Jeopardy

“I’d do anything to save my husband. Anything!” While the censors would never have allowed explicit confirmation, viewers of John Sturges’ Jeopardy are clearly led to believe that a woman has had sex with a murderous fugitive in exchange for his help rescuing her husband from an accident. That’s pretty racy for 1953, but Sturges and his actors present the exchange as a complex moral dilemma that results in a secret bond that makes us feel actual sympathy for a psychotic criminal before the final shot. Noir legend Barbara Stanwyck plays the woman, Helen Stilwin, who is driving through the Mexican desert while on holiday with her husband Doug (Barry Sullivan) and young son Bobby (Lee Aaker). When the family stops at a remote beach, and Doug becomes trapped under a collapsed jetty, Helen is forced to go seek help before the rising tide drowns him. Unfortunately, the only help she can find is an escaped convict named Lawson (Ralph Meeker) who just killed a man. Lawson kidnaps Helen (and her car) at gunpoint in an attempt to escape the police, Helen’s pleas to save Doug falling on deaf ears, at least until a deal can be arranged. Jeopardy is a minor film, a B noir that is significantly elevated by Stanwyck’s presence, and one of a subset of noirs that take place almost entirely in desert daylight and scorching heat. With Meeker’s muscular manhood and wolfish smile on display, Sullivan is relegated to the milksop role of a trapped, helpless, and almost certainly cuckolded husband attempting to stay calm for his little boy. The film isn’t the pinnacle of anyone’s career, but it makes for thoroughly gripping entertainment.