lugonian
DANGER LIGHTS (RKO Radio, 1930), directed by George B. Seitz, is a railroad drama starring Louis Wolheim (1881-1931) as a tough foreman with a heart of gold. Of the few leading roles in his short-lived movie career in talkies, this, and ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Universal, 1930), are often labeled as his finest work. A character actor with a fierce face, he can be a conniving villain in one movie and a funny character actor in another, each with fine conviction. For a career that started in the silent movie era back in the teens, he would have had a great future in talkies as other huge, homely actors as Wallace Beery and Victor McLaglen had through the 1940s. Sadly, early death for Wolheim of cancer took its toll the following year.DANGER LIGHTS opens with a landslide where a train is unable to proceed on its tracks. Dan Thorne (Louis Wolheim), the superintendant in Milwaukee division, sets out to supervise men to clear the debris. On the train are four hobos, one being Larry Doyle (Robert Armstrong), whom Dan enlists to work. Dan sees something special in Larry, especially after learning he was once a train engineer discharged for insubordination, and soon hires him on his team. Dan is engaged to Mary Ryan (Jean Arthur), a young girl who intends on marrying him out of loyalty than for love. In spite of Dan's engagement, he's already married, to his job, which comes first over everything. After meeting with Larry, Mary and he become quarrelsome at times, until Larry learns that she's engaged to Dan. Unable to attend the Old Timer's Bonfire Dance, Dan has Mary go with Larry instead. Their emotions turn to love, which finds them secretly leaving the railroad site together on a rainy night to get married. When Dan learns of their plans, he sets out to kill Larry. Instead he saves his life from getting hit by a passing train, getting seriously injured instead. Dan, near death, will need to be taken to a Chicago hospital within five hours on a seven hour trip for an emergency head operation, which at this point, seems totally impossible. Other members of the cast include Hugh Herbert (Professor, a bum); Frank Sheridan (Ed Ryan, Mary's father); Robert Edeson (Tom Johnson, train engineer); James Farley (Joe Geraghty); Alan Roscoe and William H. Burt. Only Hugh Herbert is around for comedy relief as a bum who refuses to work on the railroad.Though predictable, the performances by lead players rise above standard material. Louis Wolheim gets most of the attention as the foreman whom everyone likes and respects, and whatever he says, goes. It's also interesting seeing Jean Arthur early in her career before she would find her nitch for comedy under Frank Capra's direction, and Robert Armstrong, shortly he would go to Skull Island to meet with KING KONG (1933). Robert Edeson (1988-1931), in one of his final movie roles, should not be overlooked as an engineer who turns to drink following the death of his wife. Aside from cliché story, its highlight includes an exciting train race against time.Had DANGER LIGHTS been remade in the 1940s, William Bendix, another gruff and burly character actor of his time, might have handle the Wolheim part to great satisfaction, but that never happened. The story in itself has been reworked many times, however. Though DANGER LIGHTS did have some television showings in the 1970s, notably on Spanish channel WNJU, Channel 47, in New Jersey, where this movie and other RKO Radio features were dubbed in Spanish, it didn't surface regularly until the 1980s during the wake of home video and public television broadcasts such as the weekly movie series titled SPROCKETS. Over the years, DANGER LIGHTS has gained further recognition with cable television broadcasts on either American Movie Classics (prior to 2001) and Turner Classic Movies. Also available on DVD. In closing: While Louis Wolheim was hilarious in the silent comedy, TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS (1927), he showed his great flare playing leads in some early talkies such as this one. His final movie release, THE SIN SHIP (RKO, 1931), was both starred and directed by him. How Wolheim might have succeeded into the 1940s and beyond will never be known. (*** rails)
hcoursen
This one would have been better as a silent with a few title cards. The film's strength -- as noted by many posters -- is in its shots of railways and steam engines. The situation -- that Jean Arthur is really going to marry Louis Wolheim -- is ludicrous. The dialogue is cringe-making. Then Armstrong comes along and, immediately, he and Jean are inconveniently in love. "This" --presumably their love -- she says "is bigger than the railroad." Pause. "I suppose it is," he says. And off they run into the rain. Interesting that no thought is given to flying the wounded Wolheim to Chicago. Also interesting that no one thinks of having a brain surgeon meet the train half way or having the brain surgeon meet the train. With time running out, they waste a lot of it. As a silent melodrama that asked us (as silent films could do) to suspend our disbelief, this might have worked. It does demonstrate the awkwardness of the transition from silents to talkies. Here, the capability of sound and dialogue is not an improvement.
toowoomba
I, too, originally saw, and taped, the film from a local PBS channel, and agree with a previous reviewer that it is a difficult film to find. As to the film: the story-line is typical and the acting acceptable; the real "star" of the film is the railroad itself. Made in 1930 during the Age of Steam, the film vividly shows the long-vanished skill and dedication required to keep the trains running. Louis Wolheim plays the hard-as-nails superintendent (such men actually existed) who was absolutely dedicated to maintaining the schedules ("hold up the 'Olympian!' Are you off your nut!"). Filmed on location in Montana on the long-abandoned Milwaukee Road railway, this film is an absolute Must for rail fans who love steam.
