Tuesday, February 19, 2019

DANGEROUS CROSSING 1953 (FOX)

Another wonderful film noir, this one starring the gorgeous Jeanne Crain.

Crain stars as an heiress named Ruth Stanton Bowman who arrives on a ship with her new husband John Bowman (Carl Betz).

No sooner than they board the ship John disappears and Ruth is frantic. As she enlists the help of members of the crew she learns that his name is not on the passenger list and all of his luggage has disappeared. Not to mention that the cabin number they checked into has changed.

Everyone begins to think that Ruth is crazy. The ships kindly doctor, Paul Manning (Michael Rennie) takes her under his care and tries to help her, but even he thinks she is losing her mind.

However, Ruth gets a phone call from John and soon spots him a couple of times. He tells her they are both in great danger but that is all he says. Ruth starts to doubt her own sanity until the climactic fight between Manning and the "missing" John Bowman results in Bowman's death.

This is a film noir gem shot in 19 days for $500,000, and directed by Joseph Newman who handles the material very, very well. This isn't a wasted moment in this tight film that just keeps building on the suspense and terror of a young woman.

Crain and Rennie work very well together and the supporting cast which includes Casey Adams, Mary Anderson, Marjorie Hoshelle, Yvonne Peattie and Willis Bouchey are just as good.

Extras on the disc include the trailer and a documentary on the making of this fine film. This one is a keeper.

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