Highly Dangerous (1950) User Reviews

a nice surprise

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 4 June 2008]

Margaret Lockwood is Frances Gray, a scientist who takes on a government assignment that is "Highly Dangerous" in this 1950 film also starring Dane Clark, Wilfred Hyde-White and Marius Goring. Frances Gray works with bugs, so the government asks her to go to a country of opposing ideology and get a sample of bugs being used by them, possibly for germ warfare. At first, she says no, and then relents and travels to this unnamed country posing as a tour director checking out possible tour locations. Her cover is blown immediately by the chief of police (a heavily disguised Goring) who is on the train with her, and shortly afterward, her contact is killed, and she is arrested, drugged and questioned. The head of the British consulate, tipped off by a newspaper reporter she met previously (Clark) secures her release.

The film starts out as a drama, but the mood lightens once she's out of prison. Under the influence of the drug she's been given, she plots a way to get into the lab based not on reality but on the antics of a radio spy on a program her nephew likes. The reporter knows it won't work, but when the first part of it actually does, he goes along.

Margaret Lockwood went through several phases during her career - this was her mid period, after the ingénue of "The Lady Vanishes" and before the older woman in "Cast a Dark Shadow." She does a good job and looks very attractive. The stronger role was Clark's - he was being groomed as another John Garfield but never quite got there - he's very good, handling both the dramatic and the comic aspects well. Goring is a far cry from Victoria's husband in "The Red Shoes" -this seems an odd role for him, but he's excellent.

An odd film but, if taken for what it is, a good one.

A Jolly Jape

[colinhartwright · 5/10 · 18 October 2007]

Fairly daft but won't hurt you. Dane Clark is amiable, a more than competent actor and has an understated way that works with the rather poor chances of comedy he's handed. Margaret Lockwood looks good and don't knock her as an actress either, this isn't Macbeth. And remember this was 1950, don't compare it with present day overblown and infinitely less believable efforts. As another reviewer said "See it once.", I've seen it twice - and lived. I notice a minimum of 10 lines is required There isn't much more to say coupled with other reviewers opinions. I wouldn't make a special effort to see this film but there have been a lot worse. Ten lines? Good. Goodbye.

Her Dark Frontier

[blacknorth · 6/10 · 15 January 2009]

Highly Dangerous is a rare original screenplay by novelist Eric Ambler. It draws heavily on elements of his early pre-1939 thrillers, but reposts them behind the Iron Curtain. This film leans particularly on Ambler's first novel The Dark Frontier, most notably with the super-agent coda, which is very fashionable today.

Ambler's problem with Highly Dangerous is that most of the plot devices he invented single-handedly in the 30's were used to the point of saturation by film-makers during the 40's. By the time he got around to an original screenplay it all seems very unoriginal. For that reason I like to think of this film as British cinema's homage to all Ambler's great work in the 30's. An adaptation of one of Ambler's post war novels, say, Judgement On Deltchev, would have been much more satisfactory at this point in his career - as it was, he had to wait ten years until Topkapi before the cinema recognised his post-war novels.

Margaret Lockwood makes for a very beautiful and personable innocent, drawn into a cold-war plot about a form of biological warfare, not entirely a new thing, but a change from the nuclear threats of the time. Lockwood's career was on the decline, and this film can't have offered her very much compensation. Additionally, she is badly served by her make-up artist, her hair being mocked up to middle-age very badly.

Don't treat this film as a serious attempt to translate Ambler's art to the screen - you can find that in just about any war-time thriller - from Journey Into Fear to The Mask of Dimitrios. Highly Dangerous is minor Ambler, and an opportunity for a fading Lockwood to make one more impression, and what an impression - innocent, scientist and secret agent.

Great Escapism from the Lovely Miss Lockwood

[jw-jw · 7/10 · 28 May 2008]

Many of the other reviews refer to the thin and unbelievable plot and casting. I beg to differ. 90% of modern films are pure unbelievable west coast Amertican dross, just think of the fare from Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and all the high school, college, so called coming of age movies awash with those stupid Californian accents, etc, etc, etc.

