This Woman Is Dangerous (1952) User Reviews

Good hard-boiled melodrama is better than the plot outline suggests...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 26 March 2011]

If it's true that JOAN CRAWFORD called this one of her "worst" films, then she is just as bad as judging her own work as Bette Davis was. Bette thought so little of "It's Love I'm After" which everyone thinks is one of the best screwball comedies of the '30s, starring Bette, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland.

If THIS WOMAN IS DANGEROUS sounds like a lurid melodrama, it is. But it's got a lot of good things going for it. First of all, the characters are an interesting bunch--including the two rough and tough Jackson brothers (DAVID BRIAN and PHILIP CAREY), DENNIS MORGAN sincere in one of his better dramatic roles as an eye specialist who treats Crawford and eventually falls in love with her, and a plot that keeps you wondering how the whole affair is going to turn out because Brian's character is such a hot-headed guy with a gun.

Also, it never becomes sappy in the romance department nor does it have the soap opera flavor of many a Joan Crawford film. Instead, it's got an almost film noir quality about the sharp B&W photography, a good score, and other technical qualities that raise it above the norm for what looks like a low-budget Warner film. But the plot has enough interesting moments to keep viewers watching until the final shootout in a hospital while a surgery is being performed.

David Brian seems to be relishing his tough guy role (which seldom varied during his stay at Warner Bros.), and Joan Crawford gets a chance to play out all her anxieties and frustrations with her customary skill. Her career at Warners was just about to come to an end because she was dissatisfied with the scripts she'd been given after making such a strong showing during her first few years with the studio.

A good, steamy melodrama that manages to overcome the improbable story line by being directed in brisk, no nonsense style by Felix Feist, who knew how to keep the pace tight as the story builds toward a climax.

Strange, maybe, but not Joan's worst

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 28 March 2011]

Like others on this board, I'm surprised that Joan Crawford would call "This Woman is Dangerous" her worst film. This from the woman who made Straitjacket, Berserk, and Trog?

"This Woman is Dangerous" was Crawford's last film at Warners, and perhaps she felt like she was headed downhill at Warners the way she had headed downhill at MGM. By then she was used to seeing the signs. But for the viewer, on the surface, at least, the movie is serviceable. Crawford stars as Beth Austin, a gangsteress with vision problems and a jealous boyfriend, Matt Jackson (David Brian). She goes to Indiana to have a special operation by a known surgeon, Dr. Halleck (Dennis Morgan), and the two develop feelings for one another. Knowing the good doctor's fate at the hands of her beau if she gives in, Beth resists his advances.

The film is a strange mix of romance and film noir, but the tension is always there. Phil Carey plays Brian's brother, and the two have a volatile relationship; Matt is always sure Beth has run off with another guy; the police are looking for Beth.

Pretty good, though it drags a bit.

Would've Benefited From Tighter Editing

[abooboo-2 · 6/10 · 25 May 2001]

Not one of director Feist's best, but still decent. He seems to be most comfortable in a tight 60 to 70 minute format, but this one is considerably longer and tends to drag. He's never entirely in control of the mostly maudlin storyline, and never really clinches the romance between Joan Crawford's gangster moll and Dennis Morgan's benevolent eye surgeon. The movie has a hamstrung feeling, as if Feist wasn't allowed to turn loose and be as reckless as he'd like. There are stretches where it's just too stiff and well behaved.

There are some things to like about it however. David Brian is another one of Feist's single-mindedly brutal thugs to rival Lawrence Tierney in the director's earlier "The Devil Thumbs A Ride" and Charles McGraw in "The Threat" for pure undiluted nastiness. His obsessive, murderous, almost infant-like attachment to Crawford is rather disturbing. Along with brother Philip Carey (a brooding, troubling presence throughout) the Jackson brothers certainly make for a memorable pair of crooks.

Also liked the moments just after Crawford undergoes the risky operation to save her eyesight. Feist creates a rather lush feeling of disorientation here and at one point Crawford, whose eyes have been bandaged for some time, makes a perceptive comment to the effect that drifting in the dark for so long has its advantages, that one feels completely cut off from reality and all its concerns.

There's a fresh, exciting scene involving a liquor bottle ill-advisedly thrown through a speeding camper's window and the highway patrol cop it almost strikes (Feist seems to like images of roads and highways just as much as David Lynch) and Brian's fanatic last stand, symbolically taking place in a hospital operating room where Morgan is presumably performing surgery on someone to help them ... see better.

