On Dangerous Ground
Bitter, cynical police detective, Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan), is known for beating information out of suspects and witnesses. His violent tendencies are noticed by both his partners and the police chief. After Wilson ignores the Chief's warnings, he is relegated to a case up-state so that he might cool off. He joins a manhunt for a killer—teaming with the father of the victim, Walter Brent (Ward Bond). Wilson and Brent are separated from the others in the manhunt and track the killer to a remote house.
Initially, they do not locate the killer, but, rather, find Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), a blind woman by herself in the house. They learn that she lives with her brother, Danny (Sumner Williams). Wilson is drawn to Malden and her selflessness and, when he learns that the killer is her brother and that he is mentally ill, he offers to protect him from Brent.
Wilson and then Brent locate Danny in a secluded shack. A fight between Wilson and Brent ensues and Danny flees. They chase him up a rugged mountainside where Danny loses his footing and falls to his death. Brent is shocked by Danny's youth. He carries him back to town. Wilson and Mary walk, alone, to her house where they have an intimate conversation. Wilson drives to the city, but he's a changed man. In the end, he returns to Mary.
revenge, murder, melodrama