This is a British B/W film of the early 50s and has the benefit of Margaret Lockwood playing against type in a plot line which holds up well, it is a movie after all, escapism, and perfectly encapsulates the early post war, cold war fears and demons of the time, played in a gentle tongue in cheek way by the cast and director.

I enjoyed it immensely, and so will you. Give it a go, far superior to most modern movies.

Twist on the formula

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 1 April 2020]

Some reviewers have marked this one out as being stodgy but I don't agree. It provides a neat twist on the usual Cold War spy drama formulae, and Margaret Lockwood makes for a refreshing change of protagonist; she's intelligent and glamorous and somebody you can really get behind. The insect material adds an unusual slant to the usual plotting, and Dane Clark, as the male lead, is a lot better than I've seen him elsewhere. The film offers a lightness of touch that works well, and that doesn't stop the last half an hour being very suspenseful. Watch out for Marius Goring, hamming it up terribly as the film's chief antagonist.

Insects As Carriers

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 6 September 2019]

Margaret Lockwood whose beauty cast her in many a regal and aristocratic role plays a scientist in this Eric Ambler story Highly Dangerous. She's an entomologist who goes behind the Iron Curtain to investigate a rumor that the Reds are conducting germ warfare experiments using insects as carriers.

Dane Clark is an American reporter who suspects she's more than a travel agent which is her cover story. Marius Goring the local secret police chief suspects one and all. Wilfrid Hyde-White the local British consul wants Lockwood and Clark to keep on breathing.

Lots of similarities here to the 39 Steps. A bit more serious though. Clark and Lockwood acquit themselves well in the roles which have some humor though.

Would have liked to see Robert Donat in this.

While the basic idea wasn't bad, the pacing was terribly slow and the movie far less interesting than it should have been.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 22 September 2012]

Margaret Lockwood plays an expert entomologist who is approached by her government and asked to do a bit of spying. Apparently, an unfriendly nation (you assume it's in the Communist Bloc) might be working on some horrible biological warfare delivery system and they need an expert to check it out first hand. Now here is the first part that doesn't make much sense--they give this ordinary woman no training and just toss her into the country! How anyone expected her to succeed is beyond me. Not surprisingly, she's eventually caught and interrogated. They even use some sort of truth serum on her. Now here is where the odd twist occurs--the interrogation actually HELPS her, as she begins to believe she is a character from a radio spy program. Once she's released (because she gave them no information), she's told she has 24 hours to leave the nation--and she springs into action like a super-spy. Along for the ride is a confused American correspondent (Dane Clark). How it all comes out is something you'll just need to see for yourself.

While I have noticed that many didn't care for the film, it isn't because the idea couldn't be worked out well. No, the problem is the pacing--which is dreadfully slow. Additionally, the film could have used an injection of humor and energy. Now this DID occur decades later, when the story idea was reworked into the delightful comedy "American Dreamer" (with JoBeth Williams)...now THAT'S a film worth seeing. Otherwise, "Highly Dangerous" is a slow time-passer that should have been so much better. After all, it IS an espionage film and that should be very interesting.

Easy-going nonsense

[AAdaSC · 5/10 · 31 January 2011]

Frances (Margaret Lockwood) volunteers to go into an Eastern un-named country (with a peculiar un-named language that the actors have had to learn) as a spy to smuggle back insects that are being used in the development of germ warfare. When her contact Alf (Eugene Deckers) is murdered, she continues her mission with reporter Bill (Dane Clark). However, the Chief of Police, Razinski (Marius Goring) seems to pop up at every stage of her mission......

The problem with this film is that there is no real tension or feeling of danger. The lives of Frances and Bill are in danger and yet there is no suspense. They should have been more scared. Dane Clark is like-able but what have they done to Lockwood? She looks like Angela Rippon (English newsreader from the 1970's with terrible, frumpy hair). Lockwood's look is NOT good. Turning to the rest of the cast, they are all fine.

The plot is extremely daft with the inclusion of some nonsense about how Frances incorporates a radio show to determine her actions in order to get the job done. There are also numerous unreal situations, eg, the escape to the woods by Frances and Bill with a whole army unit combing the grounds for them. Basically, these two clowns would have been caught and shot. For the sake of the film, we have a different outcome. Overall, it's lightweight fluff but I'm not sure this was the intention.