Violence, Romance & Melodrama

[seymourblack-1 · 7/10 · 19 February 2013]

In "This Woman Is Dangerous", the female leader of a criminal gang finds that her life changes dramatically when she experiences problems with her eyesight and has to have a risky operation in order to avoid the prospect of going blind. Violence, romance and the need to be economical with the truth, all play their parts in the melodramatic events that follow as this tough woman has to come to terms with situations which make her feel uncomfortably vulnerable.

Beth Austin (Joan Crawford) masterminds a successful casino robbery in New Orleans in which her gang members pose as police officers who are raiding the premises and immediately after, has to go to Indianapolis for emergency surgery to save her eyesight. She leaves behind her extremely jealous lover Matt Jackson (David Brian) and tells him to keep a low profile until she returns. After undergoing surgery, Beth and her surgeon, Dr Ben Halleck (Dennis Morgan) fall in love and this creates some difficulties as Beth doesn't want Ben to know about her shady past and also knows that if she's totally open about her feelings, she'll effectively be putting his life in danger.

Predictably, the fiercely violent Matt is unable to keep out of trouble and after an argument with his equally volatile brother and fellow gang member Will (Philip Carey), provokes an incident which culminates in him shooting a state trooper. When Beth's absence is extended longer than originally planned because she needs to stay in Indianapolis for tests after her operation, Matt gets increasingly impatient and hires a private detective to find out what's going on.

Beth then has to steer a complicated course as she feels some loyalty to Matt but also has strong feelings for Ben. The fact that there's also an FBI agent and Matt's private detective monitoring her actions poses additional threats and inevitably, it isn't long before matters are brought to an extremely violent conclusion.

There's a great deal of tough talking and some sudden outbursts of violence in the scenes where members of the gang are involved and this contrasts dramatically with the scenes in which Ben is present. He represents a different and more civilised lifestyle to that which Beth had been used to in the past.

Joan Crawford's performance varies from subtle to over-the-top but overall, she perfectly meets the demands of her role which is the main focus of the whole story. David Brian makes a strong impression as the hot-headed Matt and Philip Carey provides good support as the not-very-bright Will, who likes to stir up arguments and get into fights.

"This Woman Is Dangerous" comprises an unusual mixture of violence and romance as well as toughness and vulnerability in a crime drama that features some marvellous cinematography by Ted McCord.

Joan Staked out like a bird dog

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 27 March 2011]

This Woman Is Dangerous marks Warner Brothers termination of the contracts of Joan Crawford and Dennis Morgan. It's a potboiler of a story at best made a lot better by the A list cast.

Joan's a woman of some class who's hooked up with gangster brothers David Brian and Philip Carey and Carey's wife Mari Aldon. After successfully pulling off a heist at a gambling casino, Joan consults a doctor about some vision problems she's having and discovers she's going blind. A really delicate operation is needed and Dr. Dennis Morgan is the guy to do it. So Joan drops out of the gang to go east to Indiana and the hospital Morgan is affiliated with.

While she's repairing her vision, Brian does something really stupid and makes the gang red hot. He kills a state trooper and then in a move I cannot understand ditches the trailer camper they were traveling in with the trooper's body. Might as well have signed a confession.

But Crawford's prints are also in the trailer though the FBI knows she was in the hospital when the murder occurred. She looks like a good bet to lead the FBI to Brian and the rest reasons FBI agent Richard Webb who was also playing Captain Midnight on TV at the same time and in the same manner. So Crawford is staked out like a bird dog.

This Woman Is Dangerous would never get a notice and would be several rankings lower if it weren't for Joan Crawford and the rest of the cast.

Can't decide if it wants to be a noir or a melodrama

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 14 March 2020]

I recorded this 1952 Joan Crawford movie because 1) I like Joan Crawford's Warner Brothers era and 2) I liked the title. After seeing this film, I think that they overstated how dangerous Crawford's character was. She is not dangerous at all. It's as if "Mildred Pierce" decided to join a crime syndicate to help recoup lost profits after the failure of her restaurant chain. Crawford plays the same type of strong woman facing hard times that she often plays.

In this film, Crawford plays Beth Austin, the head of the gang of criminals who pull off heists in high class locales. Crawford's character was specifically recruited for her class as she could get the gang into nicer locations and provide a believable front. The gang pulls off a casino heist by impersonating police officers and make off with $90,000. Crawford is also dating one of the gangsters, a man named Matt who will kill without giving it a second thought. The conflict in this film is that Crawford is losing her eyesight and must undergo surgery to try and reverse her declining eyesight before she is blind entirely. Her doctor refers her to Dr. Ben Halleck, portrayed by Dennis Morgan. Morgan is reluctant to perform the surgery, as it is experimental, but Crawford pressures him to do so, figuring that she doesn't have much to lose.

