On Dangerous Ground
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| On Dangerous Ground | |
|---|---|
 On Dangerous Ground movie poster |
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| Directed by | Nicholas Ray |
| Produced by | John Houseman |
| Written by | A. I. Bezzerides (adaptation and screenplay) Nicholas Ray (novel) Gerald Butler (novel) |
| Starring | Ida Lupino Robert Ryan Ward Bond |
| Music by | Bernard Herrmann Paul Sawtell (uncredited) |
| Cinematography | George E. Diskant |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures Inc. |
| Release date(s) | January 26, 1952 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 82 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
On Dangerous Ground is a 1952 film released by RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Nicholas Ray and produced by John Houseman. The screenplay was written by A. I. Bezzerides based on the novel Mad with Much Heart, by Gerald Butler. The film's score was composed by Bernard Herrmann. On Dangerous Ground, now labeled a film noir, is a psychologically complex drama generally considered to be one of director Nicholas Ray's best works.
Some have observed On Dangerous Ground's influence on Psycho, the renowned film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, in particular, the characterization of the shy young psychopath living in isolation from "normal" society. There is also a notable resemblance in setting and plot to the Norwegian movie Insomnia (later remade in a version directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Al Pacino): each film involves a burnt-out city cop dispatched to an icy wasteland to investigate the murder of a young girl and finding redemption. Online claims that the city in which the movie begins is New York are obviously mistaken. The city is deliberately never named in the film. Furthermore, the second act of the movie—set, we are informed, "seventy miles" north of the city—clearly takes place amid the snow-capped peaks of either the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada. (These scenes were in fact shot in Colorado.)
[edit] Plot
The film opens with Herrmann's music, played over the both the RKO logo and then the title credits as the camera cruises down a dark city street. The stark nighttime scenery immediately establishes a noir atmosphere. The intense, almost sadistic music symbolizes the psychological malaise of Robert Ryan's character, police officer Jim Wilson, hardened by his job and cracking up in the process. Ryan's edgy performance dominates the first part of the story, creating a sense of tension and pent-up emotion. By the end of this first act, his character has lost control. "What kind of job is this, anyway?" Wilson cries after he's restrained by his partner from beating up a thug. "Garbage, that's all we handle, garbage!"
In the second act, Wilson is sent up north to cool out. "Siberia," he wryly notes. Though he is given a job similar to what he has left behind in the city—a murder investigation—Wilson's exile to the wintry countryside marks the beginning of his journey of redemption. Following a pursuit of the killer, Wilson is brought together with a blind woman, Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), the sister of the fugitive. In the brief final act, Wilson's redemption is a foregone conclusion, but it is his journey toward it that matters most: Wilson has made his way on dangerous ground.
[edit] Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Ida Lupino | Mary Malden |
| Robert Ryan | Jim Wilson |
| Ward Bond | Walter Brent |
| Charles Kemper | Pop Daly |
| Anthony Ross | Pete Santos |
| Ed Begley | Capt. Brawley |
