Missão Perigosa

Oh Gawd...... RKO in the Howard Hughes years.... terrible films with good production values.... and in 3D comes DANGEROUS MISSION.... what a terrible title... it is like calling a film SOMETHING HAPPENED. Of course it is a dangerous mission.. what would be the point of it otherwise.....In this hybrid noir and faux-Republic western, we get some terrific location forest and glacier footage mixed with shoddy studio shots, half the film is re created indoors on sound stages almost as if to give the studio staff and crew something to do. The whole film could easily have been filmed on location, but for almost this 'keep 'em busy at Gower St' reason insert shots and close ups and odd shots get a studio level makeover.. and this includes a 3D forest fire (!) a 3D whiplash loose electrical cable, a 3D avalanche.. all of which believe it or not have nothing to do with the story. If you see the trailer on the "3D trailers DVD" available in discount shops, there is a hilarious gangland assassination of some piano player in reel one (he keeps tinkling on the treble keys as he slides off the stool) some gal sees it and some guys follow her to her holiday hideout in the mountains. The second unit alpine reality is gorgeous and the Indian theme inspires 50s sets and clothes are kitsch.. and the interaction and jumbled scenes often do not make sense... in fact it is downright startling that some scenes have nothing to do with the next. One scene in the lobby early in the film has Vincent Price and Victor Mature chatting up the two female characters in the film. cut to: entry at a chalet square dance where Mature arrives with one of them... no asking her out in the last scene... just 'here they are here now:... then the roof falls in courtesy of producer Irwin Allen. The glacial scenes in the last reel make no sense as they swing between the same actors in shopping clothes in icy terrain and them them on a cardboard set shooting each other. It is just a mess...BUT and here I have to admit, it is all so entertaining. Almost no story, subplots dismissed (the Indian Dad), pointless running about and apparently witty macho banter between the guys. Some noir twists and BANG it's all over in a 3D avalanche too. What a mess. How enjoyable!

Dangerous Mission has some great strengths and some very noticeable shortcomings.

Originally filmed and released in 3-D, to keep up with the 3-D craze in the early 50s, Dangerous Mission had some great strengths: Irwin Allen's hand as Producer, a great cast, plot twists, a rousing music score, gorgeous location Technicolor photography.

The serious flaws are the disjointed story line: episodes that have virtually nothing to do with the plot: landslide during a party, forest fire, Indian ceremony and stupid subplot of an indian falsely accused of murder. Add some silly dubbed dialogue during noisy scenes and the usually great William Bendix given some incredibly stupid lines.

All in all, great fun despite typical 1950s stereotypes--especially to see Victor Mature as a moody tough guy, Vincent Price as a somewhat effeminate photographer, and the gorgeous Piper Laurie.

In the 1970s Hollywood brought the world a spate of disaster pictures including EARTHQUAKE, TOWERING INFERNO, ROLLERCOASTER, AVALANCHE, METEOR, CASSANDRA CROSSING, etc. That said, by 1954 two films (DANGEROUS MISSION and NAKED JUNGLE) came out that can now be seen as blueprints for the massively cataclysmic outpourings of two decades later.

DANGEROUS MISSION is a short 75-minute film with Victor Mature an undercover cop seeking a subject on a mission to kill Piper Laurie for witnessing a murder. A lively dance is interrupted by an avalanche, followed by a forest fire (pity it did not happen in the opposite order, the avalanche would have killed the fire) in which Mature saves Price from certain death, only to lose him later to a fall in the snow... after a Glacier National Park radio station warning that a killer is on the loose and targeting lovely Laurie, who promptly jumps off a moving car to save her life. Which she does for a happy ending in Mature's arms.

I know embarrassingly little about Director Louis King, but he certainly keeps the action ticking bomb style, and cinematography shows Glacier Park to great advantage.

Excellent cinematography by William Snyder. 7/10.