At this point in the film, the movie kind of switches gears from a noir to more of a melodrama. As Crawford works to recover from the operation, she and Morgan begin to fall in love. Crawford accompanies Morgan on a few "house calls" where she sees the empathy and kindness that he displays toward his patients and their families. She also has dinner at Morgan's home one night where she meets his adorable daughter and seems to instantly bond with her.

The tension throughout this segment of the film is whether or not Morgan will find out about Crawford's past. The FBI is on her trail as is the private detective that her boyfriend hires to keep tabs on Crawford to see if there is more going on between her and Morgan, aside from her convalescence.

This film was okay, Crawford was fine in her part and Morgan turned in the same type of dependable performance that he usually does. However, this film couldn't decide whether or not it wanted to be a noir or a melodrama, and it wasn't captivating enough to be a melodramatic noir like Mildred Pierce. While I didn't hate it, I don't think I'll need to watch this film over and over. Crawford called this her worst film. I think she has worse films out there, Ice Follies of 1939 comes to mind, but this definitely isn't among her best.

Impressive acting by Joan Crawford

[cglassey · 8 September 1999]

This movie is really a star vehicle for Joan Crawford. Here she plays a "gang leader". Her henchmen are typically stupid and violent. Oddly she falls in love with a very decent doctor and the way this plays out is well done.

One especially impressive scene has her visit a woman's prison (in the company of her Doctor friend). Really nice acting job as she portrays her fear of the place (she has been in prison before one guesses) while trying to appear unconcerned. I think this movie is quite a bit better than most people give it credit for.

It's Ted McCords Movie...

[museumofdave · 7/10 · 17 February 2014]

The woman in the title is not particularly dangerous, but she seems to be crashingly masochistic. Joan Crawford, at this point in her acting career, has been playing women with an elegant sense style who fall for the wrong men, and this time it's super-petulant David Brian, who has probably been pouting since his older sister snapped his slingshot. Early in the film, Our Joan discovers her sight is in jeopardy, and purely by accident begins to bond with her doctor, mild-mannered but sensitive Dennis Morgan, set free from Warner's musicals for a year or so; Brian soon discovers the clandestine romance, and is ready to kill someone! He loves to wave his gun around!

Although not as tightly written as this semi-noir melodrama could be, there are plenty of exciting set pieces that delight the eye and excite the intellect--all the stuff with the trailer pursued by the motorcycle copy is, while totally illogical, fascinating and beautifully filmed, and therein for me lies a major interest in this film--the superb, careful use of the camera with which Warner films could be so effective--brilliant set interiors lit perfectly, whether in the home of a sick child's poor parents, or in an operating room's audience gallery, providing a dazzling set piece finale where everybody get's involved and there's enough shattered glass to build an igloo! Cinematographer Ted McCord is the man behind the camera; he's already lensed Crawford in numerous other films, and is responsible for a rich heritage of classics from The Treasure of The Sierra Madre to The Sound of Music--a dedicated artists, McCord's work could make a meatball look like filet mignon.

A sincere dedication from dozens of Warner contract players contribute to a wide variety of locales--from hospital waiting rooms to trailer parks, prison laundry rooms to doctor's offices, and the film, I think, accurately reflects the ability of a major studio to churn out a decent film every few weeks worthy of watching. This Woman Is Dangerous is no Mildred Pierce or Humoresque, but Joan is still in top form, manages to command attention, and there are few that can suffer as bravely. Well...Kay Francis, maybe..but that's another story.....

Joan directing herself...

[younglanier · 5/10 · 13 February 2020]

There is something about watching Joan Crawford on film. No matter the material, she achieved at a time when roadblocks were everywhere for women in general with emphasis on those of a certain age.

This film was released in 1952. Nearly 70 years later the same obtacles she faced as an actress and in the public eye continues today. But with a twist. With pumped up, botoxed, overly filled facial features, women today get to cheat the cameras by at least 20 years. Joan cheated those cameras decades ago without plastic surgery, continued illuminating the screen by leading with what she knew best; what her fans wanted to see.

This film looks cartoonish for many reasons. The leading one perhaps being the Joan-isms that Felix Feist (the Director) either allowed or intentionally looked in the other direction on. Joan doing Joan... complete with overly dramatic line delivery and plain and simple outdated melodrama moments.

Joan in a trailer park...lol. Really?? And in that scene her body double is so obviously not Joan it's distracting to true fans. Looking at the back of the double's head kissing David Brian... think of the actress who played Lois Lane in the 50s Superman series. Joan has an enormous head on a tiny body. Perhaps it would have been money well spent to not use a double?

