Inferno (1953)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writer:

Francis M. Cockrell (writer)

Release Date:

21 July 1954 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The most breath-taking man hunt that ever criss-crossed out of the screen!

Plot:

A tough, hard-driving business tycoon suffers a broken leg and is left to die in the desert by his scheming wife and her greedy lover.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Millionaire | Broken Leg | Thirst | Vacation

Cast

Robert Ryan	...	Donald Whitley Carson III
Rhonda Fleming	...	Geraldine Carson
William Lundigan	...	Joseph Duncan
Larry Keating	...	Dave Emory
Henry Hull	...	Sam Elby
Carl Betz	...	Lt. Mike Platt
Robert Burton	...	Sheriff

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16387, Adult Audience) | Sweden:15

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Film was originally released in 3D and in stereophonic sound.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Ordeal (1973) (TV)

Survival-in-wilderness thriller worth a look, even minus 3-D

The best thing about Inferno is that, like the Aeneid, it jumps right into the middle of the action. Out in a southwestern desert, under the baking sun, lies Robert Ryan, with his leg broken and only a meager supply of food and water. He's been left to die by his wife (Rhonda Fleming) and her lover (William Lundigan). There's no backstory, no lead-up to the crucial events; what little we need to know gets doled out as the movie advances, but never in flashback.

Of course, anybody can be left to die in the desert by a philandering spouse, but it helps if you're a millionaire, like Ryan. We learn that he inherited his fortune and wonders whether he deserves it, and that he's a tough and private man who suffers no fools gladly (the part's basically a reworking of Ryan's Smith Ohlrig in Max Ophuls' Caught).

The rest of Inferno cross-cuts between Ryan's attempts to survive by his wits and Fleming's and Lundigan's to throw the local police and Ryan's business associates back in Los Angeles off track. After several days elapse, when it becomes apparent that Ryan may still be alive and on the move, Fleming and Lundigan decide that, in order to save themselves, they have to go back and finish the job....

Inferno was issued in 1953, the annus mirabilis of 3-D. Unlike most titles filmed in that short-lived gimmick, it stands pretty well on its own – even the hurtling rocks, striking rattlers and flaming rafters stay effective without knocking viewers over the head. But basically it's a story of a man born to wealth who, to stay alive, must negotiate a deadly wilderness where money proves worthless. Watching Ryan do so is worth giving Inferno a look.