On Dangerous Ground (1951)

100% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
76% of users liked it
(1,008 ratings)

Robert Ryan plays Jim Wilson, a tough police detective embittered by years of dealing with low-life urban scum, in Nicholas Ray's moving film noir. After severely beating several suspects, Jim is assigned to a case far from the city to find the killer of a young girl. Joining the manhunt, in… More Robert Ryan plays Jim Wilson, a tough police detective embittered by years of dealing with low-life urban scum, in Nicholas Ray's moving film noir. After severely beating several suspects, Jim is assigned to a case far from the city to find the killer of a young girl. Joining the manhunt, in snow-covered terrain, Wilson finds himself paired with the victim's father, Walter Brent (Ward Bond), who plans to shoot the killer himself. When the two men come upon a cabin occupied by Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), a blind woman who is also the killer's sister, Wilson's life is changed forever. Mary, a generous and loving person who has cared for her mentally ill brother Danny (Sumner Williams) since the death of their parents, convinces Wilson to protect Danny from Brent. Wilson also promises to get help for Danny if he surrenders to him. Inspired by Mary's courage and recognizing Brent's rage as the mirror image of his own, Wilson gains the insight to free himself from his own blindness. The film includes a memorable score by Alfred Hitchcock favorite Bernard Herrmann. ~ Steve Press, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 22 min.
Directed By: Nicholas Ray, Ida Lupino
Written By: A.I. Bezzerides, Nicholas Ray
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1952 Wide
On DVD: Jul 18, 2006

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
One of the loveliest of Nick Ray's movies.
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Haunting mix of police story, romance and tale of regeneration.
Paul Brenner, Filmcritic.com
What succeeds in On Dangerous Ground is the raw emotionalism that bleeds out from the screen, unmatched in any of Ray's other films.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Nicholas Ray's classic noir starring Ryan and Lupino.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A realistic and often gripping crime yarn.
, Film4
Above par noir thriller that takes some stereotypical characters and potentially sentimental situations to fashion them into a film that thinks as well as entertains.
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
One of noir's most soulful and poetic expressions of hope and redemption.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
[One of] a string of masterworks from Ray.
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
Perched between late-'40s noir and mid-'50s crime drama, this is one of the great, forgotten works of the genre.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Nicholas Ray's existential melodrama is considered to be a flawed noir because of its upbeat ending, but it's one of the director's most lyrical tales and is extremely well acted by Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Overcomes its artificial contrivances to become a touching psychological drama about despair and loneliness.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

Atmospheric noir mood piece with excellent work by greats Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino with an evocative score by Bernard Hermann, reportedly his favorite of all his work.
Ken S

Really interesting Noir from Nicholas Ray. It's sort of the Dusk till Dawn of it's day. It's a picture of two distinct halves. The first a police film. The second a chase. It's easy to see why this film, with it's early use of hand held camera was an… More
Really interesting Noir from Nicholas Ray. It's sort of the Dusk till Dawn of it's day. It's a picture of two distinct halves. The first a police film. The second a chase. It's easy to see why this film, with it's early use of hand held camera was an inspiration for the French new wave. As Godard said "Nicholas Ray is cinema"
Michael G

A great psychological noir. Completely changes tone in the middle which almost makes watching this film like a double feature.

Cast

            Ida Lupino as Mary Malden

            Robert Ryan as Jim Wilson

            Ward Bond as Walter Brent

            Charles Kemper as Bill Daly

            Anthony Ross as Pete Santos

            Sumner Williams as Danny Malden

            Ed Begley Sr. as Capt. Brawley

            Ian Wolfe as Carrey

            Gus Schilling as Lucky

            Frank Ferguson as Willows

            Cleo Moore as Myrna

            Olive Carey as Mrs. Brent

            Richard Irving as Bernie

            Pat Prest as Julie

            Eddie Borden as Man

            William Challee as Thug

            Jimmy Conlin as Doc Hyman

            Joe Devlin as Bartender

            Donald Dillaway as Man

            Budd Fine as Man

            Kate Lawson as Woman

            Ruth Lee as Helen

            Al Murphy as Man

            Nestor Paiva as Bagganierri

            Gene Persson as Boy

            Steve Roberts as Man

            Tracey Roberts as Peggy Santos

            Nita Talbot as Woman in Bar

            Ken Terrell as Crook

            Esther Zeitlin as Woman

            Frank Arnold as Man

            A.I. Bezzerides as Gatos

            Jim Drum as Stretcher Bearer

            Art Dupuis as Man

            Bill Hammond as Fred

            Michael Lally as Man

            W.J. O'Brien as Hotel Clerk

            Vera Stokes as Mother

            Homer Dickenson as Man

            Joan Taylor as Hazel
See full cast