Joan hated this film. Reportedly for a variety of reasons. The 50s were a tough time for film stars in general. Televisions were getting more affordable and Joan may have found herself competing with her 30s films now playing at the same times audiences were needed at the theaters buying popcorn and candy. Who was it that said movies were the best vehicle to sell popcorn?

Joan played younger and younger themes at a time when her look was becoming stronger, harsher, as she carried herself as if she was ready for a fight. The tension in this film is similar to her later role as Jenny in Torchsong. Why was Jenny so angry and on edge in nearly every scene?

Joan was famous for playing the strong suffering masochist who endures any torture for... ? Love? Money? Power?

This film could have been better if Joan brought more of the Edith Whitehead energy she displayed in the Damned Don't Cry. Joan's typical character arc often looks like a personality change midstream or by the secon reel. Who didn't want to see a relationship blossom with the Dr.? And her adorable scenes with his daughter as she admits to not knowing how to make Princess Dressing at dinner.

As a film noir, there are great moments on film here with great supporting scenes dramatically lit that carru the story where the lead performances miss the mark. The telephone operator, the nurse, the calls to the Florist on Halsted St. maintain the drama as this storyline stumbles on it's merry way.

It does lack Joan's "A" team behind the scenes with the absence of Monty or Perc Westmore, lighting design that does not make the most of Joan's amazing eyes and bone structure, and flat, not very glamorous costumes. Of course her character does buy these dresses in a small Indiana town...lol. Why? They are a gang of criminals who just scored $90K split four ways. And did anyone notice Joan's character Beth Austin mentioning travellers checks? Cash is king in the world of crime.

The stunt near the climax of the film when (spoilet alert) David Brian's character falls through the glass of the surgery gallery after being shot... you can clearly see the stunt man bounce on a mattress covered to resemble the operating room floor...lol.

Joan gets shot.... again. No one takes a bullit on film like Joan Crawford. Almost like she wanted it. The bad girl had to pay the price in films back then. Even if she didn't cheat on her man.

Joan should have had a gun well before Johnny Guitar. How much fun would it have been if Veda (Mildred Pierce) got pistol whipped for slapping Joan in the face for tearing up her fake pregnancy check extorted by blackmailing the wealthy boy who had sex with her? SO much fun.

This film gets very slow in the middle as the storyline goes in too many directions... visiting the women's prison, the little boy who must have plasma or he will die. Yawn.

The ending is pretty lackluster. Beth is every bit the hardened criminal as her pals but the fuzz are going to show mercy as she is in a hospital bed recovering from her lover's gunshot wound. The last camera shot ending on Joan's stunning, shiny red (I assume) freshly manicured nails. Where does a busy career criminal gal in the 1950s find time between gunshots and casino robberies to get get her nails done?

That's our little Joanie.

Joan was famous for being glamorous even when the character she played wouldn't have been (Letty Lynton). It has been reported that in her early scenes in Possessed wandering through downtown Los Angeles searching for,"David.... David....David?"... that she had NO make up on at all. Which I believe because you can see her freckles, no lashes, and maybe just a hint of lip liner.

I would still recommend checking this film out. It did mark a milestone in Joan's career as she left Warner Brothers after 9 years to produce her next Academy Award Nominated film Sudden Fear. How cool would it have been if Joan became a producer or director later in her career?

None the less... she did achieve so much for so long in a male dominated field and remained the consummate professional even when her only vehicles were B pics like Berserk and Trog.

Joan's body of work over her 50 year career is worthy of study. Name another actress who took so many risks, came back, flopped, reinvented and came back again, over and over? Bette Davis can't even say that. Well... she probably could... but this review is All About Joan!

Enjoy!

One tough woman.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 2 April 2011]

Head-strong Beth Austin(Joan Crawford)is no push-over; for anyone. Beth is the leader of a gang of thieves and the mistress of a cold-blooded killer Matt Jackson(David Brian). Matt is trigger happy and the jealous kind...for Beth is every inch a woman. When this lady crime boss finds out her eyesight is failing, she books an operation with maybe the only doctor to save her eyesight, Doc Ben Halleck(Dennis Morgan). Matt promises to lay low and take the bullets out of his gun while Beth is out of town for her surgery. She had no plans to accept the romantic affections of Halleck. Jackson gets very suspicious of his woman and her divorced doctor. This goes on as the FBI narrows in on Beth and her gang. Crawford is her usual hard boiled self and hated this film. She claims to have done it only to finish her contract with the Warner Bros. studio. Also in the cast: Philip Carey, Richard Webb, Ian MacDonald and Mari Aldon.

