	...	Sgt. Wendell (uncredited)
A.I. Bezzerides	...	Gatos (uncredited)
Eddie Borden	...	Man (uncredited)
William Challee	...	Thug (uncredited)
Jimmy Conlin	...	Doc Hyman (uncredited)
Joe Devlin	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Homer Dickenson	...	Man (uncredited)
Don Dillaway	...	Man (uncredited)
Jim Drum	...	Stretcher bearer (uncredited)
Art Dupuis	...	Man (uncredited)
Budd Fine	...	Man (uncredited)
Dee Garner	...	Boy (uncredited)
Ronnie Garner	...	Boy (uncredited)
Tommy Gosser	...	Boy (uncredited)
Bill Hammond	...	Fred (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Man (uncredited)
Kate Drain Lawson	...	Woman (uncredited)
Ruth Lee	...	Helen (uncredited)
Al Murphy	...	Man (uncredited)
William J. O'Brien	...	Hotel clerk (uncredited)
Nestor Paiva	...	Bagganierri, the News Vendor (uncredited)
Eugene Persson	...	Boy (uncredited)
Stephen Roberts	...	Charlie (uncredited)
Tracey Roberts	...	Peggy Santos (uncredited)
Vera Stokes	...	Mother (uncredited)
Nita Talbot	...	Woman in bar (uncredited)
Joan Taylor	...	Hazel (uncredited)
Ken Terrell	...	Crook (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey	...	Man in Restaurant (uncredited)
Harry Joel Weiss	...	Boy (uncredited)
Esther Zeitlin	...	Woman (uncredited)

Directed by
Nicholas Ray
Ida Lupino		(uncredited)

Writing credits
A.I. Bezzerides		(screenplay)
A.I. Bezzerides		(adaptation) and
Nicholas Ray		(adaptation)
Gerald Butler		(novel "Mad with Much Heart")

Produced by
John Houseman	....	producer
Sid Rogell	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann
Paul Sawtell		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
George E. Diskant		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Roland Gross

Art Direction by
Ralph Berger
Albert S. D'Agostino

Set Decoration by
Harley Miller
Darrell Silvera

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist

Sound Department
Phil Brigandi	....	sound
Clem Portman	....	sound

Special Effects by
Harold E. Stine	....	special effects (as Harold Stine)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director
Virginia Majewski	....	musician: viola d'amour
Bernard Herrmann	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Silver Screen (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Dark Highway (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:A (1951) (cut) | USA:Approved (certificate #14508) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Grand Lake, Colorado, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

After being completed, the film was shelved for two years, which was not uncommon in RKO under the control of Howard Hughes. Upon Hughes insistence, 10 minutes was cut out of the film, and a scene which originally was just before the ending, the assassination of Myrna, was moved to the ending of the first part of the film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Jim Wilson delivers Tucker to the police station and then walks away, shadows of people are cast on him (among them, someone wearing a hat), although in the next shot the street is totally empty.

Quotes:

Jim Wilson: Serve drinks to juveniles, you get into trouble. How many times do I have to tell you that?
Bartender: Whatta ya want me to do...? Every dame comes in here, look at her teeth...?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Best of Film Noir (1999) (V)

Poignant study of loneliness ,pain and redemption is a neglected masterpiece

Ignored at the time of it's release and still criminally underrated, On Dangerous Ground is a masterpiece from director Nicholas Ray, and maybe his best film {yes, better than Rebel Without A Cause}, a powerful yet poignant study of loneliness, urban alienation and finally redemption. It's both tough and tender, both thrilling and thoughtful, both sad and uplifting. In fact, the film itself is comprised of two halves, and both are simply brilliantly handled.

The first half is classic hard boiled film noir. Set almost entirely at night, Robert Ryan's policeman patrols the streets, getting so sickened by the filth he deals with that he has become dehumanised. As he deals with the gangsters ,the tramps and the thieves, the film has an almost documentary style, but it's also an extremely powerful study of a man caught in limbo, perhaps not that many stages away from Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle.

By contrast, the second half takes place mainly in daylight and forgoes the forbidding city scapes for snowy countryside. Ray gives us two terrific outdoor chase sequences, but just as striking are the beautifully written and played scenes between Ryan and the blind Ida Lupino, this tentative almost-romance between two lonely souls being so incredibly poignant. The last reel is somewhat rushed, due partially to pre-release cutting, and maybe the happy ending is un realistic. However, the final embrace has a tremendous sense of release.

Ryan superbly portrays his character's sickness and gradual melting while the gorgeous Ida Lupino has never looked more vulnerable. Bernard Herrmann's score is one of his best ever, ranging from thrilling hunt music for the chase scenes to music of almost unbearable beauty for Lupino. The score alone is a work of art ,but so is this wonderfully compact {at around 80 mins!}and excellent film.