On Dangerous Ground

[3.0
stars] [IMDb Link]

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I wanted to like this 1952 film noir much more, but alas…

Robert Ryan is Jim Wilson, a bitter and lonely cop in the gritty big city, who works out his bitter loneliness by beating the crap out of lowlifes who rub him the wrong way. His cop buddies and cop boss (hey, it's Ed Begley!) are relative paragons; although they like the results, they deplore the whole brutality thing. To cool him out a bit, he's sent "upstate" where it's cold and mountainous; he's assigned to assist local law enforcement in bringing a murderer to justice. The hunt leads him to the home of saintly, but seeing-impaired, Mary (hey, it's Ida Lupino!). Will her saintliness rub off on the rogue cop? Well, maybe.

The genetics of this movie are impeccable: directed by Nicholas Ray, a Bernard Herrmann score. The first part of the movie is impressively atmospheric as the cops go down some very mean streets. But the main character and his travails just didn't work for me, and—come on—the second part is pretty darn sappy, even by 1950's standards.


Last Modified 2024-01-31 5:32 AM EDT