Jeopardy (film)
| Jeopardy | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Sturges |
| Produced by | Sol Baer Fielding |
| Screenplay by | Mel Dinelli |
| Based on | "A Question of Time" (radio play) by Maurice Zimm |
| Starring |
Barbara Stanwyck Barry Sullivan Ralph Meeker |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | Victor Milner |
| Edited by | Newell P. Kimlin |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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69 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $589,000 |
| Box office | $1,615,000 |
Jeopardy is a 1953 suspense film noir directed by John Sturges. The black-and-white film stars Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan as a married couple and Ralph Meeker as an escaped convict. The film was based on a 22-minute radio play, "A Question of Time".
Award-winning cinematographer Victor Milner, in addition to photographing the film, also has a bit part in the movie.
A portion of the film was shot in Pioneertown and features footage of the "cantina" building that now houses Pappy & Harriet's.
Americans Doug and Helen Stilwin (Barry Sullivan and Barbara Stanwyck) and their young son Bobby (Lee Aaker) embark on a vacation, driving across the border into desolate Baja California in Mexico to a remote fishing spot along the coast that her father used to frequent with his old military buddies.
Upon arrival at the remote beach, young Bobby goes exploring out onto a precarious, rotting jetty high above the water. His foot gets stuck in a crack between boards. After Doug frees him, they start back, but part of the jetty collapses and a wooden piling falls on Doug's leg, trapping him on the beach just as the tide starts coming in. Helen tries to lift the piling with their car jack, but it breaks. Doug sends her for a rope or help at a deserted gas station they stopped at earlier. He estimates they have four hours before he drowns in the rising surf.
Helen speeds away in the family car. She comes across some Mexicans, but the language barrier proves insurmountable. Helen reaches the gas station and finds rope. A man named Lawson (Ralph Meeker) appears. Helen explains her predicament, and the man gets in the car. Hidden out of her sight, however, is a dead man. It soon becomes clear that Lawson has no interest in helping her husband; he is a dangerous escaped convict. He finds Doug's pistol in the glove compartment. When they spot a police car approaching, Lawson makes her drive and pretends to be asleep. He threatens to kill her if she betrays him.
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Wikipedia