Jeanskynebu
the audience applauded
Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
moonspinner55
While on a fishing trip in Mexico, a family man with wife and child gets his foot caught underneath a broken timber from a collapsed jetty; his wife goes for help (after busting the car-jack) and manages to get herself kidnapped by an escaped murderer on the lam! Barbara Stanwyck always prided herself on being a resourceful and reliable screen actress, so the ninny-spouse she plays here doesn't sit too well (husband Barry Sullivan tells her to keep a calm head, but by the next scene she's driving frantically all over the road). "Jeopardy", written by Mel Dinelli from a story by Maurice Zimm, is the kind of quickie 1950s back-end attraction used for double features; it has interesting locations and good cinematography, but was most likely an inexpensive way to use contract talent on a tight schedule. The actors are far better than the material, particularly Sullivan playing the most hapless husband in memory. **1/2 from ****
Dalbert Pringle
With a movie-tagline like - "She did it - Because her fear was greater than her shame." - Along with a movie-quote like "I'll do anything to save my husband - Anything!" - You can be sure that when it comes to the words "it" & "anything" they were clearly referring to one thing, and only one thing, alone. (nudge. nudge. wink. wink.) With this above-average, "race-against-time" Thriller from 1953, I have to admit that, at first, I didn't think I'd like it all that much, especially since it starred one of my least favourite actresses from that era, Barbara Stanwyck.But once they actually got to the real meat-n-potatoes of the story, Jeopardy actually cooked (at a fairly steady boil) and held my interest for the entire latter half of its brisk 69-minute running time.Yes. I agree that the youthful and virile-looking Ralph Meeker certainly made for a very convincing and brutally aggressive, escaped convict. Yet, by the same token, it was the likable performance by 10-year-old Lee Aaker, as Bobby Stilwin, who I felt shone just as brightly as Meeker's star.As a young boy eagerly trying to help his father (who was clearly in dire straits), Aaker obviously had a very firm understanding of his character and never once over-played his part as "the cute, little kid".As an added bonus, Jeopardy certainly contained lots of very well-shot scenery along the Baja California peninsula.Besides Jeopardy's story starting out like something of a typical, Disney, family-time picture, my only real beef about this film's plot-line has to do with the Lawson character showing up at such an isolated location as that of the most southerly tip of this 775-mile-long jut of untamed land in Mexico. If you ask me, no escaped convict (in his right mind) would ever make himself such a sitting duck by venturing out to a place where he could so easily be cornered and hunted down by the law.
dougdoepke
It may be a gimmick movie, but the gimmick sure works. So how the heck are mom (Stanwyck) and son (Aaker) going to get dad's leg (Sullivan) from underneath the broken piling before the ocean tide comes in. If they don't, he's fish food. It would help if the family weren't in the middle of a Mexican nowhere. Worse, there's an escaped con (Meeker) on the loose, and he's already killed one man. This looks like a camping trip from heck.As I recall, the movie got a little spread in Life magazine at the time. Pretty good for a little b&w programmer with all of a 4-person cast. I imagine the biggest expense was trying to keep Sullivan dry since he took a real beating from the waves. I hope they paid him double. Director Sturges gets the most out of the one-note set-up, so it's no wonder he soon went on to A-productions, e.g. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). I'm still curious, however, how the pivotal scene ends between Stanwyck and Meeker when she tries to talk him into helping. Just what did she do. Maybe I missed something or maybe the scene was just playing footsie with the Production Code. Anyway, whatever her ploy, it appears to have worked on Meeker, at least for a little while. All in all, I guess it's not surprising the minimal premise works so well given the talent involved that includes scripter Dinelli who's responsible for other such nail-biters as Beware My Lovely (1952) and The Spiral Staircase (1945). So be prepared for biting down to the nub as the little family races against the tide and the odds.
Michael_Elliott
Jeopardy (1953) *** (out of 4) John Sturges directed this intense thriller about a wife (Barbara Stanwyck) and husband (Barry Sullivan) who take their son on a vacation to Mexico so that they can go fishing but an accident happens and the husband gets his leg caught under a log. With the tide coming in, the wife has to try and get help before it's too late but she gets kidnapped by an escaped murderer (Ralph Meeker). This film seems to get mixed reviews and while it's not classic Sturges I still felt there was enough suspense packed in the 67-minute running time to make the film highly enjoyable. I've never found Stanwyck to be sexy so that takes away from some of her roles for me but she's terrific when playing it tough and that's the case here. She's really good in the tough role and Meeker is the perfect snake to go against her. Sullivan is also very good in his moments with his son played by Lee Aaker. There are a few flaws throughout the film and the ending is pretty weak but there's still plenty to enjoy here. The score by Dimitri Tiomkin also adds to the suspense.
