Dangerous Crossing
by Joseph M. Newman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carl Betz, Jeanne Crain, Mary Anderson, Max Showalter, Michael RennieDirector: Joseph M. Newman
Brand: Fox
Writer: John Dickson Carr
Writer: Leo Townsend
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 75 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-03-11
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Dangerous Crossing
Movie Review: CLASSIC FILM NOIR SAILS INTO CLASSIC-DOM
Summary: 5 Stars
Three new film noirs and a weepy double feature---what more could you want for a late winter's evening (or evenings) entertainment? Some of the noirs are weepy, and some of the weepies are noirs, so it gets a little confusing. The one genuine, dyed-in-the-wool noir is 1953's Dangerous Crossing, coming in at a taught 76 minutes. Jeanne Crain plans to spend her honeymoon on a luxury liner with new hubby Carl Betz; problem is, hubby disappears within minutes of boarding, and all the signs point to him never existing. Kindly ship's doctor Michael Rennie straightens it all out, with a goodly number of thrills along the way. Black Widow is less successful a noir, despite the starry cast of Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney and George Raft. Set in the celebrity driven world of the New York theatre circa 1954,
an ambitious young author uses her wiles to get ahead to little avail, as someone offs her halfway through the film, it's a whodunit that degenerates into a who cares. The main characters aren't drawn sharply enough, and the plot seems oddly discombobulated. With the exception of Heflin, the stars are somewhat past their prime and seem, unfortunately, a bit seedy However, Daisy Kenyon is the pick of the litter, despite it being squarely a Joan Crawford weepy rather than a noir. A love triangle with Crawford, Dana Andrews and Henry Fonda deftly directed by Otto Preminger, one in a long line of her female leads making her way with pluck and honor in a man's world. It's black and white, it rains a lot, and there are some great atmospheric shots, but a film noir it ain't. There are also vintage scenes of mid-century Provincetown, and former Cape resident Ruth Warrick plays Andrew's beleaguered wife; despite Preminger's earlier great noirs such as Laura and Whirlpool, this really is a weepy.
The weepy double feature from Universal consists of Portrait in Black and Madame X, both starring Lana Turner and produced by that sultan of excess, Ross Hunter. Hunter's reality had little relationship to anyone else's; his was a world of the rich or near rich, beautiful or near beautiful, with lots of jewels and Jean Louis gowns, where there were no small emotions, only large, operatic, over-the-top scenes. Portrait in Black is a noir, albeit a noir in blazing color that his nothing to do with the low, cheap detective thrillers we all know and love. Turner and Anthony Quinn kill off her ailing husband Lloyd Nolan, and somebody knows their dirty little secret. Is it bubbly Sandra Dee, pert John Saxon, crusty Ray Walston or the ever mysterious Anna May Wong? And, as weepy par excellance, little can be said about Madame X, other than a profound and astonished, "wow!" Turner, as the poor but honest wife of super rich John Forsythe, is blackmailed by her evil mother-in-law, Constance Bennett, into leaving him and their baby, who, as he grows up to be Keir Dullea, might not be such a bad idea on the face of it. Later, Lana's accused of murder and her lawyer is---you guessed it---Dullea, who has no idea that he's defending his mom. You know, they simply are not making films like this any more. We may all be better off.
Summary of Dangerous Crossing
DANGEROUS CROSSING - DVD MovieA relaxing cruise turns into a terrifying journey in Joseph M. Newman's Dangerous Crossing. Part of the Fox Film Noir series, Newman's classy B-movie plays more like a psychological thriller with some particularly atmospheric visuals (heavy on the studio-generated fog). As her honeymoon begins, newlywed Ruth Bowman (Jeanne Craine, Pinky) explores the ship while husband John (Carl Betz, The Donna Reed Show) runs an errand. On deck, a friendly divorcée warns Ruth, "You mustn't let him out of your sight--husbands can get lost so easily." (The familiar-looking sets were recycled from 1953's Titanic and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.) Hours later, John hasn't returned, and no one has seen him. Ruth?s inquiries uncover an empty room, a missing passport, and her spouse?s absence from the passenger list. All signs point to delusion. Ruth's plight brings her to the attention of Dr. Paul Manning (the elegant Michael Rennie, The Day the Earth Stood Still), who offers to help in any way he can. Though Ruth confesses to a brief bout with depression, there?s nothing else in her background to indicate instability, but that disclosure leads Manning to the real cause of her distress. Based on John Dickson Carr's 1943 radio play Cabin B-13 and shot in 19 days, Newman (This Island Earth) conjures up as much intrigue as Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes. The excellent extras include comprehensive commentary from Fox historian Aubrey Solomon, a short featurette (Peril at Sea: Charting a Dangerous Crossing), several stills galleries, and the original theatrical trailer. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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