Not dangerous enough

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 23 August 2020]

Despite admiring Joan Crawford hugely and really liking to loving many of her performances, quite a big part of me was not expecting an awful lot from 'This Woman is Dangerous'. The premise sounded quite interesting and Crawford is worth seeing at least in most of her films, but the not so good critical reception and that Crawford herself had a low opinion of it (calling it her worst film at one point) dampened expectations by quite a lot.

Seeing 'This Woman is Dangerous' though fairly recently for the first time as part of my Crawford completest quest, it was a little better than expected. It is not a terrible film and really do disagree with Crawford when she said that it was her worst film, it is nowhere near close to being one of the worst let alone the very worst. She certainly did much better (i.e. 'Mildred Pierce'), but she did so much worse than 'This Woman is Dangerous' before and since (i.e. 'Berserk').

'This Woman is Dangerous' does have strengths. It looks good visually, the shadowy lighting and equally atmospheric and neither overblown or static photography are very easy on the eyes. The music has an appropriately moody vibe when necessary. Some of the direction is assured.

Crawford brings edge and vulnerability to her role and doesn't over-egg it. Am one of those people that though that David Brian did very well here, suitably loathsome and not being reserved in that (a tough guy role played with relish). Phillip Carey manages to be even creepier and an every bit as tough character.

Less good is Dennis Morgan, his character is rather underwritten and Morgan underplays the role too much so he comes over as dull. The story was problematic to me, it definitely had moments and it did pick up at the end with a tense ending. But it really would have benefitted from a shorter length, which would have meant that the pace most likely would have been tighter and the story, which to me was too thin and over-stretched, more succinct. It also felt contrived and strains credibility to breaking point.

From a scripting point of view, the film fared pretty oddly here. It wasn't soapy in a way, but it did lack tautness and could be overripe. Tonally it is something of an odd muddle, with a feeling of not being sure what type of film it wanted to be. Ending up with having more than one tone and not doing enough with any of them.

All in all, watchable and a long way from Crawford's worst but this could have been better. 5/10

Slow but watchable

[dxnntbktfz · 8/10 · 14 November 2020]

The film suffered from a bit of a slow pace, however the strong performance from Joan Crawford made this watchable and enjoyable.

This Woman is stuck in a B movie

[jjnxn-1 · 7/10 · 24 January 2014]

Strictly B stuff which Crawford considered her worst movie, conveniently forgetting the atrocious "Ice Follies of 1939". Her part is something she could play in her sleep, a tough dame who finds herself in a tight spot.

The thing is that even though Joan is elegantly gowned her surroundings are unquestionably cheap-jack something she sensed did not bode well for her future at Warners, she negotiated her exit and this was her last film for them. It's not just that the sets are low rent, the script is far below the high standard she was being offered just a year before.

That's not to say it's not entertaining in a sensationalistic way but certainly nowhere near her best films.

She didn't seem that dangerous to me

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 26 January 2014]

Joan Crawford plays the leader of a criminal gang who finds out she's going blind. Kindly doctor Dennis Morgan performs the operation that saves her sight and the two fall in love. Joan's insanely jealous boyfriend David Brian is none too pleased. Despite the title, Joan's character is pretty tame. Crawford and Morgan go through the motions here. Both were on their way out at WB. They have no chemistry together at all.

David Brian is an actor I've never been too impressed with. He has a weak screen presence and seems more suited to supporting parts. Due to his friendship with Joan he was given big parts in three movies of hers. Most positive reviews of this film I've read seem to praise his performance. Guess we see things differently as I thought he was just hamming his way through a poor man's impersonation of a WB gangster. This is a forgettable potboiler that's only of note as the last film Joan Crawford did on her Warner Bros. contract. The whole thing feels like a leftover B picture from the '40s. Joan later said this was her worst film. I'm guessing she blacked out the '60s.

Crawford's final Warners film

[nickandrew · 27 December 2002]

This was Joan Crawford's final film under her Warner Brothers contract. She hated the film, but accepted it anyway to complete her agreement with the studio. It is not as bad as everyone thinks it is, but it is odd to see Joan as a lady gangster, going blind, and finding true love with the surgeon (Dennis Morgan) who restores her sight.

No one is better than Joan when she's bad!

[Pat-54 · 7/10 · 23 September 1998]

Joan Crawford's only reason for making "This Woman Is Dangerous," (a script that she thought was terrible) was that it would complete her contract to Warner Brothers Studios and she would then be free to go over to RKO and begin production on "Sudden Fear," (which would earn her an Academy Award nomination).

Crawford's worst? You've gotta be kidding...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 29 July 2009]

This film begins with Crawford a gangster's girlfriend...and this gangster (David Brian) is insanely jealous of her. When it turns out she's going blind, the nutty boyfriend thinks that she is just plotting to run away from him. When the surgery occurs and she is cured, he assumes that she and the doctor are having an affair! In fact, she and the doctor are interested but Crawford puts him off because she loves him and knows that Brian will ultimately kill him if she reciprocates. It's like a soap opera and film noir combined.

