I was just a little bit disappointed with Nick Ray's "On Dangerous Ground", especially after witnessing the tense and visually exciting build-up where "cop" Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan) stalks the night streets of New York, only a thin line separating him from the criminals he beats into submission. For me, the movie starts to head downhill as soon as he leaves town. I couldn't understand how the rural folk got word to the city that a murder had taken place, then Wilson drives what seems like a considerable distance to get to their location, and the murderer is still hanging out in the same field where the crime took place. And I never became as interested in Wilson's relationship with the blind home-maker Mary Malden (Ida Lupino) as the director Ray clearly wanted me to.
I guess the most interesting thing about the film is the way the structure divides the story into two clean parts, urban and rural. I never felt that the two were integrated fully enough to make the conclusion work though. Certainly Wilson can see a bit of himself in the vengeful Walter Brent (Ward Bond) who wants to kill the murderer (Sumner Williams, hopelessly out of his league in the role) on sight. But why he would develop such sympathy for Mary and her mentally ill brother never made sense to me, and I didn't feel any spark of romance between Mary and Jim either. Lupino was a very good actress and Ray works very well with actors but she did not seem real to me; she was far too wholesome to be a real person. The film attempts to contrast the cynical attitude that Wilson has developed because of his exposure to the urban criminal element to Mary's virtue and idealism, but we can only believe the film's conclusions if we accept the existence of a person like Mary who is utterly devoid of bitterness. Some of the stuff is just bizarre and makes no sense to me, like the way they tried to make out that she had become blind because of the sacrifices she made for her brother. It seemed like something out of a ridiculous 19th Century romance novel.
I wouldn't completely disparage this film. Bernard Herrman's score is a masterwork, equal to his best. Ray's direction of the fight in the alley early in the film is worth the price of admission alone. I noted how he swiveled the camera around in a dramatic arc when Wilson slugged that guy -- a technique he used in one of my favorite shots in "Johnny Guitar", when Ward Bond throws the bottle against the wall. Ryan and Bond's performances are remarkable in many ways. But for me the film hinged on my acceptance of the Lupino character who I felt was portrayed in an overly sentimental way for the film to carry the weight of its own convictions.
I guess the most interesting thing about the film is the way the structure divides the story into two clean parts, urban and rural. I never felt that the two were integrated fully enough to make the conclusion work though. Certainly Wilson can see a bit of himself in the vengeful Walter Brent (Ward Bond) who wants to kill the murderer (Sumner Williams, hopelessly out of his league in the role) on sight. But why he would develop such sympathy for Mary and her mentally ill brother never made sense to me, and I didn't feel any spark of romance between Mary and Jim either. Lupino was a very good actress and Ray works very well with actors but she did not seem real to me; she was far too wholesome to be a real person. The film attempts to contrast the cynical attitude that Wilson has developed because of his exposure to the urban criminal element to Mary's virtue and idealism, but we can only believe the film's conclusions if we accept the existence of a person like Mary who is utterly devoid of bitterness. Some of the stuff is just bizarre and makes no sense to me, like the way they tried to make out that she had become blind because of the sacrifices she made for her brother. It seemed like something out of a ridiculous 19th Century romance novel.
I wouldn't completely disparage this film. Bernard Herrman's score is a masterwork, equal to his best. Ray's direction of the fight in the alley early in the film is worth the price of admission alone. I noted how he swiveled the camera around in a dramatic arc when Wilson slugged that guy -- a technique he used in one of my favorite shots in "Johnny Guitar", when Ward Bond throws the bottle against the wall. Ryan and Bond's performances are remarkable in many ways. But for me the film hinged on my acceptance of the Lupino character who I felt was portrayed in an overly sentimental way for the film to carry the weight of its own convictions.