Vida Contra Vida

"Jeopardy" (MGM, 1953), directed by John Sturges, is not a movie about the behind-the-scenes look about the making of a popular TV game show, but a fast-paced suspense drama revamped from a radio play.

The story simply starts off with an all-American family, Helen Stilwin (Barbara Stanwyck), Doug, her husband, (Barry Sullivan), and their little boy, Bobby (Lee Aaker) of California taking a vacation by driving to Mexico. While there they park their car in a quiet but somewhat abandoned fishing village by the ocean where they decide to make their camp. Shortly afterwards, their adventurous son ventures on an old rotting pier, where he gets his foot caught. Father Doug goes out there and releases him by taking off his son's shoe. Moments later, Doug falls through the pier and ends up getting his own foot caught beneath a heavy pile on the beach at low tide. Unable to set his himself free, Helen leaves Bobby with his father to drive off and get help. Suspense builds after Helen picks up a stranger (Ralph Meeker) for assistance, only to soon learn that he is an escaped killer whose main interest is to elude from the police authorities. As she finds herself being held captive by this dangerous and heartless character with nothing to lose, the tide of water slowly builds that may soon be over Doug's head unless help comes.

What a neat thriller this is! Fast-paced and a real attention grabber that doesn't lose control of its audience. Stanwyck, as professional as always, starts off casually but changes into a fierce and desperate woman who becomes tormented after finding herself the victim of a desperate killer on the run, with her main interest is to get back to her husband in danger, and her little boy.

"Jeopardy," which is shown on Turner Classic Movies, is, according to host Robert Osborne, a movie based on a 22 minute radio play, "A Question of Time," extended to a tight 68 minute film. Not as well known as other thrillers of the day, especially those directed by Alfred Hitchcock, but this one is worth a look. Highly recommended for nail biters wanting to save money on manicures. (***)

Jeopardy (1953)

*** (out of 4)

John Sturges directed this intense thriller about a wife (Barbara Stanwyck) and husband (Barry Sullivan) who take their son on a vacation to Mexico so that they can go fishing but an accident happens and the husband gets his leg caught under a log. With the tide coming in, the wife has to try and get help before it's too late but she gets kidnapped by an escaped murderer (Ralph Meeker). This film seems to get mixed reviews and while it's not classic Sturges I still felt there was enough suspense packed in the 67-minute running time to make the film highly enjoyable. I've never found Stanwyck to be sexy so that takes away from some of her roles for me but she's terrific when playing it tough and that's the case here. She's really good in the tough role and Meeker is the perfect snake to go against her. Sullivan is also very good in his moments with his son played by Lee Aaker. There are a few flaws throughout the film and the ending is pretty weak but there's still plenty to enjoy here. The score by Dimitri Tiomkin also adds to the suspense.

"Jeopardy" is a fun, punchy noir that finds Barry Sullivan trapped underneath a collapsed pier while his wife, Barbara Stanwyck, goes off to get help before the tide comes in and drowns him. Because this movie must earn its noir credentials, she can't simply find help without some complications. No, first she has to run into escaped con Ralph Meeker, who takes her hostage and doesn't care much about her doomed hubby.

This movie is a lot of fun, with assured direction by John Sturges and a jaunty score by Dmitri Tiomkin that doesn't fit what's happening on screen most of the time but is still fun to listen to. Though Stanwyck and Sullivan are paired in this one, it's Stanwyck and Meeker who have all the chemistry. Good grief, the erotic undertones are off the charts in their scenes together. Meeker is just dripping with raw sexuality anyway, and nobody could smoke a cigarette more suggestively than Stanwyck. After all, she'd do anything to save her husband........anything.

Grade: A-

A family (Barry Sullivan, Barbara Stanwyck and Lee Aaker) vacationing in Baja California encounter a life and death situation when the father (Sullivan) becomes trapped under a collapsed beam that was holding up a portion of a dilapidated and dangerous pier on an isolated beach. The situation intensifies with the rising tide. Wife Barbara Stanwyck goes off in the car frantically searching for help and encounters fugitive from justice Ralph Meeker. A fast pace between the occurrences on the beach as Sullivan and son Aaker try to come to grips with what is becoming a deadly situation and Stanwyck's intensifying relationship with Meeker make this movie significantly better than average, especially Stanwyck's attempts to get Meeker to go to the beach and rescue Sullivan. Meeker is chased throughout the film by Mexican police. His character is more complex than it looks. Stanwyck and Meeker share tense scenes as the day darkens, the tide rises, and the police close in. Directed by John Sturges, scene for scene this is a tough movie made on a small budget.

Jeopardy has the feel of being a stock movie of sorts - one of the movies that the studios pumped out inbetween big budget/box office ones. It's a mere 70 minutes and doesn't feature many sets, and the only star is Barbara Stanwyck. But what a star, of course.

Stanwyck is a tough lady once again as she runs into an escaped convict while seeking help for her trapped husband in the Mexican desert. The majority of the movie is focused on how she deals with her captor, who wants her to submit to him in exchange for his help. Some psychological battling there.

It's a surprisingly effective little movie - its short length makes it taut, and that Stanwyck is great should go without mention (but I'll still praise her every time).