The Bug Lady

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 29 November 2020]

A slick, tongue-in-cheek adventure film with dramatic photography by Reg Wyer and lively music by Richard Addinsell, making early use of germ warfare as a subject.

Set in a small Balkan country similar to that in 'State Secret' (down to the made up language occasionally used by the locals). Eric Ambler's script shamelessly recycles much of his pre-war novel 'Journey into Fear', with Margaret Lockward in the Joseph Cotton role, whimsically cast as an entomologist turned amateur spy and Marius Goring padded out and hamming it up like Orson Welles was as Col. Haki was in the former.

Perfectly enjoyable for a single viewing over lunch

[liz-barr · 3/10 · 19 January 2007]

Although I agree with most of the criticisms in the negative review already posted - I have just watched this movie on TV over lunch and really quite enjoyed it, which is why I came to this site to be reminded of the cast. I was surprised to see Anthony Newly's name - didn't recognise him. Margaret Lockwood looks much prettier than in many of her other films - her mouth is less prominent and her hair better groomed. Although I don't think it is worth seeing more than once - I do think it is pleasurable enough to watch once. Plenty of films are made of which that is not so. So if you haven't seen it - you won't hate it. It's just not absolutely terrific.

Ahead of its time

[jdarnborough · 10/10 · 17 November 2009]

As my Father, Antony Darnborough produced this film and my uncle Muir Mathieson conducted the music, I might be slightly biased although I still feel that biological warfare was virtually unknown to the general public at the time and therefore this film was useful on many levels.

Perhaps it can in some way highlight the efforts made by the hundreds of brave and talented civilians during the cold war, many of course had little or no idea what they were letting themselves in for and no training in interogation techniques.

Classic line: "A few moths ago some people were shot in the woods - accidentally. Tourists"

James Darnborough

Torn curtain .....

[ulicknormanowen · 6/10 · 15 June 2022]

.......sixteen years before Hitchcock's film was released .

And ,which was not derivative for the time , they reverse the genres : Margaret Lockwood is the scientist ,on a mission which is deemed "highly dangerous" ;the male lead being just an attentive escort ; it's typically "cold war" movie, depicting the Reds as villains ,but shrewd villains: "we know that torture won't make it ,for the prisoner can say anything to avoid sufferings ;so a simple injection will do". The truth drug is efficient ,in its own special way : Lockwood begins to be delirious and does some kind of self-criticism : without her nephew's radio serial -very popular in the fifties,few people had TV sets in Europa -, and the boy's hero ,agent Conway, she would perhaps have opted for her holiday in Torquay :hence the ironical passport!

No matter what the "Mcguffin " is: the most important thing is the feminist side of the movie,ahead of its time ;and Lockwood's portrait of a determined woman is convincing.

A Bug's Life

[eddie-83 · 5/10 · 4 September 2001]

Nicole Kidman was following an honourable tradition when she played a gorgeous neuro-surgeon in Days of Thunder for Highly Dangerous casts beautiful Margaret Lockwood as an entomologist. On this evidence the main job qualification seems to be that you don't find insects repulsive. What next, JayLo as a nuclear physicist?

Despite being written by the estimable Eric Ambler, the screenplay for Highly Dangerous seems to me to be somewhat misjudged. The `humorous' elements, while never being remotely funny, serve to drain the excitement away from the dramatic sequences. I think the film would have worked much better as a straight thriller without all the nonsense of Margaret imagining she is a character in a radio serial after she's been given a `truth drug'

Highly Dangerous has many elements typical of a Cold War drama of its time, the implacable police chief (a typecast Marius Goring), the brutal armed forces, the dissident priest who shelters the fugitives etc. Interesting that the war in this case is biological.

Apart from the interest this film will have for the fans of Margaret Lockwood, a big British star of the years around World War II, Highly Dangerous is at best a fair time-passer.

Poor plot, average acting and uninvolving film – Highly Dull is more apt at times

[bob the moo · 10 December 2004]

Frances Gray is a quiet and unassuming woman who also happens to be one of the top entomologists in the country. It is this that brings her to the attention of the Government, who are looking for some way of spying on a country in Eastern Europe and ascertaining rumours about a plot to wage germ warfare using insects as the carriers. Gray reluctantly accepts the task as a way of adding excitement to her life and soon finds herself in a country where she doesn't speak the language, sticks out like a sore thumb and isn't sure what she is doing.