I think that either Joan Crawford's statement on IMDb that this was "her worst film" must either be taken out of context or Ms. Crawford had recently suffered a blow to the head, as THIS WOMAN IS DANGEROUS is a very good film. Additionally, late in her career she made some embarrassingly bad films (such as TROG and BERSERK). So how could this be the worst?! Perhaps Crawford was talking about being a bad time in her life or it was tough because after this film her contract with Warner Brothers was expired--but this surely is far from a bad film.

Now I am not saying that this is a great or perfect film--it has a couple knocks against it. First, Dennis Morgan is just too young for her. I am not trying to be mean, but Crawford had been around Hollywood for almost 30 years--Morgan was simply too young and handsome to believe as a doctor who falls for this patient. Second, the plot about a woman going blind and needing this surgery does seem a tad contrived--though I found it pretty easy to accept it for what it was.

The film excels in several ways. First, it was nice to see Crawford in a more vulnerable role. Too often, she played manish roles that almost seemed like caricatures (such as in JOHNNY GUITAR). Second, the ending is quite suspenseful and I loved the character of Crawford's antisocial/paranoid boyfriend. Thing about it--the doctor just restored Joan's sight and yet the crazed boyfriend wants to kill the doctor because he KNOWS that every man wants his girl! Good writing, very good acting--this film is one of Crawford's best from the 1950s.

Living in a world of darkness

[nickenchuggets · 7/10 · 11 May 2023]

Recently, I watched a TCM documentary on Joan Crawford's life which goes over most of the movies she was ever in. It says how after a long spree of her starring in some less than stellar films, she eventually broke free from this by the mid 1940s (thanks to Mildred Pierce) and subsequently appeared in more acclaimed ones. However, this string of success didn't last forever, and according to Joan herself, ended with this movie right here. This Woman Is Dangerous, considered by her to be the worst film she made up to that point, has this reputation for two reasons: it's too complicated and Joan's script is quite lacking. At first, the movie starts off interestingly. A female gangster named Beth (Crawford) is told by an eye doctor that she will lose her eyesight in about a week. While Beth orchestrates and stages raids on gambling houses from behind the scenes, she is also planning to go to an esteemed eye doctor in Indiana, but her boyfriend, Matt (David Brian) doesn't approve. She says she needs to go because he's the only eye doctor that has a chance of saving her vision. When she arrives, she's introduced to Dr. Ben Halleck (Dennis Morgan), who says the only procedure that can save Beth is very hazardous, and if he doesn't succeed, she'll be blind for good. Beth wants to go ahead anyway. Meanwhile, Matt, his brother, and sister-in-law Ann are driving to the south in a trailer when they are pulled over. Matt got frustrated at his brother and threw a liquor bottle out the window. The cop tells Matt that because he's not native to this state, he has to arrest him, but Will's revolver shuts him up permanently. While Beth lies anxiously in a hospital bed, waiting for her vision to come back, Matt tries to get her on the phone. She misses a lot of calls from him, saying they wouldn't allow her to answer them. When she does finally pick up, she hears a strange click which leads her to believe the call is being monitored. Beth is able to see again, but Halleck wants her to stay nearby at a hotel in case something happens. As Ben starts to become attracted to Beth, she is visited by an investigator named Joe, who tells her she needs to watch herself in front of his boss (Matt). After Beth goes to Ben's house and meets his young daughter, she says she has to leave for the hotel. Joe invites himself into her room and tries to pressure her about keeping quiet regarding her criminal ties to Matt, but he leaves after she hits him. Matt beats up his brother for not letting him have his guns, but relents after Ann shoots a vase and threatens to shoot him next. Once Beth tells a florist who knows Matt that she's going to meet with him tomorrow, she tries to get a bus to Kentucky. At the station, Ben says he knows about Matt, and Beth is adamant on going back to him so he can be "repaid." Concurrently, Joe is talking with the FBI. By the time Beth reaches Matt's place, she discovers he left to go murder Ben and is now on his way to Indiana. Matt kills Joe after he attempts to call the FBI on him. Finally, Matt arrives at the hospital Ben works at, and the cops are tipped off by a nurse he spoke to. Will is shot by the cops, but Matt makes his way up a stairwell and onto a platform overlooking the operating room Ben is in. He breaks the window and demands to know which surgeon is Ben Halleck. Ben reveals himself, but Beth knocks the gun from Matt's hand. He eventually shoots her, but is killed by the cops as his body smashes through glass leading to the operating room. Once again, Beth is in a hospital bed, but at least she isn't dead. Both she and Ben are looking to put this whole thing behind them. Like I said earlier, this movie is really too confusing and unoriginal to be considered a classic. The story is essentially a girl trying to keep her new love interest at bay for fear of what her old one will do to him, which is something agonizingly common. Joan does the best with the weak script Warner gave her, but ultimately, this film is proof that not even megastar actresses like her can make absolutely any movie worth seeing. Crawford left Warner Brothers right after this, so I guess it's forgotten about today for a reason.

