''Where Danger Lives'' is a 1950

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

directed by

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

and starring

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

, Faith Domergue and

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Griffin (The Invisible Man), Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Ma ...

Plot

Dr. Jeff Cameron (Mitchum) treats a mentally disturbed attempted suicide victim (Domergue). She signs herself out of the hospital, but sends a telegram inviting him to meet her. To his surprise, he finds she lives in a mansion. He breaks a date with his nurse girlfriend, Julie (

Maureen O'Sullivan Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...

), because he is worried Margo may try to commit suicide again. The doctor falls in love with Margo and they begin seeing one another. Told she is flying to Nassau with her aged father the next day, a tipsy Jeff shows up unannounced and boldly tells Frederick Lannington (Rains) that he is in love with the man's daughter. Lannington informs him that Margo is his wife. A stunned Jeff leaves despite Margo's pleas. When he hears a scream, he returns and finds her holding an earring ripped from her ear. The naïve Jeff decides to get involved in the domestic dispute. Lannington beats Jeff with a fireplace poker. In the ensuing struggle, Lannington is knocked down and strikes his head on the floor and falls unconscious. Dazed, Jeff goes to the bathroom; when he returns, he finds the man dead. Jeff wants to call the police, but Margo insists they would believe it was murder. Capitalizing on the fact that Jeff's judgment is impaired by his injuries and naïvety, she persuades him to run away with her. They first try to use the airline tickets, but spot policemen at the ticket desk. They decide to drive to Mexico instead, taking the precaution of trading in Margo's convertible for a pickup truck provided by larcenous used car salesman "Honest Hal." Jeff diagnoses his continuing headaches and mental fog as a concussion, warning Margo that it will lead to first paralysis of the extremities, followed by a coma within 24 to 48 hours. In Postville, Arizona, they are taken to the sheriff, but only because Jeff is not wearing a beard for the town's "Wild West Whiskers Week." After Margo claims they are on their way to Mexico to get married, the police chief (

Charles Kemper Charles Kemper (September 6, 1900 – May 12, 1950) was an American character actor born in Oklahoma. The heavy-set actor was for decades a successful stage actor. Movie career Like many actors in New York, Kemper worked in short comedies fil ...

) tells them marriages are a Postville specialty and insists they get wed there. In their honeymoon suite, Margo hears a radio broadcast about them that discloses she had been undergoing psychiatric treatment. After the couple sneaks away, the police chief identifies Margo from a photo and alerts the border patrol. It is revealed that Lannington was smothered to death with a pillow. In a border town, the fugitives sell Margo's $9,000 bracelet to a pawnbroker for $1,000. Seeing they are anxious to avoid the police, he sends them to theatre owner Milo DeLong (

Philip Van Zandt Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958. Life and career ...

), who offers to smuggle them into Mexico for $1,000. As they wait, Jeff's left side becomes paralyzed. He realizes that Margo is mentally unstable and that she killed her husband; and decides not to go to Mexico. When he tries to stop Margo from leaving she knocks him down and then smothers him; however, he is only rendered unconscious. He drags himself downstairs and to the border crossing. When Margo sees him coming she pulls her pistol out of her purse and starts shooting at him. The police return fire, fatally wounding her. The police consider Jeff an accomplice to Lannington's murder, but before she dies she not only says she acted alone, but that Jeff "didn't even have sense enough to know." While in hospital recovering, Jeff asks his doctor, "Can I send flowers to San Francisco?" The doctor says, "I think so," steps out into the hall and sends Julie in to see him.

Cast

as Dr. Jeff Cameron * Faith Domergue as Margo Lannington *

as Frederick Lannington *

as Julie Dorn *

as Postville Police Chief *

Ralph Dumke Ralph Ernest Dumke (July 25, 1899 – January 4, 1964) was an American comedian and actor who had an active career from the early 1920s up until his death in 1964. He rose to fame as part of a comedy duo with Ed East, performing nationally in ...

as Klauber *

Billy House William H. Comstock (May 7, 1889 – September 23, 1961), known by his stage name Billy House, was an American vaudevillian, Broadway performer and feature film actor. After devoting most of his career to live performance, he moved to Hollywood ...

as Bogardus, the Postville justice of the peace * Harry Shannon as Dr. Maynard *

as Milo DeLong * Jack Kelly as Dr. James Mullenbach, a hospital associate of Jeff's *

Lillian West Lillian West (March 15, 1886 – April 23, 1970) was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1916 and 1958. She was born in New York, New York and died in Los Angeles, California. Partial filmography * ''Shad ...

as Mrs. Bogardus *

Ray Teal Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor.The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Teal's birth date as January 12, 1908. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the televis ...

as Sheriff Joe Borden

Reception

Contemporary critical response

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "Fogged a bit by several strong drinks and a couple of blows on the head, our hero does not obey his instinct but goes rushing off with the lady into the night. And thus begins a series of adventures on his flight to escape which leads him at last to realize that one should always inform the police. In this solemn demonstration, Mr. Mitchum does a fairly credible job as a man operating in a vacuum and beset by unfortunate circumstances. As the lady who gets him into trouble, Miss Domergue manifests nothing more than a comparatively sultry appearance and an ability to recite simple lines," adding that director Farrow "has previously done better—and he'd better do so again."

Modern critical response

Dave Kehr of the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...

'' wrote, "Director John Farrow nicely hits the nightmarish, hallucinatory qualities in this standard

plot: Mitchum spends the last half of the film barreling down the dirt roads of southern California with a brain concussion, passing out periodically and waking up surrounded by some of the bleakest scenery America has to offer." Film critic Dennis Schwartz liked the film, especially the work of Mitchum, and wrote, "Robert Mitchum is cast as a stable citizen, which goes against typecast...''Danger'' is beautifully photographed by Nick Musuraca in the dark B&W style of ''noir'' and is ably directed by John Farrow, who successfully caught the nightmarish visions. It is interesting mostly as a character study of a capable man blinded by lust, whose life is almost destroyed. Mitchum is the innocent man who is framed and doesn't realize he is innocent until it is almost too late, recovering in the nick of time because he has such a strong character and will to live. Mitchum's convincing portrayal of the innocent man on the run, is what makes this melodrama compelling...The movie plays like a ''noir cliché''. But Mitchum saves the day, realistically showing how a swell guy and such a competent doctor could be so vulnerable. Claude Rains as always is magnificent, in a small part but one where his every gesture seems to be constrained in a maniacal rage ready to burst open. His touch of madness is best exemplified by his mischievous smile while meeting his wife's lover." British film critic Neil Young wrote, "Though inexplicably little-known these days, ''Where Danger Lives'' is an absolutely cracking little film noir with an appealingly absurd screwball edge. The main credit for which presumably belongs not to director Farrow (father of Mia), but to veteran scriptwriter Charles Bennett - whose screenplays for Hitchcock included '' The 39 Steps'', '' Young and Innocent'' and ''

Foreign Correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locat ...

'', and later wrote Jacques Tourneur's '' Night of the Demon''."Young, Neil
Neil young's Film Lounge, film review, November 8, 2005. Last accessed: October 28, 2008.

References

External links

* * *

at DVD Beaver (includes images)

at DVD Savant (includes synopsis) * {{John Farrow 1950 films 1950s crime thriller films American black-and-white films Film noir Films scored by Roy Webb Films directed by John Farrow Films set in Arizona Films set in California 1950s psychological thriller films RKO Pictures films American psychological thriller films American crime thriller films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films