Dangerous to Know

I had high expectations for Dangerous To Know (released 11 March 1938). With a screenplay co-written by Horace McCoy, based on an Edgar Wallace play, and directed by the usually reliable Robert Florey, I anticipated a real treat. Unfortunately, the writers have obviously built up the central role, here played by hammily over-accented Akim Tamiroff. Worse still, Florey has chosen to set this "B" movie up as a TV drama, persistently using a staggering number of close-ups to little effect. A close-up is even squandered on Hedda Hopper, would you believe? This procedure would be more tolerable if Ted Sparkuhl's photography shone with velvety noir lighting. Alas, Sparkuhl supplies little atmosphere and doesn't flatter the players at all. Villainous Akim Tamiroff doesn't look like a ruthless gangster so much as a comically dwarfish little man with an expensive but highly incompetent tailor, while the normally super-exotic Miss Wong appears as neither a sinuous nor beautiful siren, but is presented rather as if she were portraying a bland, moderately articulate, but disinterested dress-shop manageress in a second-class neighborhood. The only player to emerge with any real credit from this premature TV drama is Tamiroff's chief henchman, Anthony Quinn (whose part is fortunately much larger than his bottom-of-the-bill credit might indicate). Quinn at least bristles with a reasonable amount of charisma, but still manages the difficult feat of portraying a savvy lieutenant whom the script requires to be both cunningly useful yet on the dumb side of bright.

DANGEROUS TO KNOW (Paramount, 1938), directed by Robert Florey, stars Anna May Wong in another minor crime melodrama for the studio, following her initial program production of DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI (1937), by which she was the sole figure. For DANGEROUS TO KNOW, Wong heads the cast, but plays the secondary character to Akim Tamiroff, who's the main focus here. Wong is also supported by a fine assortment of Paramount contract players normally leading characters, namely Gail Patrick and Lloyd Nolan. Anthony Quinn, who appeared but had no scenes opposite Wong in DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI, would have a couple minor ones this time around. Based on the play, "On the Spot" by Edgar Wallace, by which Anna May Wong appeared and reprises her stage role for this screen adaptation.

The story opens with Nicholai Kusnoff (Anthony Quinn) "secretary" to the rich and powerful mobster, Stephen Recka (Akim Tamiroff), at City Hall visiting with Mayor Bradley (Porter Hall) where they both overhear a conversation in the next office between Councilman Murkil (Robert Brister) and Johnny Rance (Edward Pawley) plotting against Recka. He reports the news to Recka while hosting his birthday party at his luxurious apartment, with Madam Lan Ying (Anna May Wong) his Oriental mistress greeting the guests. Among party attendees are Senator Carson (Pierre Watkin), his wife, Emily (Hedda Hopper), and Margaret Van Kase (Gail Patrick), their friend and socialite, who crashed the party to meet the notorious Recka. Her dark beauty interests Recka, much to the dismay of the jealous Lan Ying, who secretly loves him. Rhapsodizing at his huge theater organ for relaxation, Recka intends to force his advances on Margaret, regardless of her engagement to Philip Easton (Harvey Stephens), an ex-football star now working as a bonds salesman. Because of his shady deals and eight unsolved murders, including the recent one of Johnny Rance, Victor Brandon (Lloyd Nolan), inspector of the bureau of detectives in the homicide department, assisted by Duncan (Roscoe Karns), knows he's responsible but needs enough evidence to put him under arrest. Brandon and Recka happen to be on friendly terms mainly because their birthday falls on the same day. To get Easton out of the way and gain Margaret as his wife, Recka arranges to have this young man abducted so the suspicion on the missing $218 in bonds will fall on him. What further plans Recka has will be dangerous to know. Co-starring Hugh Sothern (Harvey Greggson); Donald Brian (Judge Parker) and Harvey Clark (Mr. Barnett).

Aside from Anna May Wong assuming an almost similar name of Lan Ying Lin from DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI to just Lan Ying, the plot revolving Steve Recka is somewhat reminiscent to Peter Lorre's character from MAD LOVE (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1935), from his crazed obsession to a woman (Frances Drake) who does not love him, and organ playing. For DANGEROUS TO KNOW, it is now Tamiroff who is having his mad love and relaxes himself by rhapsodizing classical music on his huge theater organ. Recka shows his vicious qualities by having one of his victims plunging to his death from his 11th story window. Anna May Wong's jealous instincts outshines the Recka character by playing a record of Shirley Ross vocalizing "Thanks for the Memory" before doing something drastic.

Portions of DANGEROUS TO KNOW is leisurely paced but well conceived through much of its 70 minutes. Unseen on New York City television since 1972 where it was last broadcast on WPIX, Channel 11, DANGEROUS TO KNOW remains a forgotten curiosity that has never been distributed on video cassette nor shown on cable television. Availability on DVD can be purchased from a private collector of this and other long obscure programmers from the Paramount film library such as this. (**1/2)

This is an old movie so if you don't like old black and white gangster movies you obviously won't get much out of this, especially since it is pretty much forgotten and not one of the famous or even better known ones of that genre. It's about a racketeer who tries to manipulate things so he can marry a wealthy family's daughter. It's a decent story with nice acting and enough twists and turns to keep things moving and interesting.

For me, this not a real, genuine, authentic film noir. A noir drama, yes, involving gangsters yes, but not a rough, tough crime drama as Robert Florey and Louis King used us to in the late thirties and early forties, starring Anthony Quinn, Lloyd Nolan, J Caroll Naish and Akim Tamiroff. Fast paced gangsters yarns for Paramount Pictures or Warner Bros. This one is excellent, but it is a romance, well acted and not long at all. Akim Tamiroff is awesome in a predictable scheme and character, and Tony Quinn as the stupid goon too. This is not my favourite, among the batch of those B movies directed by Bob Florey and Louis King, but it is good, saving a terrific twist, ironic ending.

This is about as good as a one hour B movie can get. While coming from the series of Paramount's Anna May Wong vehicles made in the late 30s, it rises above the straight formula nature of the vast majority of B movies with strong acting, various aspects of the art direction, and a final scene that is genuinely suspenseful. As usual, Wong visually dominates her scenes. The directing and editing play on that to the hilt.

For those into the subtle art of references slipped into the background, symbolism, use of numbers, etc, there is a lot to look for and see in this movie.