ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1951)
Special Features: Oct. 22 screening features intro by film historian Foster Hirsch
Big-city cop Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan), embittered by his job, has become a ticking time bomb. Aware that Wilson's unhinged brutality is a lawsuit waiting to happen, his boss sends him to a snowy upstate town to cool off. There, Wilson meets Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), a sage, blind woman who sees through his cynicism and vitriol. But before she can melt his defenses, a young girl is found murdered, and Wilson throws himself into the vengeful manhunt for the killer. Ryan and Lupino give powerhouse performances in this unusually structured film, ingeniously and aggressively directed by Nicholas Ray (and an uncredited Lupino). Half of it takes place in the nocturnal city, the other half in blinding white snowscapes; notions of natural and human duality abound. It features brilliant cinematography by George E. Diskant and one of Bernard Herrmann's most distinctive scores, which plays up the film's themes through an astounding juxtaposition of propulsive brass and wistful strings. (Note courtesy of Noir City.) DIR/SCR Nicholas Ray; SCR A. I. Bezzerides, from the novel "Mad with Much Heart" by Gerald Butler; PROD John Houseman. U.S., 1951, b&w, 82 min. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 82 Minutes
Opening Date: Saturday, October 22, 2022
Genre: Crime drama
