''Highly Dangerous'' is a 1950 British
spy film
The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...
starring
Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, Order of the British Empire, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes (1938 ...
. The screenplay was written by
Eric Ambler
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 22 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for book ...
.
It was released in the US by
Lippert Pictures Lippert Pictures was an American film production and distribution company controlled by Robert L. Lippert.
History
Robert L. Lippert (1909-1976) was a successful exhibitor, owning a chain of movie theaters in California and Oregon. He was frustrate ...
as ''Time Running Out''.
Plot
Frances Gray is as a British
entomologist trying to stop a biological attack with the help of an American journalist.
Cast
Production
Margaret Lockwood had not made a film in 18 months following ''
Madness of the Heart
''Madness of the Heart'' is a 1949 British drama film directed by Charles Bennett and starring Margaret Lockwood, Paul Dupuis and Kathleen Byron.
Plot summary
Lydia Garth meets Paul de Vandiere, a French nobleman, but their romance is plagued ...
'', and had been focusing on stage work.
Earl St John wanted a comeback vehicle and commissioned
Eric Ambler
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 22 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for book ...
to write a film specifically as a vehicle for Lockwood. Ambler had recently specialised in melodramas, but ''Highly Dangerous'' was a comedy thriller in the vein of Lockwood's earlier hits, ''
The Lady Vanishes
''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel ''The Wheel Spins'' by Ethel L ...
'' and ''
Night Train to Munich
''Night Train to Munich'' is a 1940 British-American thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1939 short story ''Report on a Fugitive'' by Go ...
''. It was directed by Roy Ward Baker, who had served with Ambler during the war.
"One thing about Eric is that he presents you with a script that is beautifully finished in every detail", said Baker.
"I think Margaret Lockwood wanted to play a modern woman", recalled Baker. "It was actually Eric Ambler's first or second book, although the book had a different title and its main character was a man; Eric changed it to a woman to make it more interesting."
The film-makers wanted a Hollywood leading man to play opposite Lockwood.
Wendell Corey
Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild.
Biography Early years
Corey was ...
was originally sought before the role was given to Dane Clark, who had recently left Warner Bros.
Filming started at
Pinewood Studios in June 1950.
Reception
Baker later said that "''Highly Dangerous'' wasn't a very successful picture.... It was a good idea although I don't think I did it very well."
[McFarlane p 49-50]
''Filmink'' said "it should have been ''Lady Vanishes''-like but the film never gets its tone right. It starts off straight then goes a bit wacky and is just not fun – it lacks comic relief, and Lockwood seems old and tired."
References
*McFarlane, Brian, ''An Autobiography of British Cinema'', 1997
External links
*
''Highly Dangerous''at
TCMDB
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...
''Highly Dangerous''at Britmovie
*
Film4 reviewReview of filmat Variety
{{Roy Ward Baker
1950 films
British spy films
Cold War spy films
British black-and-white films
Films shot at Pinewood Studios
Films directed by Roy Ward Baker
1950s action films
Films scored by Richard Addinsell
Lippert Pictures films
1950s spy films
1950s English-language films
1950s British films