O Mais Perigoso dos Homens

The Most Dangerous Man Alive caught my interest, because it was based on an original story (co-written) by horror film alumnist (& Australian native) Michael Pate; better known for his work as an actor in The Strange Door, Curse of the Undead and Tower of London(1962).

Slow moving at first, Most Dangerous Man picks up steam and is a better than average blend of hoodlums, fast cars, loose women & sci-fi. Australian born actor Ron Randell is believable as a radioactive freak of nature who is bent on re-establishing relationships with his women & setting the record straight with his one time gangster "friends". The tough guy treatment of women in Dangerous Man Alive and Randell's "romance" with Debra Paget goes beyond the typical 1950's screaming "scared" teenagers. However any potential shown is eventually thwarted by a low budget. I don't care. Most Dangerous Man Alive is nostalgic fun, boasts some mean looking thugs like Anthony Caruso & is reminiscent of films like The Indestructible Man & Man-Made Monster, but packs its own punch as a solid B picture of the 1960's. It's rarely telecast & is well worth a look or two!

I had hopes for this film, I admit I have a low tolerance level for horrible dialogue delivered in a stilted manner. So this B Sci-Fi film about a framed gangster boss seeking revenge against his enemies that stumbles onto a nuclear test site seconds before the big bang was intriguing, but there was no pay off. There is so much potential with this leftover plot idea and yet no risks were taken, no imagination, no spark of life, only flat acting. I appreciate these films because if you dream of being a film maker or a writer it shows you what not to do with a film. I gave it a 3 because there is so much to be learned about film making from this stinker. Perhaps the nuclear blast effected the writers and film maker, or perhaps this story is completely true and big brother forced the studio to turn the truth into a laughable genre flop. Perhaps when we solve the crop circle mystery and area 51 the mystery of why "The Most Dangerous Man Alive" is so bad will also be solved.

Mainly notable as prolific director Dwan's swan-song (and his tenth film for producer Benedict Bogeaus), this also happened to be his sole genre foray. Plot-wise, it recalls the recently-viewed 4D MAN (1959) and, even more so, Edgar G. Ulmer's similarly cheapskate hybrid of noir and sci-fi/horror THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN (1960); interestingly, then, its having a man pursue those who framed him after undergoing an unwitting metamorphosis looks back to THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL (1941; also watched as part of the ongoing Halloween Horror challenge) while the device of an electrical booby-trap was seen too in HOUSE OF MYSTERY (1961; ditto). It is well-served by a good cast: Ron Randell (the cop on the trail of THE SHE-CREATURE [1956]) has the title role; Anthony Caruso (from PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE [1954] – see review above) is his double-crossing nemesis; Morris Ankrum (I just saw him in BEGINNING OF THE END [1957]) is, typically, a figure of authority; and we get two lovely leading ladies in Debra Paget and Elaine Stewart, as femme fatale and good-girl type respectively. The film, of course, tackles the predominant concern of the era – nuclear paranoia – as escaped death-row convict Randell turns up on a test site but miraculously survives a blast, only to have his flesh slowly evolve into a literally steely exterior…which then comes in handy on his relentless payback mission, when he proves impervious to most kinds of weapons his enemies (and the pursuing Military and Police) can throw at him! Ultimately, he expires after being torched alive by a couple of flame-throwers: Stewart (who accompanies him most of the way as does a tied-up Paget) has to be forcibly removed from his side; poignantly, just prior to the final onslaught, his body temperature – by this point, icy cold – had begun to decrease (suggesting that, in the clash between human and machine that his shell had become, the former could still have taken the upper hand eventually)! Unfortunately, the ultra low-budget works against the film (in the copy I acquired, the exteriors are way too dark): I do not usually condone remakes (as many here know full well) but, watching this, I could not help feeling how effective the alterations in Randell's body (virtually inexistent here, though we do get to see a couple of mutant animals and plants) would have been depicted were this made 20 years later; ditto, his demise would have turned into something much more elaborate than mere sprayed cinders on a patch of land! Despite some lapses in continuity (when the supposedly police-guarded Stewart is seemingly effortlessly abducted by Caruso and his thugs), I would definitely contend that MOST DANGEROUS MAN ALIVE is still vastly preferable to Shinya Tsukamoto's insufferably grungy TETSUO (1989-92) movies.

This is one of those 1950ish Sci-Fi/Nuclear Paranoia entries that for some reason was mostly ignored and little seen until recently. But the oversight was probably intentional since once viewed there is little here that is either memorable or worth much.

It is nothing if not a bit strange in its crossing of the Gangster/Human Monster genres. What it delivers is some titillating and quite tantalizing lingerie shots and cleavage obsessions with a couple of semi-violent confrontations with very little imagination. Hardly enough to carry the Movie.

The editing and pacing are confusing and everything looks bizarrely placed and haphazard. The Sci-Fi parts are unimpressive, mostly because by this time there had been quite a lot of wild and crazy mutants running around both on the Big Screen and on TV. So what we have here is quite dull and depressing.

It fails on almost every level and is a discovered disaster that might have been better off left in the dustbin of failed rip-offs, and Day Late-Dollar Short productions.

Take two parts gangster movie, one part science fiction, give it a decent cast and a competent director, shake well and what do you get? This movie!

Ron Randell is Eddie Candell, a big shot gangster railroaded to prison by his double crossing buddies and gold digger ex-girlfriend (Debra Paget, who had already done things like THE TEN COMMANDMENTS for DeMille and frankly needed a better agent). Eddie escapes en route to the big house and runs into the desert. Sadly the section of wasteland he chooses to hide in is also the test site for a nuclear bomb. Cue stock footage of an explosion, a mushroom cloud and buildings being destroyed. Eddie survives but the radiation has turned him into:

a. The Amazing Colossal Man

b. The Beast of Yucca Flats

c. The Amazing Transparent Man

d. The Hideous Sun Demon

e. a man whose body is slowly turning to steel and is impervious to

all kinds of weapons.

Did you choose "e"? Way to go, you know this genre very well! Either that or you have already seen the picture.

Eddie returns to his old headquarters and finds his former pals have already taken over all his rackets. It isn't long before he starts breaking necks with his (literal) fists of steel and shrugging off bullets like they were nothing. Can the combined efforts of scientists, the cops and the Army stop the Man of Steel? Ah, that would be telling!

Ron Randell can also be spotted in THE SHE CREATURE (1957). The same year she did this film Ms. Paget appeared with Vincent Price and Lon Chaney in THE HAUNTED PALACE. Watch for Morris Ankrum (THE GIANT CLAW, KRONOS, INVADERS FROM MARS and many more). Director Allen Dwan went clear back to the days of silent films. His best remembered film is ROBIN HOOD (1922) which was written by and stars Douglas Fairbanks.

Cinematography is much better than you would expect from a B movie like this. The characters are well scripted and very authentic, though Mr. Randell does have a tendency to shout "I'm Eddie Candell!" at the top of his lungs every few minutes which gets a little annoying. The special effects, while minimal, are convincing. This is a fun movie and yes it does deserve to be released on DVD, maybe on a double bill with Indestructible MAN. I have a feeling Eddie Candell and Butcher Benton would have gotten along very well together.