Background to Danger
by Raoul Walsh
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Product details
Actor: Brenda Marshall, George Raft, Osa Massen, Peter Lorre, Sydney GreenstreetDirector: Raoul Walsh
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; French (Original Language); German (Original Language); Turkish (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Running Time: 80 minutes
Release Date: 1998-09-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: MGM (Warner)
Studio: MGM (Warner)
VHS Movie Reviews of Background to Danger
Movie Review: A sometimes overlooked film noire jewel
Summary: 4 Stars
Sometimes on a dark and stormy night, the only film that will do is a 40's studio generated film noire.....for just those times, I reach for "Background to Danger." This spy thriller, set in an exotic location, has lots of action and plot twists to keep me entertained, but not overwhelmed.
It's the cast, courtesy of the 40's studio-system, that makes this film an often overlooked jewel in the film noire crown. George Raft, though slick-looking, gives a wooden portrayal of a businessman turned spy-guy, but the rest of the cast somehow makes the movie happen around him. Brenda Marshall and Osa Massen's characters are more than adequate as glamorous, mysterious women in the inimitable 40's style. Peter Lorre, the devious Russian and Sidney Greenstreet, the quintessential nasty Nazi move the plot thru it's sometimes confusing, but always entertaining journey of the inevitable good-guy vs. bad-guy struggle. The story tucks in supporting characters like Turhan Bey's ill-fated young patriot to remind a WWII audience that freedom comes at a price....the message still has merit today.
They don't make movies like this anymore; movies are made for the times in which they are created. But for anyone who wants to enjoy about 80 minutes of a timeless film-noire actioner for which there is always an audience, "Background" passes muster, and then some. I hope to see it in DVD.....maybe in a George Raft collection. George, for his flaws, has a place in this time and genre.
Movie Review: "Background to Danger" (1943) ... George Raft ... Warner Bros."
Summary: 4 Stars
Warner Bros. Pictures present "BACKGROUND TO DANGER" (1943) (80 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Starring George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Osa Massen & Kurt Katch ... Directed by Raoul Walsh, released in July 3, 1943, our story line takes place at Ankara in neutral Turkey : World War Two. A town of intrigue and of provocateurs. The Germans are planning to leak maps apparently proving that the Russians are about to invade the country. American Joe Barton is in the know and in the middle, along with Zaloshoff and his sister who may or may not be Russians. What is clear though is that odious Colonel Robinson is a full-blown Nazi --- Slam bang WWII story with a terrific car chase to cap a fast moving tale.
Under Raoul Walsh (Director), Eric Ambler (novel "Background to Danger"), W.R. Burnett (Screenwriter), Jerry Wald (Producer), Jack L. Warner (Executive Producer), Frederick Hollander (Original Score), Tony Gaudio (Cinematographer), Jack Killifer (Editor) - - - - the cast includes George Raft (Joe Barton), Brenda Marshall (Tamara Zaleshoff), Sydney Greenstreet (Colonel Robinson), Peter Lorre (Nikolai Zaleshoff), Osa Massen (Ana Remzi), Turhan Bey (Hassan), Willard Robertson ('Mac' McNamara), Kurt Katch (Mailler) - - - - - Film noir has sources not only in cinema but other artistic mediums as well...the low-key lighting schemes commonly linked with the classic mode are in the tradition of chiaroscuro and tenebrism, techniques using high contrasts of light and dark developed by 15th- and 16th-century painters associated with Mannerism and the Baroque...film noir's aesthetics are deeply influenced by German Expressionism, a cinematic movement of the 1910s and 1920s closely related to contemporaneous developments in theater, photography, painting, scultpture, and architecture...opportunities offered by the booming Hollywood film industry and, later, the threat of growing Nazi power led to the emigration of many important film artists working in Germany who had either been directly involved in the Expressionist movement or studied with its practitioners...Directors such as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, and Michael Curtiz brought dramatic lighting techniques and a psychologically expressive approach to mise-en-sc?ne with them to Hollywood, where they would make some of the most famous of classic noirs. Lang's 1931 masterwork, the German M, is among the first major crime films of the sound era to join a characteristically noirish visual style with a noir-type plot, one in which the protagonist is a criminal (as are his most successful pursuers). M was also the occasion for the first star performance by Peter Lorre, who would go on to act in several formative American noirs of the classic era ... featuring top performances from the '40s and '50s with outstanding drama and screenplays, along with a wonderful cast and supporting actors to bring it all together ... another winner from the vaults of almost forgotten film noir gems
SPECIAL FEATURES BIOS:
1. George Raft (aka: George Ranft)
Date of birth: 26 September 1895 - New York City, New York
Date of death: 24 November 1980 - Los Angeles, California
2. Brenda Marshall (aka: Ardis Ankerson Gaines)
Date of birth: 29 September 1915 - Island of Negros, Philippines
Date of death: 30 July 1992 - Palm Springs, California
3. Sydney Greenstreet
Date of birth: 27 December 1879 - Sandwich, Kent, England, UK
Date of death: 18 January 1954 - Hollywood, California
4. Peter Lorre (aka: L?szl? L?wenstein)
Date of birth: 26 June 1904 - R?zsahegy, Austria-Hungary [now Ruzomberok, Slovakia]
Date of death: 23 March 1964 - Los Angeles, California
5. Turhan Bey (aka: Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Sahultavy)
Date of birth: 30 March 1922 - Vienna, Austria
Date of death: Still Living
6. Raoul Walsh (aka: Albert Edward Walsh) (Director)
Date of birth: 11 March 1887 - New York, New York
Date of death: 31 December 1980 - Simi Valley, California
Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!
