Inferno is a nifty blend of film noir and survival adventure. Robert Ryan plays a wealthy man who’s left to die in the desert by his wife and her lover. Although we wonder why these people have done this to the man, we learn pretty quickly that he’s been an awful man and husband. There’s a line that’s mentioned stating that Ryan’s Donald Carson feels helpless without his money. And that’s where the the change in character begins. After setting his broken leg and beginning his long trek of survival, Carson develops over the runtime. He initially wants to survive to wreak havoc upon those who have wronged him. As time passes and he manages his next action or accomplishes a task, he feels a pride within himself and we the audience feel that pride with him. Then it becomes all about Carson doing what he needs to do and nothing else. They become unimportant to his task at hand.
Director Roy Baker cuts back and forth between the survival story and the noir like machinations of Carson’s wife and her lover played by Rhonda Flemming and William Lundigan. Seedy passion leading to potentially deadly acts. Inferno balances both of these genres to provide an entertaining thriller with gorgeous scenery and vibrant Technicolor.
DeaconsDen 