Inferno

Inferno is a small but excellent 1953 film about a beautiful woman (Rhonda Fleming) and her lover (William Lundigan) who leave the woman's husband (Robert Ryan) alone in the desert with a broken leg, assuming he'll croak. The story focuses on Ryan's character trying to survive in the desert and what he learns about himself.

With gorgeous Rhonda Fleming in the movie, it's done in color. A chimpanzee could have played her part - there's precious little acting involved - but she certainly adds tremendous beauty to the production. She and another spectacular redhead, Arlene Dahl, both were getting larger roles in films at the time the studio system was winding down. Ten years earlier, they might have ruled the world. William Lundigan is appropriately cold-blooded as her horny lover, and Larry Keating is an appropriately concerned business associate.

But this is Ryan's film, and he's top-notch. His thoughts come over as voice-over, and you're pulling for him every step of the way, despite everyone describing him as unpleasant.

Excellent film, quite a surprise.

I saw this movie when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old. All I remember about it is that it was about a man (Robert Ryan) with the unusual and most unfortunate position of being stranded in a desert (a real inferno) and at the same time being hunted down by a cheating wife and her murderous lover. Ryan delivers a top notch performance in this suspenseful and highly dramatic film. This is a very good and satisfying movie.

This exciting thriller packs a punch as a cheating wife (Rhonda Fleming) and her scheming lover (William Lundigan) purposely abandon her husband with a broken leg in the middle of the Mojave Desert without transportation or supplies. But they're not clever enough by half...as they start their premature gloating and plans to spend his money, the determined husband (grittily played by Robert Ryan) refuses to die and slowly makes his hate-filled way to a spectacular revenge.

The best thing about Inferno is that, like the Aeneid, it jumps right into the middle of the action. Out in a southwestern desert, under the baking sun, lies Robert Ryan, with his leg broken and only a meager supply of food and water. He's been left to die by his wife (Rhonda Fleming) and her lover (William Lundigan). There's no backstory, no lead-up to the crucial events; what little we need to know gets doled out as the movie advances, but never in flashback.

Of course, anybody can be left to die in the desert by a philandering spouse, but it helps if you're a millionaire, like Ryan. We learn that he inherited his fortune and wonders whether he deserves it, and that he's a tough and private man who suffers no fools gladly (the part's basically a reworking of Ryan's Smith Ohlrig in Max Ophuls' Caught).

The rest of Inferno cross-cuts between Ryan's attempts to survive by his wits and Fleming's and Lundigan's to throw the local police and Ryan's business associates back in Los Angeles off track. After several days elapse, when it becomes apparent that Ryan may still be alive and on the move, Fleming and Lundigan decide that, in order to save themselves, they have to go back and finish the job....

Inferno was issued in 1953, the annus mirabilis of 3-D. Unlike most titles filmed in that short-lived gimmick, it stands pretty well on its own – even the hurtling rocks, striking rattlers and flaming rafters stay effective without knocking viewers over the head. But basically it's a story of a man born to wealth who, to stay alive, must negotiate a deadly wilderness where money proves worthless. Watching Ryan do so is worth giving Inferno a look.

Robert Ryan, Rhonda Fleming and Bill Lundigan give outstanding performances in this suspensive thriller that winds up in a struggle to survive in the desert. Originally introduced in 3D in 1953, it will keep you on the edge of your seat.