Danger Lights (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
'Danger Lights' (directed by George Seitz) is a dramedy from 1930 about the railroad scene in the Midwest. The former railroad engineer Larry Doyle (Robert Armstrong, meh) is now a vagrant riding the boxcars of freight trains after having been fired for insubordination; talk about hitting the skids. Dan Thorn (Louis Wolheim) is the owner of a Chicago railroad yard, who gives Larry a 2nd chance after he helps out during a big train mishap. It all works out well, & Larry is great at the job. Howwwever, he soon falls in love with Dan's fiance, Mary Ryan (Jean Arthur), & they plan to marry.
Despite being heartbroken & livid over this romantic triangle/entanglement {all he sees is red}, when Larry gets his foot caught in an electric switch in the pouring rain with a train barreling towards them ... Dan saves him anyway. But during the rescue, Dan suffers a terrible brain injury. In return, Larry saves Dan's life by driving a train at full-speed {QUITE the sequence; especially for 1930} all the way to Chicago for optimal treatment. Larry then gets emergency surgery. It looks like he'll recover. But even if he does ... who would Mary end up with? Melodrama abounds.
Okay, so, this isn't the greatest film, haha. The cinematography is a bit cloudy. The story is weak. The acting could be better. That said, there's an intangible quality that makes this production watchable. And the sound/special effects - for the time (1930) - are pretty stellar. When the rain falls - and boy, does it fall? - we hear it loud & clear. And the scene that depicts a locomotive + one car making a fast run to Chicago is wildly impressive. I also must commend the on-location shooting in the rail yards; gives a good sense of verisimilitude & authenticity -- something you didn't often see in those early studio flicks from the 1920s-40s, or so.
Louis Wolheim - well-known for his powerful performance in All Quiet on the Western Front - is commanding as the dog-faced Dan. I enjoyed his rough/tough/gruff rail manager persona. I like the complexity he gives to the role: boisterous, yet also murderous if given the shot. It's a shame that the actor died 1 yr. later after completing his last film, The Sin Ship, with Mary Astor.
Jean Arthur makes for a lovely presence as Mary; though, her finer performances will come yrs. later in screwball comedies and in great dramas like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. As for Robert Armstrong, he's a weak link, here. Simply put, it's an ineffective, confusing performance. He brings the film down a few notches. And so, with an ordinary/weak-ish pot, inconsistent acting & spotty visuals, 'Danger Lights' gets by on its basic watchability & some of those neat-o special effects.
Despite being heartbroken & livid over this romantic triangle/entanglement {all he sees is red}, when Larry gets his foot caught in an electric switch in the pouring rain with a train barreling towards them ... Dan saves him anyway. But during the rescue, Dan suffers a terrible brain injury. In return, Larry saves Dan's life by driving a train at full-speed {QUITE the sequence; especially for 1930} all the way to Chicago for optimal treatment. Larry then gets emergency surgery. It looks like he'll recover. But even if he does ... who would Mary end up with? Melodrama abounds.
Okay, so, this isn't the greatest film, haha. The cinematography is a bit cloudy. The story is weak. The acting could be better. That said, there's an intangible quality that makes this production watchable. And the sound/special effects - for the time (1930) - are pretty stellar. When the rain falls - and boy, does it fall? - we hear it loud & clear. And the scene that depicts a locomotive + one car making a fast run to Chicago is wildly impressive. I also must commend the on-location shooting in the rail yards; gives a good sense of verisimilitude & authenticity -- something you didn't often see in those early studio flicks from the 1920s-40s, or so.
Louis Wolheim - well-known for his powerful performance in All Quiet on the Western Front - is commanding as the dog-faced Dan. I enjoyed his rough/tough/gruff rail manager persona. I like the complexity he gives to the role: boisterous, yet also murderous if given the shot. It's a shame that the actor died 1 yr. later after completing his last film, The Sin Ship, with Mary Astor.
Jean Arthur makes for a lovely presence as Mary; though, her finer performances will come yrs. later in screwball comedies and in great dramas like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. As for Robert Armstrong, he's a weak link, here. Simply put, it's an ineffective, confusing performance. He brings the film down a few notches. And so, with an ordinary/weak-ish pot, inconsistent acting & spotty visuals, 'Danger Lights' gets by on its basic watchability & some of those neat-o special effects.