Film-Noir and Joan Crawford Demystified by Time

[LeonLouisRicci · 6/10 · 7 February 2014]

The 1950's were not Kind to Film-Noir or Joan Crawford. Here is a Prime Example of Both being Betrayed by a Changing Culture and in Joan's Case, just Old Father Time. Even at this Late Date Crawford's Films Insisted on Casting the Aging Actress as a Man Eater and it seemed Anyone on Screen Fell Under Her Spell. There were Lines of Dialog in Scene after Scene Exclaiming Her Beauty. With Each Passing Year from about 1945 the Credulity Strained.

For Film-Noir there is Now Included for Your Domestication, Children, and Marriages, Professional People like Doctors and such all making its way into the Darkness of Noir with the Light of Optimism and Suburbia.

This is a Not-Bad Movie that has a Few Outstanding Scenes but is Smothered by some Heavy Romanticism and Doctorly Do-Gooding. But the Private Eye is Sleazy and the Gang Members are Dumb Brutes, and oh yea this is the Fifties so the F.B.I. is Around for some Flag Waving and Wiretapping. There is Enough here to keep this Above Doldrums and the Good Parts, like the Climactic Shootout in an Operating Room, make this Worth a Watch.

This Story Is Ludicrous

[madmonkmcghee · 5/10 · 16 May 2011]

OK, so it's partly my own fault. But with a title like This Woman Is Dangerous and Joan Crawford in the lead, who wouldn't expect a noir movie? It starts off that way, but after 10 minutes it turns into a syrupy soap opera. So i'm sure there are plenty of fans of La Crawford's brand of melodrama out there who will eat this up and love it. And they will have no problem in accepting the crucial fact that all men who stare into Saint Joan's angelic eyes fall madly in love with her and will do anything, yes even commit murder to win her love. Me for one, i didn't buy it. I'm also not a fan of movies that feature self-sacrificing young and attractive doctors, especially if they have unbearably cute daughters with pigtails. Did i mention he was divorced? And that the pixyish daughter is immediately won over by Ms. Crawford? Boy, what a bit of luck for Our Lady On the Lamb! Sure is a swell setup to step into. If there only wasn't her no-good killer boyfriend, who spends the entire movie in a jealous murderous rage. But of course Joan is too honest and steadfast to sell him out for a cushy life with Dr. Wonderful. Or is she? Torn between two lovers, whatever will she do? If you're really interested in the answer, i can recommend this movie. If like me you couldn't possibly care less, avoid.

Crawford carries tired story of criminal trying to leave the life

[a_chinn · 6/10 · 5 February 2018]

Joan Crawford plays a the leader of a gang who finds herself having to undergo surgery in order to save her eyesight, only to fall in love with her doctor, Dennis Morgan. However, things get messy when her former boyfriend and fellow gang member gets wind of the budding romance. Crawford plays her usual tough self and that's enough to carry this overly tired story of a criminal seeking to leave their life of crime and go straight. Reportedly Jack L. Warner offered Crawford this tired story expecting her to turn it down so he could put the costly star on suspension, but to his surprise she took the part. Following this film, Crawford negotiated her release from her Warner Bros. contract. Crawford once said this was the only film she regretted ever making (and she even said that after filming "Trog," the film about an unfrozen caveman who goes berserk), but "This Woman is Dangerous" is still an entertaining film and watchable mostly thanks to a strong performance by the always fascinating Crawford in the lead.

Turgid Melodrama

[JoeytheBrit · 4/10 · 17 June 2009]

Although Joan Crawford is undoubtedly the star of this awful Warners' programmer, and the bland Dennis Morgan is her love interest, David Brian is the best thing about this film. Brian had already appeared with Crawford in Flamingo Road and The Damned Don't Cry, both of which are infinitely superior to this film, and he knew how to hold his own against her. He, at least, brings a little fire to the screen (while Miss Crawford simpers as she suffers and Morgan tries to smile handsomely).

Crawford plays Beth Austin, a high-class gangster in league with the volatile Jackson brothers (Brian and Philip Carey) who learns she has one of those unspecified disease integral to all mediocre movies. Morgan is the clean-cut doctor who is the only man who can save her. Of course they fall for each other and events follow a horribly predictable (and unbearably slow) path towards an inevitable conclusion.

