It's good to find that Joseph M. Newman's tautly atmospheric noir, "Dangerous Crossing" (1953), has retained its cult status in 2017 (available on a 10/10 Fox DVD). However, there is another Newman noir that deserves a lot of attention even if it is little known, namely "The Luckiest Guy in the World" (1946) (available on Warner's 10/10 "Ziegfeld Follies" DVD). This final entry in M-G-M's famous "Crime Does Not Pay" series of two-reelers is a neat little package, appropriately lit in often somber hues by Charles Salerno and convincingly acted by Barry Nelson as the guy who has nothing, wins everything, but pays!

Jeanne Crain plays Ruth Stanton, only now she's Ruth Bowman because she just married John Bowman who she barely knows. The couple seems happy enough as they set off on their honeymoon, a transatlantic sea voyage. But then John disappears soon after they board the ship. Cue melodramatic hysterics from Ruth. Crying, screaming, shaking, fainting spells, the whole bit. Something surely seems to be tormenting this woman, maybe something more than a husband who's gone missing. Nobody else on the ship recalls having seen John. And it turns out Ruth was booked onto the ship alone, under her maiden name. Did John Bowman ever really exist? The ship's crew sure have their doubts, the general consensus is that Ruth is delusional and insane. Only one person seems genuinely interested in helping her. That's the ship's doctor, played by Michael Rennie. He may have his doubts about Ruth's story but he at least makes the effort to get to the bottom of things.So what exactly is going on here? Has Ruth really misplaced her husband or is she just nuts? It's supposed to be a mystery film but if we take it on face value there's not much of a mystery. The movie tries to lead you astray with a number of red herrings but it becomes rather obvious very quickly what's really happening. There are so few plausible explanations for the goings-on that the movie can't even stretch to a proper feature-length running time, clocking in at just 75 minutes. There's just nowhere for the story to go. And the ending disappoints on multiple levels. Firstly it's much too predictable, meant to shock but failing to do so. And secondly it's jarringly abrupt. Wham bam, movie's over. That's it? Not even a cursory explanation for what happened, no insight into the background and motivation of those involved? Nope. It's a movie with some decent moments and a good noir atmosphere. Rennie is quite good in his role. Crain is over the top with her hysterics but hard to blame her, that had to be what the director was looking for. Crain's overwrought emotion may be a desperate attempt to give the movie some life. It certainly could use some kind of spark. All in all it's very bland and not very compelling. The story doesn't grab you and if you think about it that story has some rather massive holes in it. Logic is often tossed overboard in this movie. Dangerous Crossing is a movie which had some promise but ultimately was doomed to disappoint.

"Dangerous Crossing" is based on a story (actually a radio play) by John Dickson Carr, the master of the locked room mystery. But there's no locked room and the mystery is more in the vein of Cornell Woolrich, arguably the "father" of film noir. As in some of Woolrich's best tales, the story begins with a sudden twist of fate. Moments after Jeanne Crain as a new bride boards a luxury liner on her honeymoon, the groom vanishes. No one has seen him. Their stateroom is listed as unoccupied. Even Michael Rennie as the sympathetic ship's doctor (who's clearly smitten by her) suspects that her missing husband is a figment of her imagination. Still, there are some very odd people skulking the boat's fog-shrouded decks -- and when the answer comes, it's ingenious. Thankfully, the movie was made in the early 1950s so there was no problem bringing it in at a swift 75 minutes. Today, it would be padded out to the requisite two hours and the suspense would escape like air from a punctured tire. Credit Joseph Newman with smart direction (including an opening dockside scene worthy of Michael Curtiz,) making maximum use of the sets Fox built to serve as the Titanic. In short, a thoroughly entertaining grade B thriller.

Wow! What a great little noir. Apparently made utilising sets from 'Titanic' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes', films made the same year, this is a great example of fast (three weeks shooting) low budget film making. Not a wasted frame, this spooky, thrilling mystery, looks good all the time and many shots are exceptional. Lots of shadowy, foggy or against the light close-ups and a sensational sequence in the ballroom. All menace and subterfuge as we begin to feel that Jeanne Crain's character is surely going to break down despite the restrained and reassuring Michael Rennie, who doesn't even get a kiss. The film races along and has your attention all the time. Set on an ocean liner we do not get the dark streets and lamplight shadows but Newman certainly makes the most of what he's got; the drone of the foghorn, the swirling fog itself and a slew of fellow travellers Crain is not too sure about. And nor are we! Splendid.