Where Danger Lives **** (1950, Robert Mitchum, Faith Domergue, Claude Rains, Maureen O’Sullivan) – Classic Movie Review 6,014

John Farrow’s enthralling 1950 RKO film noir crime thriller Where Danger Lives is probably the best film of producer Howard Hughes’s protégé Faith Domergue, sparking off electrically with star Robert Mitchum.

‘MITCHUM! ACTION!’ Director John Farrow’s 1950 exciting RKO film noir crime thriller Where Danger Lives is probably the best film of producer Howard Hughes’s protégé Faith Domergue, sparking off electrically with star Robert Mitchum.

Robert Mitchum is excellent as Dr Jeff Cameron, a dedicated young doctor, who dumps his nice nurse girlfriend Julie (Maureen O’Sullivan) when he becomes dangerously infatuated with sultry femme fatale Margo Lannington (Domergue), who is admitted to hospital, after tipping over into suicidal insanity.

Faith Domergue and Robert Mitchum.

[Spoiler alert] Jeff thinks the way out is to get Margo’s father Frederick Lannington (Claude Rains) to agree he can marry her, but Margo (Domergue) turns out to be married and Lannington (Rains) in fact turns out to be Margo (Domergue)’s husband. Jeff then becomes involved in the death of Margo’s husband in a confrontation and Jeff flees with her to the Mexican border to try to outrun the police. Once in Mexico they would be safe as there was no extradition treaty between Mexico and the US at the time.

The mean and moody acting of the impeccable stars, Nicholas Musuraca’s even moodier black and white cinematography, the grim film noir tone of Leo Rosten’s story, Charles Bennett’s tense and persuasive screenplay, and Farrow’s taut and tingling direction all add up to make this an enthralling, spellbinding, totally unusual lovers-on-the-run psychological thriller.

It co-stars Charles Kemper as the Postville Police Chief, Ralph Dumke as Klauber, Billy House as the Postville justice of the peace Bogardus, Harry Shannon as Dr Maynard, Philip Van Zandt as Milo DeLong, Jack Kelly as Jeff’s hospital associate Dr James Mullenbach, Lillian West as Mrs Bogardus and Ray Teal as Sheriff Joe Borden.

Also in the cast are Ruth Lewis, Julia Faye, Dorothy Abbott, Gaylord Pendelton, Art Dupuis, Stanley Andrews and Jack Kruschen.

Where Danger Lives is directed by John Farrow, runs 82 minutes, is made by RKO Radio Pictures and Westwood Productions, is released by RKO Radio Pictures, is written by Charles Bennett, based on Leo Rosten’s story, is shot in black and white by Nicholas Musuraca, is produced by Irving Cummings Jr, and is scored by Roy Webb.

It was released on 8 July 1950 (US).

John Farrow and his family at the time of this film in 1950.

Australian John Farrow had seven children by his wife Maureen O’Sullivan, including Mia Farrow.

Faith Domergue (June 16, 1925 – April 4, 1999) was discovered at the age of 16 by Howard Hughes, who signed her to a contract with RKO and cast her as the star in Vendetta, which began principal photography for in 1946, but was not released till 1950, so Where Danger Lives was released in the same year as Domergue’s Vendetta.

While recuperating from a near-fatal car accident in 1942, Domergue attended a party aboard Howard Hughes’ yacht. Falling for her, Hughes bought out her contract with Warner Bros and signed her to a three-picture deal with RKO. They enjoyed an intermittent personal relationship until she discovered that he was also seeing Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner, and they broke up in 1943.

Where Danger Lives is available on a Film Noir double-feature DVD with Tension (1949).

Charles Bennett’s screenplays for Alfred Hitchcock include The 39 Steps, Young and Innocent and Foreign Correspondent, and he later wrote Night of the Demon.

The writer Leo Rosten was born on 11 April 1908 in Lódz, Poland. He was known for All Through the Night (1942), Sleep, My Love (1948) and Lured (1947). He died on 19 February 1997 in New York City.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6,014

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