When "Dangerous Mission" was made as a another "B" color feature in 1954, it was probably considered by its producers to be a a routine action script. The film did have lovely young Piper Laurie, Betta St. John, Harry Cheshire. plus Vincent Price, William Bendix and as star handsome Victor Mature. But I assert that it had some hidden assets as well: very intelligent direction, unusually lovely Glacier National Park scenery, a logical storyline and first-rate production values from Roy Webb's music to costumes by Michael Wulfe and sets to art direction and second-unit work by Asst. Director James Lane. Also, the script was what I term a "sense-of-life film", of the same sort as "Bend of the River", "Smoke Signal" and "The Miracle Worker". We as viewers in other words only learn about a charismatic but suspect hero gradually, by experiencing his actions which are set against his negative reputation. Price steals the film as a complex character out of place among straightforward personalities; Mature lacks the speech for a senior detective but Bendix, St. John and Laurie and Cheshire are all very good in their roles. Make no mistake; this is an inexpensive film, with the outdoor actions using rear- projection to include most of the Glacier Park locales. But the film looks colorful and very spacious for a "B". It presents a square dance interrupted by an avalanche, a battle with a live-wire, a first-rate forest fire, a stirring chase and climactic battle on the glacier, plus intelligent dialogue and character-revelation scenes. The makers have put together I suggest a first-rate romance, an interesting mystery noir, and a very entertaining adventure. I never miss this one, having discovered it fifty years ago and championed its values for years. With a Keith Andes as its star, it might have become famous.

A man tinkering on the piano with one hand – "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" – is murdered by an unseen gunman. A woman, whom we also do not see, happens upon the site, screams, and runs before the killer can plug her too. The next set shows a New York City backdrop with Johnny Yonkers and two men in a room discussing the necessity of tracking down and killing the female witness, who is in hiding. Although the gunman is present we still do not see him. The very next scene is at the visitor's entrance to Glacier National Park in northern Montana, where Matt Hallett (Victor Mature) has just driven. He packs a pistol. The Park will be the setting – a most attractive one – for the remainder of the movie.

Louise Graham (Piper Laurie), originally from the east, runs a gift shop at the Visitors' Center. Converging there are amateur photographer Paul Adams (Vincent Price), Hallett, and chief ranger Joe Parker (William Bendix). Parker reminds Hallett that he needs to disclose to park authorities that he has a .38-caliber pistol on the grounds, even though it is legally registered. Hallett says he is an ex-marine. But is he a policeman or the killer hired by Yonkers? For it is obvious that either Adams or Hallett is the gunman. Louise is unaware that both Adams and Hallett are after her for different reasons. Neither of the two men knows her likeness.

This formerly 3D movie features an avalanche, forest fire, Indian dance/ceremony, and live wires (downed electrical power line), none of which is related to the plot. Katoonai Tiller (Steve Darrell), at large in the distant part of the National Park, is wanted for murder. His state of affairs also has nothing to do with the plot. Tiller's daughter Mary (Betta St. John) is the sexy Indian girl in love with Adams, who is much older. Dennis Weaver ("Gunsmoke," 1955-1964) has a small role as a park ranger. As of this writing Piper Laurie is still acting; she had silver screen parts in "The Hustler" (1961) and "Carrie" (1978). Victor Mature, who was decent enough, had good roles in "My Darling Clementine" (1946), "Cry of the City" (1948), and "The Robe" (1953). Also, Mature played such diverse historical figures like Sampson (Jewish), Hannibal (Carthaginian/North African), and Chief Crazy Horse (American Indian).

The editing of "Dangerous Mission" is quite choppy, and the character development is rather weak. For instance, at movie's end we still know very little about Louise Graham and Matt Hallett. And what is the story on Katoonai Tiller? Was he really guilty of murder? Then again there is the Cave of the Winds shootout and an exciting chase along the park glacier (even though it's a sound stage). The park setting, lovely ladies, and ending save the movie.