Dangerous Crossing (Fox Film Noir)

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Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 03/11/2008 Run time: 75 minutes Rating: Nr

Amazon.com
A 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 divorcee 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

Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Fine Fare from Fox Film Noir! January 11, 2008
30 out of 36 found this review helpful

This highly suspenseful film featuring the exquisitely beautiful Jeanne Crain finally makes it to DVD. Also starring Michael Rennie, Carl Betz (Donna Reed show) and a host of recognizable character actors provide us with a more than convincing edge of your seat thriller. This short (75 minutes long) film is packed with Hitchcockian touches making for a fine addition to any one's Mystery/Suspense collection!

UPDATE 03.18.08

This release is beautifully restored with excellent gray-scale resolution.
Bonus features abound including:
*Audio Commentary by Film Historian Aubrey Soloman
*Peril at Sea: Charting A Dangerous Crossing (Featurette)
*Interactive Passbook - Still Galleries
*Original Theatrical Trailer

3 out of 5 stars

Take a Cruise with Jeanne Crain March 20, 2008
16 out of 22 found this review helpful

This is a fun little film that keeps building in suspense until the final payoff. The cast is competent and attractive and the production is pretty much first-rate. The mini feature about the making of Dangerous Crossing is interesting, as it explains how movie production in the old studio days was incredibly fast. To think this movie was filmed in 19 days, with the polished look of an A-picture, even though it was filmed with a B-picture budget. Sets from Gentleman Prefer Blondes and Titanic were reused making the film seem more prestigious than it really was. An important film for Jeanne Crain (who looks beautiful) fans, Dangerous Crossing won't disappoint.

4 out of 5 stars

Gotcha! Dangerous Underestimation (recommended) April 13, 2008
14 out of 19 found this review helpful

A ship crossing mystery is not a new plot so I didn't expect much. Quickly enveloped by a paranoia of everyone, I was mislead to believe my advice shouted to the beautiful heroine, Ruth Stanton Bowman (Jeanne Crain), was correct. Needless to say the plot of a husband that carries his bride across a stateroom threshold and into emotional terror was absorbing - drawing the viewer onboard the vessel as an unworthy confidant. With Hitchockian style, the seemingly predictable nature of the film was just the opposite, even though significant clues were clearly presented from the very beginning.

Jeanne Crain is an accomplished actress, having starred in PINKY (1949), A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1949), and LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945). Her talent comes to life when considering that filming of this thriller was completed in just 19 days (as noted on the excellent DVD extra "Peril at Sea: Charting a Dangerous Crossing"). Bon voyage for surprised boarders of DANGEROUS CROSSING - a precursor to the similarly themed movie FLIGHTPLAN. Bravo!

Movie quote: "I do think you're confused Mrs. Bowman. This is your cabin. B16 has not been occupied."

3 out of 5 stars

A Solid Entry in the Fox Film Noir Series March 16, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

As I write this review, there have been two reviews of this film posted here, each of which gave it five stars. I enjoyed the movie, but I have to say that five stars is a little over-exuberant for this particular movie. I would reserve that sort of rating for a Casablanca, The Lady Vanishes, Duck Soup, and quite a few others, but I don't think those who made this movie intended it to be an undying work of cinema art, and so I'm giving it three stars, recognizing it as a solid, workmanlike product churned out by the studio system in (as the special features on the DVD point out several times), just nineteen days of shooting.

Let me be a little more specific. I'm going to limit what I say to a certain extent, because this is a film based on a story by John Dickson Carr, the master of "locked room" mysteries, and a large part of the film's dramatic energy stems from the fact that the story starts out with one of those seemingly impossible situations -- the young, starry-eyed bride boards the ocean liner with her wonderful new husband, only to have him disappear within minutes after boarding, and to have no one else on board the ship acknowledge that he ever existed. (Similar in some ways to The Lady Vanishes, mentioned above as a five-star effort of this sort by Mr. Hitchcock.)

Anyway, I am honor-bound not to write any spoilers, and I won't. What I will say is that the film is very well made. The special features point out that this movie used sets left over from the "Titanic" film of that era, so the quality of the shipboard scenes is quite good from a technical point of view. The acting and direction are fine, and the movie is very short and to the point. There is a good air of mystery, and we, the viewers, are left wondering what on earth (sea, I should say) is going on until a "reveal" moment by a villain about halfway through. (I hope that wasn't a spoiler, but, yes, there is at least one villain; it wasn't all just a big mistake.)

My main criticism isn't really anything negative -- the movie is well done for what it is. What it is, in my opinion, is a good example of the films cranked out like sausages back in the days before television caught on. I'm a bit too young to remember, but I believe the movies changed at least once per week in those days, and there often were double features. This would not have been a bill-topper. It strikes me as a woman-oriented melodrama, with a plot and style bearing hallmarks of the mass-produced romance novel -- young woman in grave jeopardy on board a ship; no one is listening to her, except a tall, dark, and handsome doctor (Michael Rennie), who is attentive, suave, and warm. There is not much in the way of subtlety or complexity in the film. There is an effective build-up of suspense, and some fairly standard "shocks" from bumping into things or hearing strange noises, or doors creaking, but nothing that really resonates as having great artistic merit.

Also, although I'm not at liberty to discuss them with those of you who haven't yet seen the film, I saw what I believe to be fairly obvious holes in the plot. A story like this by definition has to be somewhat contrived, in order to set up the seemingly impossible situation, but, once the solution was revealed, I had to ask myself how that solution would have been possible, practically speaking. In other words, how could the villain(s) have pulled that off, realistically. The movie does not do a great job of explaining the solution in any detail.

But, I have no regrets at having bought and watched the DVD. The movie is very nicely transferred to DVD; both audio and video are fine, and the featurette on the making of the film, with Jeanne Crain's grand-daughter and others, was quite informative. The movie is a good, entertaining diversion for a rainy afternoon, but it rates no more than a solid three stars.

4 out of 5 stars

A taut, twisty thriller July 24, 2008
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

Here's a perfect example of what the studio system could do with a B-movie. Shot in a mere 19 days, utilizing previously built sets, made on a modest budget, this mystery at sea delivers the goods in far more than just workmanlike fashion.

Newlywed Ruth Bowman (the lovely Jeanne Crain) & her handsome new husband (a young Carl Betz) board ship for a honeymoon cruise after a whirlwind courtship & wedding. It's all too wonderful for Ruth ... until her husband disappears, and there's no evidence of him ever having boarded the ship. In fact, there's considerable doubt as to whether he ever existed at all!

Enter the handsome & caring ship's doctor (an elegant Michael Rennie), the only one on board who seems genuinely sympathetic to her plight. Of course, by this time Ruth's nerves are so rattled that she doesn't quite trust him ... but who else is there to trust? And then there's the matter of those mysterious phone calls --

I won't give away any more. This is a solid thriller, with not a wasted moment, swimming with atmosphere & enough red herrings to keep you guessing (wrongly) until the very end. This might have been just a B-movie, but the filmmakers & cast gave it their all -- and it shows. So settle down with a big bowl of popcorn & enjoy this old-fashioned treat!

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