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Thursday, July 20, 2017

An RKO Cast Talks Things Out


Trouble Among Privileged in Dangerous Corner (1934)

Disgrace, suicide, maybe murder, dredged from beneath upper-crust for an RKO cocktail hour that, surprisingly for me, gripped all the way to a low-key finish. There is such thing as saying too much where silence will serve better, the theme (and a good one) of this 66 minute exchange where questions probe ever deeper and confessions are drawn from party guests better off living with their illusions. There's always hint of real life in even silliest old films, here being occasion where curiosity kills a roomful of cats. Dangerous Corner was based on a J.B. Priestly play, he of The Old Dark House fame; according to Wm. K. Everson notes, there wouldn't be another Priestly adaptation after this one (does that still hold true?). Players are equal to heavy dialogue lift, Conrad Nagel particularly good, with Melvyn Douglas making early and vivid impression. You'd barely know it from the title and luxury settings, but Dangerous Corner is about the publishing business, and effort to keep the firm in question from "going smash," that term oft-used in wake of the Crash. Unfairly tagged as "teacup drama," Dangerous Corner rises above convention to become a real sleeper of its kind. Not yet at Warner Archive, but shows up on TCM occasionally.

5 Comments:

Blogger John McElwee said...

Dan Mercer also saw "Dangerous Corner," and likes it:


“Dangerous Corner” is one of those movies that mirrors the time in which it was made. During the Depression, the affairs of people or companies or communities might still have seemed bright and shining on the surface, when it fact they were seriously undermined and almost anything might cause a collapse.
In this story, the people involved are apparently happy in their relationships and successful in life, yet a chance remark concerning the disturbing death of a friend and colleague reveals the rifts beneath the surface and the adulterous and criminal affairs some have engaged in. It ends catastrophically, except that a grace note is added as a post script, of what might have been had the remark never been made. Life then would have gone on very much as before, the people trying to make the best of their lives and to behave decently towards one another, without the necessity of having to resolve problems that may be insoluble.
As you say, a film with this kind of insight into the human condition could hardly be a “teacup drama,” and the acting is equal to the challenges of the story. Conrad Nagel usually seems a bland and unexciting leading man, but that placid surface is well used for a character with questions he has no real desire to explore. Melvyn Douglas’ skill at comedy has obscured how adept he was at drama, when a light way with a word gives it a sardonic edge, while Virginia Bruce is all but forgotten today, but was a soulful beauty who could illuminate any dialog with a glance of those great eyes.
I wonder how many in the audience then found comfort in the idea of what might have been, before they returned to the darkness gathering about their own lives in those troubled times.

10:44 AM  
Blogger b piper said...

"... according to Wm. K. Everson notes, there wouldn't be another Priestly adaptation after this one (does that still hold true?)."

I don't get this. I could think of half a dozen off the top of my head, and the IMDB lists 125 movies and TV shows based on Priestley's work, all but three coming after DANGEROUS CORNER.

12:06 PM  
Blogger Michael said...

Well, for one thing there is the remake of The Old Dark House. But I would count An Inspector Calls and Last Holiday as at least moderately well known films, starring Alistair Sim and Alec Guinness respectively.

12:30 AM  
Blogger Kevin K. said...

I used to pride myself on remembering every movie I ever saw, but ever since getting TCM seven years ago, I find myself going through the monthly schedule and thinking, "Did I see this already?" I often remember it by the first scene, and sometimes the opening credits. "Dangerous Corner" is one of those "did I or didn't I" pictures. Does anyone else have that problem?

2:10 PM  
Blogger Steven said...

A fascinating example of RKO's willingness to experiment under then-production chief Pandro S. Berman. OF HUMAN BONDAGE was another risk-taker of the same time. Thanks for another thought-provoking piece, John!

4:25 PM  

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