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Hard, withdrawn city cop Jim Wilson roughs up one too many suspects and is sent upstate to help investigate...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

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

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Ida Lupino directed the film for several days when Nicholas Ray fell ill.

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:

Mary Malden: Tell me, how is it to be a cop?
Jim Wilson: You get so you don't trust anybody.
Mary Malden: [who is blind] You're lucky. You don't have to trust anyone. I do. I have to trust everybody.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Act of Violence: Dealing with the Devil (2007) (V)

Minor masterpiece film noir/film blanc

I consider this short, unpretentious film to be a minor masterpiece. The movement from the familiar cityscape of the film noir to the white of the snowy countryside, from the damned, despairing world of the detective to the redeemed world of love offered by the heroine is captured in minimalist dialog and with outstanding cinematography. That one kiss at the end is worth a thousand sex scenes.