On Dangerous Ground (1952)

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

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

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Hard, withdrawn city cop Jim Wilson roughs up one too many suspects and is sent upstate to help investigate...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

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:

A hand-held camera was used in many scenes to give a "live action" feel to those sequences. This was extremely rare in feature films of the time.

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:

Woman in bar: Hello Junior.
[with much leering]
Woman in bar: How's about buying me a drink?
[With continued leering, and now, tongue lolling]
Woman in bar: I'm all dry.
Jim Wilson: [Sternly] How old are you?
Woman in bar: [Continuing to leer] Old enough.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Rules of Film Noir (2009) (TV)

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.