After the first few minutes I had managed to stop snickering at the idea of Margaret Lockwood being the top entomologist in the UK and tried to get into the plot. Sadly the casting makes about the same amount of sense as the actual plot does and it never really flows or engages – when the action starts, it only comes as a result of a contrived twist about radio thrillers and some sort of hypnosis. It says something that this twist actually improves the film, but it is still only serviceable and never got to the point where I was really into it. The plot doesn't make a great deal of sense and it comes across as Highly Dull as opposed to Highly Dangerous.

The cast is strange. Lockwood is stiff but quite alluring but she overdoes the "innocent abroad" way too much and she doesn't develop much smarts along the way. If you think she is unconvincing as an entomologist then wait to see how unconvincing a spy she makes! Dane Clark is OK but feels like he is a marketing tool more than a smart bit of casting. He is likable and a better lead than Lockwood but he doesn't have much to do in terms of the actual plot. Goring is OK hamming it up behind a big mustache and cigar but he has too little screen time; support is good from reliables Hyde-White and Wayne.

Overall this is a very thin affair that will just about do if you are looking for something to laze in front of on a Saturday afternoon but god help you if you need more than that. The plot is uninspiring and doesn't make a lot of sense or ever really engaged me, relying on a silly twist to make things happen. The cast are OK but Lockwood is helpless in a flat role that is hard to get behind and the whole film is all a bit dull and certainly not as exciting as the title or subject matter suggest it could have been.

Reminiscent of Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHES... minus the subtlety

[adrianovasconcelos · 7/10 · 19 February 2022]

Margaret Lockwood rated one of the truly great beauties of the screen in the late 1930s and through the 40s. By 1950 she began to age but remained a gift to the eye, and her acting ability certainly did not depreciate.

The comedian Naunton Wayne as the Imperial General Staff top spy had to rate a good joke at the time, and the ever affable Hyde-White simply could not fail as charge d'affaires in the unnamed Iron Curtain country where most action takes place.

Cinematography: first rate. Eric Ambler's script not as good as usual, despite some great moments, such as the Frank Conway radio adventure spilling over into Lockwood's interrogation by the sinister Marius Goring. The bit where she is drugged with the truth serum might just be the movie's high point. Thereafter, be advised to stretch your disbelief to snapping point. The ending's humorous touch paves the way for a highly fortuitous escape - not just from the evil Iron Curtain authorities but especially from the spectator.

Given the classy acting and steady direction by the ever reliable Roy Ward Baker, I give it 7 out of 10, though 6.5 would fit better.

"You've got to feed them or they will start eating each other, makes sense really."

[LeonLouisRicci · 6/10 · 23 October 2013]

A Strange Concoction that never seems to find its Place or knows what it wants to be. A Contrast of Genres Unintentionally makes for some Bizarre Entertainment that is an Easy Watch.

Never Fully Attaining a Thriller Mode it does have a few Scenes that are Worthy of its Espionage Element. There is a Realistic Forest Fire Diversion, a rather Disturbing Interrogation with Drugging and Hot Lights, and a Murder that Starts Things Going. It also Throws a Twist of Mind Control Side Effects that is a bit Corny but Engaging. Once things get Underway the Tone Shifts Uneasily between Farce and Fanciful Nonsense.

The Biological Warfare Premise is Key but Never as Threatening as it should be and Ending it all is a Comedy Routine with Over Talking and is Something out of a Sit-Com. Worth a View for a few Good Things but Ultimately its Downfall Remains its Inconsistent and Wavering Tone.