Total Time: 80 min on VHS ~ Warner Bros. Video ~ (9/01/1998)
Movie Review: Good espionage thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet appear in this espionage thriller, though in place of the might-be-expected Humphrey Bogart in the lead, it's George Raft. Raft plays an agent in Turkey who obtains secret papers from a Russian agent that reveal a German plot to incite Turkey against Russia and thus form an alliance with Germany. If it sounds confusing, it's only the beginning. Lorre is also a Russian spy who wants the papers, and although Raft tries to accommodate him, Lorre is shot by the Germans, though before it's over Raft catches the chief German spy (Greenstreet) and forces him to burn the plans against Turkey. The picture is faithful to the Eric Ambler novel it's based on, only with the Germans taking the place of the petroleum company in the book. Lorre is excellent as Zalenkoff, and takes most impressive acting honors here. The plot is a bit confusing at times, and we're constantly weary of double-crosses lurking everywhere. But Raoul Walsh's direction is tight and brimming, and the movie offers solid entertainment where it most matters: a clever script and decent acting. Worth a watch.Movie Review: A B Movie Gets a C Grade
Summary: 3 Stars
Another intrigue/noir from the Forties, but this one is a disappointment. George Raft is a businessman travelling from Lebanon to neutral Turkey during WWII. A mysterious woman on the train gives him some seemingly innocent papers to deliver to her in Ankara. At the same time, a Nazi spymaster (Sydney Greenstreet) in Berlin travels to Ankara determined to create a situation which will inflame Turkey against the Soviets. Two Soviet spies in Ankara, Peter Lorre and Brenda Marshall, however, are determined to stop this.
Raoul Walsh directed and I doubt he'd have put this effort at the top of his resume. There are some action scenes and car chases that are fun, but the movie suffers from George Raft's leaden acting and a cliche-ridden script. Some examples: "You take us there or I'll bat your brains out!" "We Nazis do not relish failure!" "If your hands move one fraction I'm gonna blast!" Watching a new thought cross Raft's face is painful.
The movie has a nice look about it, with night scenes and shadows. If you're a noir Forties film fan, this is one to possibly add to your collection if it ever comes out on DVD. But I doubt if you'll watch it more than once.
The movie is based on Eric Ambler's novel of intrigue, Background to Danger. Don't let the movie put you off the book. The book is excellent. Not a cliche in sight.
Movie Review: Who To Believe?
Summary: 4 Stars
George Raft is a self described salesman travelling throughout Asia who gets tangled up in a Nazi plan to bring neutral Turkey into the war on their side. He encounters spy Osa Massen on a train. She's being followed, so she gives him an envelope containing forged plans to invade Turkey supposedly by the Russians so that Turkey will want to side with the Axis. When she turns up dead later in Ankara, he finds himself the centre of attention, with various spies and plotters like Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Brenda Marshall after the envelope. Raoul Walsh directs with his customary gusto, bringing lots of action to the twisting and turning spy story, culminating with a terrific chase scene. The film is well plotted, with surprises thrown in to keep the viewer guessing. Any film with Greenstreet and Lorre in it is usually worth watching, and they are as engaging as ever. The action helps to mask Raft's typically colourless performance (Bogart would have been great in this one). I love a good spy story, and this film did not disappoint me.
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