''On Dangerous Ground'' is a 1951

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

starring

Robert Ryan Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

and

Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...

, directed by

Nicholas Ray Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor best known for the 1955 film ''Rebel Without a Cause.'' He is appreciated for many narrative features pr ...

, and produced by John Houseman. The screenplay was written by A. I. Bezzerides based on the 1945 novel ''Mad with Much Heart,'' by

Gerald Butler His Honour Gerald Norman Butler, QC (15 September 1930 – 28 February 2010) was an English judge, who was the senior judge at Southwark Crown Court. He was born in Hackney, London. Family Butler was the son of Joshua Butler and Esthe ...

. Co-star Ida Lupino made her uncredited directorial debut shooting scenes when Nicholas Ray was unavailable.

Plot

Embittered inner-city police detective Jim Wilson is disgusted with his job and the night-crawling people it draws him into relentless contact with. Known for beating information out of suspects and witnesses alike, he is sharply warned to tone it down by his chief. Immediately ignoring him, Wilson is then relegated to an up-state case to cool off. He joins it mid-manhunt, pursuing the murderer of a young girl across sunny snow covered fields and patches of forest. The chase is led by an unhinged Walter Brent, the father of the victim, who is determined to exact deadly vengeance. Stuck together, Wilson and Brent get separated from the posse and track the suspect to a remote house. There they find Mary Malden, an attractive young woman, alone in the home. She relates she lives with her younger brother, Danny, who is somewhat "off". Slowly both men realize on their own that she is blind. Mary appeals to Wilson on behalf of Danny's mental illness. Taken by her earnestness and lack of self-pity, he agrees to protect the boy from Brent and arrest him peacefully. The two men end up spending the night in front of Mary's fireplace. At dawn Mary slips out of the house and goes to the storm cellar where Danny is hiding. She tells him that Wilson is a friend and will take him away to be helped. On her way back in, she and Wilson get into a confrontation and Danny flees the cellar. Wilson trails him to a secluded shack and calmly engages him in conversation. Danny rambles about not wanting to kill the girl while Wilson slowly advances and prepares to seize him. Before he can, Brent bursts in and the two men brutally struggle. Brent's gun fires during the tumult and Danny escapes. The men chase Danny up a rugged stone outcropping, where Danny loses his grip and falls to his death. Brent carries his body to the nearest home, remorseful upon discovering the teenage Danny's youth. Mary arrives, having heard the gunshot. She absolves Wilson of responsibility and they walk back to her house. Wilson indicates he would like to stay with her but she insists he leave. As Wilson drives back to the city he cannot get the events of the past day – and Mary – out of his mind. Recognizing she is what he needs, and she him, he returns. Reluctantly, Mary reaches out her hand. They embrace, and emotionally kiss.

Cast

as Mary Malden *

as Jim Wilson *

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Ber ...

as Walter Brent *

Charles Kemper Charles Kemper (September 6, 1900 – May 12, 1950) was an American character actor born in Oklahoma. The heavy-set actor was for decades a successful stage actor. Movie career Like many actors in New York, Kemper worked in short comedies fil ...

as Pop Daly *

Anthony Ross Anthony Ross (born Rosenthal, February 23, 1909 – October 26, 1955) was an American character actor whose career extended to Broadway stage, television and film. Born in New York City, Ross was the son of Charles M. Rosenthal and Cora S. Rose ...

as Pete Santos *

Ed Begley Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 – April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1962) an ...

as Capt. Brawley *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as ...

as Sheriff Carrey * Sumner Williams as Danny Malden *

Gus Schilling August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 – June 16, 1957) was an American film actor who started in burlesque comedy and usually played nervous comic roles, often unbilled. A friend of Orson Welles, he appeared in five of the director's films � ...

as Lucky *

Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1906 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was the younger of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottish ...

as Willows *

Cleo Moore Cleouna Moore (October 31, 1924Moore, Cleo 1924-1973
.

as Myrna Bowers *

Olive Carey Olive Carey (born Olive Fuller Golden; January 31, 1896 – March 13, 1988) was an American film and television actress, and the mother of actor Harry Carey Jr. Life and career Carey was born Olive Fuller Golden in New York City, the daughter o ...

as Mrs. Brent

Reception

Critical response

Robert Ryan-Gus Schilling On Dangerous Ground

Contemporary ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' film critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

was highly critical. He found the screenplay a failure that produced poor performances, writing, "the story is a shallow, uneven affair, as written by A. I. Bezzerides from Gerald Butler's ''Mad With Much Heart.'' The cause of the cop's sadism is only superficially explained, and certainly his happy redemption is easily and romantically achieved. And while a most galling performance of the farmer is given by Ward Bond, Ida Lupino is mawkishly stagey as the blind girl who melts the cop's heart. For all the sincere and shrewd direction and the striking outdoor photography, this R. K. O. melodrama fails to traverse its chosen ground." Modern critic Dennis Schwartz liked the film and acting in the drama and wrote in 2005, "Robert Ryan's fierce performance is superb, as he's able to convincingly assure us he has a real spiritual awakening; while Lupino's gentle character acts to humanize the crime fighter, who has walked on the "dangerous ground" of the city and has never realized before that there could be any other kind of turf until meeting someone as profound and tolerant as Mary." Fernando F. Croce, film critic for ''

Slant Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant d ...

'' magazine, admired the film and wrote in 2006, "Perched between late-'40s noir and mid-'50s crime drama, this is one of the great, forgotten works of the genre... Easily mushy, the material achieves a nearly transcendental beauty in the hands of Ray, a poet of anguished expression: The urban harshness of the city is contrasted with the austere snowy countryside for some of the most disconcertingly moving effects in all film noir. Despite the violence and the steady intensity, a remarkably pure film."

Music

The film score was composed by

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...

(1911–1975). His work is strongly evocative of his later, better-known score to

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's famed 1958 thriller

North by Northwest ''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to ...

. He also later reused a sequence that became the opening theme of the 1957 television series '' Have Gun Will Travel'', as well as other fragments of incidental music later adapted for use in the TV show. Herrmann wanted to use an obscure baroque instrument, the

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viol ...

, to symbolize Mary Malden's isolation and loneliness. The sound of the instrument can be heard much of the time she is on-screen.Roland Kato, Interview with Virginia Majewski, Newsletter of the Viola d'amore Society of America, Volume 19, Number 2, 1995.

References

External links

* * * * *
''On Dangerous Ground''
at DVD Beaver (includes images) * (Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan) {{Nicholas Ray 1951 films 1951 crime drama films American crime drama films American black-and-white films Film noir Films about blind people Films based on British novels Films based on crime novels Films directed by Nicholas Ray Films scored by Bernard Herrmann Films shot in Colorado American police detective films RKO Pictures films Films directed by Ida Lupino 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films about disability