WW II thrillah... kind of, sort of

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 17 September 2019]

Margaret Lockwood is "Frances", a scientist who must go abroad to see if foreign enemies are developing contagions as weapons. Co-stars Dane Clark and Darius Goring. Frances' young nephew "Alan" is played by Lance Secretan, who did a bunch of films in the 1950s, then seems to have left the business. Lockwood had started in showbiz in the 1930s, and later, moved into television. Goring is "Razinski", who keeps popping up. He assists Frances, translating for her. Guess she should have learned the language for the places she's visiting. She bumps into Mr. Casey ( Clark )... nowadays, we would (hopefully) be much more suspicious of all these characters that were so friendly for apparently no reason. and in those days, there probably WERE folks just helping others out in a foreign land. directed by british director Roy Baker; had started under Eric Ambler, who just happened to write THIS film! and of course, since it's from Great Britain, it's a a Rank Organization film. it's okay. very serious drama. gets a little over the top. no big names, no character development. WW II spy thrillah of what happens to someone going to "an unspecified eastern country" on weak pretenses. shows on Turner Classics. but clearly not very often... only 400 votes on imdb so far.

Highly Dangerous

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 27 December 2022]

Margaret Lockwood is a scientist ("Frances Gray") who is asked by the British government to travel to the Balkans to discovers whether the communists there are trying to weaponise the humble fruit fly! Initially nervous, she takes courage from a radio serial that she listens to for her young nephew, and is soon embroiled in some espionage shenanigans with American journalist "Casey" (Dane Clark) as they try to get hold of one of these critters to return to the UK for evaluation. Local commandant "Razinski" (Marius Goring) cottons on quite quickly that something is afoot, but can the two complete their mission before he puts them up against a wall? Clark is a bit weak, here - but Lockwood and Goring work well together to make for quite an enthralling cat and mouse adventure that is peppered with some humour and a gentle swipe at red tape at the end. A few characterful contributions from Naunton Wayne and Wilfred Hyde-White help it along too. The production is a bit cheap and cheerful, and it plays a little to cold war politics, but I still quite enjoyed it.

A well paced and quite different espionage thriller

[vampire_hounddog · 5/10 · 8 August 2020]

A female entymologist (Margaret Lockwood) is sent on a dangerous spying mission to an unnamed Balkan country to get hold of some bacteria and in doing so faces the wrath of the secret police.

A well paced and quite different espionage thriller ably directed by Roy Ward Baker. It can be a little hit and miss in places, but will nevertheless entertain on its low budget. Marius Goring makes for quite a sinister police officer.

an agreeable watch for a rainy afternoon

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 21 January 2022]

Agreeable spy story with a number of clever twists and witty lines ; not a masterwork for the ages, but a decent little time-waster. The ending, with its quarrel over the proper uses of sugar, is pretty funny. The fell plot being uncovered - the weaponization of the natural world for military purposes - has a very modern ring, which is not good news for Humanity at large.

You'll notice how the plucky heroine is sent abroad on a highly perilous, highly secret mission after only the most superficial of trainings. Moreover, she is given the flimsiest of cover stories. As a result she stands out like a fluorescent giraffe even before setting foot in the foreign country. Why not tell everyone, say, that she's a doctor interested in nation-wide vaccination efforts ? Or a nurse interested in the spread of water-borne diseases ? That way nobody would bat an eyelid at the thought of her carrying pieces of scientific equipment. One wonders about the mindset of officials willing to enlist some innocent citizen in order to send her towards probable death. Even if one were to make abstraction of the moral aspect, it would still constitute a staggering waste of talent and resources...

Once only will leave you just about satisfied ?.

[hitchcockthelegend · 4/10 · 27 September 2008]

Well the plot entails that an Iron Curtain country is developing insects to use as weapons should the need arise. The British Intelligence Division enlists sweet entomologist Frances Gray to meet up with an agent over the boarder and thus bring back some samples. However things don't go according to plan, and she's forced to rely on the help of newspaper writer Bill Casey to not only get the samples, but to escape the country alive!.

