Danger Lights
About Danger Lights
Dan Thorn, a Milwaukee Road boss in Miles City, Montana, takes a crew out to a landslide on the track and hires a hobo he finds there. The man, Larry Doyle, used to be an engineer. Dan is engaged to Mary Ryan and does not see that she and Larry are drawn together. In the yard Dan threatens Larry, then sees he is trapped on a switch and pulls him clear. The train hits Dan. A doctor says he will die unless he reaches Chicago for brain surgery within five hours. Larry drives a special and breaks the time. Two weeks later Dan tells Mary he is already married to the railroad and sends her to Larry. Hearing men outside talk as if he is finished, he shouts at them to get back to work.
Cast & crew
More about Danger Lights
George B. Seitz directed. James Ashmore Creelman wrote the script. William LeBaron produced. The Chicago premiere was November 15, 1930, and the U.S. release December 12. Yard scenes were shot in Miles City. Rural scenes used the Milwaukee Road line through Sixteen Mile Canyon. More footage was shot in Chicago, then the railroad's headquarters. It was the first film shot in the Spoor-Berggren Natural Vision process. A 65mm widescreen version was also made. The copyright was not renewed, and the film entered the public domain in the United States in 1958.
Themes
Look
Karl Struss and John W. Boyle photographed the Montana line and the Chicago footage.
Technique
It was the first feature shot in the Spoor-Berggren Natural Vision process, with a separate 65mm widescreen version.
Preservation
The 74-minute version survives. The copy in general circulation includes a 55-minute television cut. Public domain in the United States since 1958.
Notes
- Louis Wolheim plays Dan Thorn. Robert Armstrong plays Larry Doyle. Jean Arthur plays Mary Ryan.
- A television cut runs 55 minutes. Alpha Video issued the 74-minute version on DVD in 2009.
- Hugh Herbert, Frank Sheridan, and Robert Edeson are in the catalog cast.
Scenes
- Dan pulls Larry off the switch and is hit himself.
- Larry's special makes Chicago inside five hours.
- Dan tells the yard men to get back to work.
Also available
- Internet Archive (danger_lights)
- Alpha Video DVD (2009, 74-minute version)
