Dangerous Crossing (1953)

Touches You

People are voting emotionally.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It's good to find that Joseph M. Newman's tautly atmospheric noir, "Dangerous Crossing" (1953), has retained its cult status in 2017 (available on a 10/10 Fox DVD). However, there is another Newman noir that deserves a lot of attention even if it is little known, namely "The Luckiest Guy in the World" (1946) (available on Warner's 10/10 "Ziegfeld Follies" DVD). This final entry in M-G-M's famous "Crime Does Not Pay" series of two-reelers is a neat little package, appropriately lit in often somber hues by Charles Salerno and convincingly acted by Barry Nelson as the guy who has nothing, wins everything, but pays!

I could only award this film 4/10 as I found it very irritating on several counts, (despite unfettered praise from nearly all your other reviewers).Perhaps the screenwriter, Leo Townsend, should be blamed as he made the character of Ruth (Jeanne Crain) needy, neurotic, paranoid, melodramatic and rather wet.I brightened up when Dr Paul Manning (Michael Rennie) slapped her face to bring her to her senses at one stage.Also irritating was the stock footage of "The Queen Mary" posing as an American cruise liner, the producer should have picked a less recognisable vessel as it grated on me to hear American crew accents on a British liner! I disliked how Jeanne Crain's character kept drawing attention to herself and monopolising nearly all the time of the ship's doctor.When did Dr Paul Manning find time for his other patients?Jeanne Crain's character in this film continued to give women a bad name, being pathetic, standing on the sidelines while the "baddie" grappled with the "goodie" by the ship's rail at the denouement.The evil stewardess' character was insufficiently dramatised.Ruth obviously should have lived with her fiancée much longer to learn about his true character.As a previous reviewer stated "Marry in haste - Repent at leisure".The director/producer must also take a large part of the blame for this "B" picture.

Jeanne Crain has never looked lovelier in this classy looking suspense movie that will leave you in knots. Costarring Carl Betz, from The Donna Reed Show, as Jeanne's husband and Michael Rennie as the ship's doctor, it concerns newlyweds who go on a cruise for a honeymoon. But this movie wastes no time on pleasantries. Carl promptly disappears and Jeanne spends the whole movie consumed in finding her husband. No one will believe her when she insists she's not alone, because no one else remembers seeing him on board. A tour de force by Jeanne Crain, as she is practically going out of her mind with worry.(This was remade in the early 90s as a Lindsay Wagner TV-movie, which was called Treacherous Crossing.) Miss the original, and not only do you miss one good movie, but you miss seeing Jeanne Crain, one of the sweetest and most beautiful stars ever in films, who rightly held a place in not only GIs', but all mens' hearts and second only to Betty Grable in receiving the most fan mail.Jeanne Crain, you are not forgotten.

Although the story where a person seems to disappear without trace and no one believes he or she existed except their companion has been repeated often, I had high hopes for DANGEROUS CROSSING. But the movie was ultimately disappointing because of uninspired handling of a good plot. No one involved seemed to be very interested in what was going on and the sequence of events looked horribly contrived. Jeanne Crain's hysterical overacting gets on one's nerves 10 minutes into the film and never lets go. Dull direction and wooden performances by rest of the cast do not help much and even the normally reliable Michael Rennie looks like he wants to be somewhere else. Overall a forgettable little film.