The premise, tho oddly appealing, isn't executed with any great conviction. Margaret Lockwood, Dane Clark and Marius Goring are not bad exactly, in fact Clark steals the picture, they just work in motion with the staid nature of the script, and sadly it's one of those films that one cheers when the ending comes, but not as a high point in the picture, more out of relief that it's over. In the films favour is that it is at least offering something different in the British spy caper genre, and the last quarter does contain enough drama to have made it worth your while, but only just mind. 4/10

Highly enjoyable!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 15 April 2017]

It's very difficult to make a movie that is both amusing and exciting, let alone one that spoofs its own pedigree. But thanks to Roy Baker's excellent direction and the efforts of a stellar cast, this effort succeeds admirably on all counts. True, it does take at least ten minutes to warm up, but we need that time to get used to Margaret Lockwood's new, shorter hair style. I actually prefer women with long hair. Short hair seems so boyish to me, but it is certainly appropriate in this instance. Anyway, Margaret Lockwood and Dane Clark easily walk away with the acting honors, if only for the fact that all the other roles are either small or very small. Marius Goring is obviously operating at a slow speed in order to stretch out his screen time – a ploy which is not successful because it helps us to lose interest in the character. He's there, mooning about and looking ominous, but so tongue-tied, he doesn't really seem to pose a threat to our heroine at all. True, he may be cunning, but on the other hand, he may be just a slow-witted dope. As I say, no threat to our heroine at all! Margaret is also supported by a whole mob of really vigorous farceurs (no doubts about them, they're obviously all on our side) led by Naunton Wayne and Marius Goring (of all people). It's also good to record that the music score is particularly adept. And last but not least, I'd agree with other reviewers that director Roy Ward Baker manages to give this comedy/thriller a bit of style – which must have been hard to do, given the way the script jumps around from comic capers to suspenseful episodes, especially those involving Margaret and Marius!

I tend to feel that other reviewers missed the point or got lost, Admittedly, I watched the itv DVD twice!

Not to be revisited.

[richard-meredith27 · 3/10 · 22 October 2005]

Margaret Lockwood is in it- "Hoorah!" And it's about a biological scientist who is sent behind the Iron Curtain as a spy, and she gets captured and, under hypnotism fulfilled her mission. "So Rex Harrison is in it, and the basic plot should be be as logical and driving the action along as (for example)'Night Train to Munich'?" Er... no on both counts. "Why?" Well, Rex wasn't in it. American B-movie actor Dane Clark plays Margaret's buddy. He is a very boring Journalist. And the plot is confused and rambles. And the plot is disjointed and includes a bizarre truth drug/BBC radio serial sub-sub plot. So subplot, I had no idea what was the point of it. "Ah! Anything else?" Yes, who is the child Margaret talks to at the start of the film? Is she married,if so, why does she kiss Dane at the film end? To be blunt, the film should have been re-scripted and re-written and it would have been as good as any film from that period. Better casting and a positive decision by the director and producer whether they were creating a serious spy movie or Light Thriller would have tightened the action,dialogue and direction. I like B&W British Film, but this is one I have seen and will not revisit.

Dud "Thriller" Does Not Deliver on Its Engaging Premise

[evanston_dad · 4/10 · 29 July 2013]

A bit of a snoozer about a female entomologist (Margaret Lockwood) who's sent by British Intelligence into enemy territory to collect specimens of insects the British believe are being manufactured to spread biological agents. It sounds like a promising premise for a noirish thriller, which is what got me to watch the film in the first place. But it's quite boring, and I found myself drifting off multiple times throughout the film.

Lockwood herself is completely unengaging. I don't know her well enough as an actress to say whether or not she was always so, or just in this film. Lord knows the film doesn't give anyone connected with it much incentive to be inspired. It plays like second-rate Carol Reed.

This one is only for completists who want to see every British suspense thriller from the time, or for die-hard Lockwood fans. I imagine most everyone else will be as disappointed with it as I was.

Grade: C-

Highly Implausible

[fritzlangville · 5/10 · 18 February 2024]

An esteemed British scientist is hired as a spy by the government. She is sent to a fictional iron curtain nation to investigate their development of germ warfare. The problem is she is sent without any training whatsoever, no knowledge of the (ficticious) language and the most improbable cover story ever. A travel agent??? Of course the enemy immediatley has her under suspicion. Then things get worse. She's given a truth serum which instead of revealing the truth turns her into a super spy. A dull American reporter, played quite dully by the dull Dane Clark volunteers to help her. Things become even more unbelievable when they manage to avoid an entire army in escaping with the bottled bug/germ. Coming to their aid out of nowhere is a priest! Pretty ridiculous but Lockwood is great to watch as always. Beautiful with her new hairstyle and given the most action scenes since The Lady Vanishes. Too bad the plot is so inane.