DANGEROUS MISSION
Movie
Year: 1954
Director: Louis King
US Premiere: 6 March 1954
Copyright 1954 RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Plot Summary
A young girl, played by Piper Laurie, witnesses a gang murder in New York, and runs away to Montana's Glacier National Park, pursued by the gang. She takes a job at the resort hotel, and the arrival of two mysterious men leads to confusion as to which is there to silence her.
Cast
Victor Mature - Matt Hallett
Piper Laurie - Louise Graham
William Bendix - Chief Ranger Joe Parker
Vincent Price - Paul Adams
Betta St. John - Mary Tiller
Harry Cheshire - Mr. Elster
Steve Darrell - Katoonai Tiller
Walter Reed - Ranger Dobson
Marlo Dwyer - Mrs. Elster
Dennis Weaver - Pruitt, Ranger Clerk
Trevor Bardette - Kicking Bear, Indian Chief at Schoolhouse
Helen Brown - Miss Thorndyke
Charles Cane - Charlie Barrett
John Carlyle - Bellhop
Robert Carraker - Traskins (Lead Fireman)
Jack Chefe - Party Caterer
James Conaty - Party guest/Dance extra
Kem Dibbs - Johnny Yonkers
Ann Dore - Woman at Party
Roy Engel - Hume, Fisherman who finds Adams' car
Bess Flowers - Tall Party Guest
Fritz Ford - Hawthorne
Wymer Gard - Cobb
Frank Griffin - Tedd, Desk Clerk
Grace Hayle - Mrs. Alvord
Chester Jones - Porter
Kenner G. Kemp - Hotel extra
Mike Lally - Fletcher, Firefighter
Virginia Linden - Mrs. Brown
Chester Marshall - Bellhop
Bert Moorhouse - Battaglia, the murder victim
Craig Moreland - Firefighter
Richard Newton - Boone, Reporter at Hotel
James Porter - Ranger
Steve Rowland - Parking attendant
Sammy Shack - Firefighter
George Sherwood - Mr. Jones
Maureen Stephenson - Mrs. Jones
Bert Stevens - Hotel extra/Indian ceremony extra
Russell Thorson - Downriver Radio Operator
Ralph Volkie - Firefighter
Bill White Jr. - Hotel Clerk
Frank Wilcox - Jeremiah Kern, Yonker's Lawyer
Stunts
Fred Carson - Stunt Double for Victor Mature
Fritz Ford
Production Crew
Producer - Irwin Allen
Director - Louis King
Screenplay - Horace McCoy, W.R. Burnett, Charles Bennett
Story - Horace McCoy and James Edmiston
Director of Photography - William Snyder, A.S.C.
Technicolor Color Consultant - Monroe W. Burbank
Photographic Effects - Harold Wellman, A.S.C.
Art Directors - Albert S. D'Agostino, Walter Keller
Sound - Frank McWhorter, Clem Portman
Assistant Director - James W. Lane
Music - Roy Webb
Musical Director - C. Bakaleinikoff
Editorial Supervision - Frederic Knudtson, A.C.E.
Film Editor - Gene Palmer
Set Decorations - Darrell Silvera, John Sturtevant
Costumes - Michael Woulfe
Makeup Artist - Mel Berns
Hair Stylist - Larry Germain
Stunt co-ordinator - Fred Carson
Trivia
- Dangerous Mission was originally called Rangers of the North.
- It was an early 3D movie with the glaciers of Montana providing spectacular scenery for three dimensional footage.
- The cast includes Ann Dore (woman at party) who played the female giant in the Land of the Giants pilot The Crash.
- Also, keep an eye open for a young Dennis Weaver, better known as Marshal Sam McCloud in the 1970's series McCloud.
- Predominantly filmed in the Glacier National Park in Montana.
- The hotel featured in the movie is the Glacier Park Hotel, now called the Glacier Park Lodge.
- This was the first Irwin Allen movie that cinematographer Harold E. Wellman worked on and he would work again with Allen in the late 1970s on a number of his disaster movies including The Swarm.
- Man serving drinks to Yonkers and his lawyer is called George, but we don't see his face.
- Matt's room number at the hotel is 216 (is this Irwin Allen's birthday in reverse?)
- Jack Chefe makes a career of catering in Irwin Allen's movies as he also played a chef in Double Dynamite and a waiter in A Girl in Every Port.
- Fritz Ford was a Hollywood stunt man.
Alternative Titles
France: Mission Périlleuse
Germany: Blut im Schnee
Italy: Agente Federale X3
Japan: 雪原の追跡
Spain: Nieves Traidoras
Broadcasts
Collectibles
VHS Video
The VHS for this movie is pretty rare. We would be interested to see the cover if anyone has a copy.
