5/10
Good use of standing sets.
24 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
It's obvious that the tropical sets used for Warner Brothers' 1940 hits "The Letter" and "Torrid Zone" came in handy for this remake of "Dangerous". While sultry Brenda Marshall may not have the appeal of Betty Davis, she is actually quite good in this B remake that transfers the story to the south seas and as in a lot of tropical storms, eccentric characterizations and even more intrigue that really works in the case of the original story.

Marshall is Vicki Moore, a troubled heiress whose affairs with married men lead to trouble, often to confrontations with jealous wives and eventually in one case suicide. This ruins her father's business and leaves her a shell of herself, a pathetic drunk whose desire for gin ends up starting lots of fights in the various gin joints she is often kicked out of. One noght, she is recognized by her father's old business associate (David Bruce) who witnessed the scandalous event and he takes her in out of pity. But is she ready to be reformed? And can the love of a nice man really age someone who genuinely seems to be cursed?

This is the type of film where you expect to hear "Begin the Beguine" in the background as even the palms seem to be swaying. It is filled with moody performances, notably Connie Leon as Bruce's fragile housekeeper, Virginia Field as Bruce's morally righteous girlfriend, Dorothy Tree as the embittered widow of the man who killed himself because of Marshall, and Richard Ainley as Marshall's vindictive presumed dead husband. Jerome Cowan and Rose Hobart as a married couple in Bruce's circle also are present. As far as B remakes go, this one is pretty decent.
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