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6.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Danger Lights remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Is this worth watching today? Honestly, yes, but mostly if you have a thing for massive steam engines or want to see Jean Arthur before she became a massive star. If you hate old movies where people shout their lines because the microphones were hidden in flower pots, you’ll probably want to skip it. 🚂
It’s a movie for people who like to see how things used to be made. It feels heavy. Everything in this movie—the trains, the shovels, the men—looks like it weighs about ten tons.
First off, we have to talk about Louis Wolheim. He plays Dan, the boss of the yard. The guy doesn't look like a movie star. He looks like a guy who was built out of granite and then dropped down a flight of stairs. It’s great.
He has this broken nose and a permanent scowl, but he’s actually the 'good guy.' He takes in Larry (Robert Armstrong), a hobo who used to be a crack engineer. It’s a classic 'giving a man a second chance' story, but it feels more earned here because everything is so grimy.
I kept thinking about how different this is from the polished stuff like The Americano. There’s no glamour here. Just sweat and coal dust.
Wolheim has this presence that just eats up the screen. It’s a shame he died so shortly after this came out. He had a vibe that reminded me of the raw physicality in The Unknown, just a pure, unpolished human being.
Then there is Jean Arthur. She plays Mary. This is early in her career, but that voice is already there. You know the one? That sort of squeaky, breaky, sandpaper-on-silk voice. It’s infectious.
She’s engaged to Dan, the 'ugly' boss, but then Larry shows up. Larry is younger. Larry is played by Robert Armstrong (the King Kong guy), and he’s... fine? He’s a bit of a jerk, actually. He spends half the movie trying to steal his benefactor's girl, which makes him kind of hard to root for.
Mary seems genuinely torn, which I didn't expect. Usually in these 1930s flicks, the girl just goes with the younger guy and doesn't look back. But here, you can tell she actually respects Dan. It makes the love triangle feel slightly less like a plot device and more like a real mess.
The middle of the movie drags a bit. There is a lot of talking in small rooms. But then, the train stuff happens.
That foot-in-the-switch scene... man. There are no fast cuts or CGI. It’s just a big, heavy train getting closer and closer to a guy who can't move. It feels more dangerous than most modern action movies because you know that’s a real train and a real guy on the tracks.
The sound design is bonkers. Since it was 1930, they were still figuring out how to mix audio. The steam whistles are so loud they practically blow your speakers out. It’s immersive, in a 'my ears are ringing' kind of way.
There’s a lot of weird, specific stuff that makes it feel real. Like the way the guys eat in the bunkhouse. They aren't 'acting' like they're eating; they are actually shoveling food into their faces. It’s messy.
I also loved the background extras. Half of them look like they just wandered off a real Chicago street and were told to stand there. Some of them look directly at the camera. It’s a bit distracting, but I kind of love it. It feels like a time capsule.
There’s a scene where Hugh Herbert (the comic relief) is doing his bit, and you can see a guy in the background just watching him with a look of pure confusion. I felt that guy. Hugh Herbert is... an acquired taste. He does this 'woo-woo' thing that either makes you laugh or makes you want to turn the volume to zero.
Nah. It’s a 'program-er.' It was meant to entertain people for an hour and then be forgotten. But it has more soul than something like Enticement. It’s got grit.
"I'm a railroad man, and I don't need no help from nobody!"
Dan says stuff like that a lot. The dialogue is simple. Sometimes too simple. But it fits the setting. These aren't poets; they’re guys who move coal. They don't use big words because they’re too tired from working twelve-hour shifts.
The ending is a bit of a cop-out, maybe. Everything gets resolved a little too cleanly given how much drama was built up. But the journey there is fun if you like the clatter of tracks and the smell of oil. 🛠️
One more thing—the cinematography during the night scenes is actually quite pretty. The way the light hits the steam creates these ghostly shapes. It’s almost poetic, which is weird for a movie that is mostly about guys shouting at each other.
Anyway, if you're bored and want to see a movie where the hero looks like a bulldog and the girl sounds like a broken flute, give Danger Lights a spin. It’s much better than most of the stuff from that specific year. Just be prepared for the noise.
IMDb —
1924
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