There isn't much of any worth about this film. It's professionally constructed but lacks any kind of passion, excitement or interest.

I don't have nothing to say I said it all last night

[kapelusznik18 · 6/10 · 25 January 2014]

***SPOILERS***Odd and bizarre combination crime love story with the always abused, as of late, Joan Crawford as gun moll Beth Austin who somehow gets involved romantically with handsome and single, he wife walked out on him, Dr. Ben Halleck, Dennis Morgan, who against his better judgment saved Beth's eyesight after she was on the verge of going blind. It's Beth's jealous and love crazed boyfriend Matt Jackson, David Brian, who feels that she's cheating on him behind his back and plans to ice her lover Dr. Halleck and her as well. The thing is that Beth is actually in love with Matt despite his unbalanced mental condition but for her to explain that to him is like squeezing water out of sand in the Sahara Desert.

While this is going on with Beth convalescing after her operation in the hospital Matt and his kid brother Will, Philip Cary, are involved in a number of crimes one the murder of a state trooper who stopped their trailer for a minor litter, throwing a whiskey bottle out on the highway, infraction. Already wanted in the armed robbery of a legal gambling casino Matt has a murder rap hanging over his head but the love obsessed guy is only interested in getting Dr. Hallack whom he feels stole his girl Beth away from him.

The climatic and sensational ending to this really strange film has the by now completely out of his skull Matt Jackson burst into the operating room when the targeted for death Dr. Hallack in preforming a delicate operation. With everyone having surgical masks on Matt demands the operating crew unmask themselves so he can see and blast Dr. Halleck right in the middle of the operation he's preforming! That's if Beth and the police don't get there in time to stop him.

What's there to say about a movie like this but that it will leave you speechless in trying to figure out what and why an Academy Award winning actress like Joan Crawford would have any part much less be the star of this overcooked turkey. Still the film is one of Mrs. Crawford's most memorable in that she in fact pulled it off despite the lousy script she was handed that a far less accomplished actress would find difficult if not impossible to breath life into. As for Mrs. Crawford's co-star David Brian he was so off the wall and crazy, love crazy, you wondered what she saw in him in the first place that had her meekly put up with his crazed and jealous antics to the point that almost ended up getting her killed by him, the one who supposedly loved her, of all people!

Ridiculous Warners melodrama for gullible female audiences of the '50s

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 3 May 2011]

Joan Crawford left Warner Bros. with a whimper after starring in this mediocre vehicle about a jaded gangster's girl (quickly losing her sight!) who flirts with going straight after falling for her ever-patient eye surgeon. It might not be such a bad idea: the Feds are hot on her trail, as is a private detective who'd like a little inside action. Scattered screenplay, adapted from Bernard Girard's short story, tailored as a showcase for its leading lady, who gets to show both her tough side as well as her withering, womanly glow. Tolerable up to a point, the picture makes too many sentimental side-trips, and Crawford's character ends up not making a whole lot of sense (she also spends a great deal of time waiting in the car). Production values up to par, but this hoary material is second-rate. ** from ****

Not Enough Going For It to Hold Your Interests

[Michael_Elliott · 29 January 2014]

This Woman is Dangerous (1952)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Criminal Elizabeth Austin (Joan Crawford) learns that she could end up going blind so she tells her gangster boyfriend (David Brian) that she has to go away for a while. Once away at the hospital Elizabeth starts to have feelings for her doctor (Dennis Morgan) and before long the gangster shows up. THIS WOMAN IS DANGEROUS is a pretty generic and silly title and I'd say the film is just a bit too predictable and slow to really work. While there are a few interesting moments throughout, there's no question that this material is certainly "B" level stuff and not even Crawford can really bring any class to it. Crawford would eventually call this the worst picture she ever did but I wouldn't go that far. There are a couple good moments scattered throughout and this includes the performance of Brian who is clearly the best thing about the picture. He appeared in a couple films with Crawford and I thought he proved himself to be a quite capable actor. I thought he was extremely believable as the gangster and I really thought he was good as being cold-blooded. I also thought Morgan was good in his role, although there's no question that the screenplay doesn't do much for him. As for Crawford, she's good yet again but at the same time there's no question that this material is quite up to her standards. I think she knew that too and that's why she's not as strong as you typically see her. I think one of the biggest problems with the film is its love story. Not for a second do you really believe what you're seeing and in all reality you don't even care. At 100-minutes the film has a few too many slow spots and too many sections that just drag. The film is mildly entertaining but there are certainly much better out there of its type.