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This Woman is Dangerous
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Warners. 97 minutes. US release: 2/28/52. Not available on VHS or DVD.
Cast: Joan Crawford (as "Beth Austin"), Dennis Morgan, David Brian, Richard Webb, Mari Aldon, Philip Carey, Ian MacDonald, Katherine Warren, George Chandler, William Challee, Sherry Jackson, Stuart Randall, Douglas Fowley.
Credits: Original story, "Stab of Pain," by Bernard Girard. Screenplay: Geoffrey Homes, George Worthing Yates. Producer: Robert Sisk. Director: Felix Feist. Camera: Ted McCord. Art Director: Leo K. Kuter. Music: David Buttolph. Wardrobe: Sheila O'Brien. Editor: James C. Moore.
Bosley Crowther in the New York Times (1952):
When trouble comes to Joan Crawford in her motion picture roles, it comes in great big agonizing hunks....The incredibly durable star, whose theatrical personality has now reached the ossified stage, appears as a woman criminal....There is only one possible explanation for such fictitious junk as this, which is willfully delivered in the name of dramatic fare. That is as pure contrivance for the display of Miss Crawford's stony charm. Those who admire the actress may be most tenderly moved by the evidence of the suffering she stolidly undergoes. And to these the arrant posturing of Miss Crawford may seem the quintessence of acting art. But for people of mild discrimination and even moderate reasonableness, the suffering of Miss Crawford will be generously matched by their own....
Otis Guernsey in the New York Herald Tribune (1952):
Joan Crawford runs through a series of problems concerning everything from the operating table to gangsterism in a long, windy, and tiresome story....A film of many pretenses but little conviction.
If you've seen This Woman Is Dangerous and would like to share your review here, please e-mail me. Feel free to include a star-review, with 5 stars the best, as well as any of your favorite lines from the film.
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John
Linville (May 2007)
I watched This Woman is Dangerous last night...and found it grandly entertaining, in an Ed Wood sort of way; before you scoff, let me clarify that the movie was certainly well made, with its share of gloss. However, the psychology of the filmmakers was akin to a twelve year old who gleefully takes his art very seriously. The result is an earnest yet often loopy film noir thriller, high on the giggle meter; nevertheless it reveals unexpected flashes of talent from its director, Felix Feist. Great tracking shots abound (he seems to have a fascination with cars) and Feist achieves an effective murky atmosphere as our troubled Joan escapes into a black world via her eye surgery (post-surgery, she sports some hilarious google-eyed glasses that make her resemble a wasp woman). That cigarette moment outside the women's prison is brilliant; the best thing in the picture. And, as in her other '50s films, Joan's male co-stars, no matter what age, just can't seem to resist that indefinable magnetism of La Crawford (who appears to be, and was, around 50), and constantly gush about her. The doctor who romances her appears to be about twenty years younger, and his coming on to her is one of several comic highlights. Not that it was bad; the script was intelligent, and my attention never flagged. Certainly not worthy of its infamous reputation, and more entertaining than some of the boring MGM fluff JC made in the '30s. I loved Joan's performance in this; her look and acting was very Sudden Fear. Despite her criminal past, one has compassion for her. David Brian was quite good as her paranoid, jealous boyfriend (one of many, we learn), and his murder of the private eye near the end isgenuinely jolting and chilling. TWID is great fun.
Danny Fortune (January 2007) The first time I saw This Woman Is Dangerous, I didn’t like it and dismissed it as a boring waste of time. But on second viewing, I didn’t think it was so bad, as long as you accept it for what it is: a cheap knock-off of Joan Crawford’s previous Warner Bros. melodramas of love and crime. Although it doesn’t have the punch of The Damned Don't Cry or the tawdriness of Flamingo Road, it does have a hard-boiled Joan who wears some nice clothes and gets to snarl dialog like, “Tell your adorable little brother to mind his manners before I slap his face!” The
storyline is not very believable and the director, Felix Feist, is no
Vincent Sherman or Michael Curtiz. But this time Joan plays a
gangster’s moll who is slowly going blind, then has a change of heart
when she is successfully treated by a handsome young doctor. Once again
Joan is teamed with David Brian as the tough-talking gangster. But this
time she falls for cutie-pie Dennis Morgan, who plays the sympathetic
eye surgeon.
Of course all this psychological hodge-podge is a metaphor symbolizing how Joan’s character’s vision was blurry when she led a life of crime, then cleared up when her vision was restored. This
was Crawford’s last film under her Warner Bros. contract. She
apparently had to take whatever junk they threw at her during this
time. Just like what happened in her last years at MGM. But to be fair,
this film has some good moments, like watching Joan go temporarily
blind and reform her life. And we get to see her bond with a precocious
little girl who’s not near as bratty as Veda OR Christina. But just
don’t have any high expectations.
However, it does have one of the best titles I’ve ever heard of: “THIS WOMAN IS DANGEROUS.” And she probably was.
Jon D. (November 2005) Forgotten Crawford Noir Here is a rare gem, which hasn't seen the light of day as a VHS or
DVD release to date. It has appeared on cable (AMC) very rarely, and
not for a few years, but precious recorded copies are available. When I
saw the film on TV about four years ago, the print was remarkably
excellent and free of age-related artifacts. The film has held up well,
but prints are scarce.
This Woman is Dangerous is worth seeking out for a number of
reasons. It was Joan Crawford's last film at Warner's, and she
absolutely loathed it. However, contrary to reviewers of the past and
Crawford's own opinion, the film is quite good. The plot concerns a
lady gangster Beth (Crawford) and her boyfriend (David Brian) who is
heading downward in a life of crime. As it happens, she is in need of a
special eye surgery to restore her sight (as it plays in the film, it
is very convincing and good--not contrived as many reviewers have
claimed).
She goes to Chicago to have the operation, and hide out from
the rather possessive Brian, and the doctor (Dennis Morgan) shows her
that there are other alternatives to a life of crime. They slowly fall
in love as she regains her sight, but she is presented with a problem
when Brian wants to re-enter her life and the doctor is confronted with
her true identity. Will he accept her and help her start over, or will
he reject her because of her past? You will have to watch the very
engrossing melodrama, This Woman is Dangerous, to find out.
Stylistically, the film most resembles Crawford's earlier
film, The Damned Don't Cry. Both films have similar themes and noir
photography. The score is also lovely. The film is a beautifully-made,
rather glossy WB noir. Joan Crawford looks very attractive throughout
the film, as she always did in the early '50s when her characteristic
look reached its peak (the shoulder pads, the ankle strap shoes, the
big mouth and eyes). Her performance is sensitive and
heartfelt--certainly one of her most memorable. David Brian's
performance is the weak link in the film, but Dennis Morgan is
excellent as the doctor.
This Woman is Dangerous is a solid film noir, undeserving of its "potboiler" reputation. |
