Many of the actors and sets used in the film were from the Dan Duryea television show China Smith. Aldrich and cinematographer Joseph Biroc also worked on the series.
Aldrich later said the film "first embedded what I wanted to say in films. It was mainly about two men with good and bad points. Both men believed in individual liberty but the belief of one man was weaker than the other because he had no respect for humanity."[5]
Plot
Mike Callahan (Duryea) is an Irish émigré and war veteran working in Singapore as a private detective. He takes on a case from a former flame, now a nightclub singer. She thinks her husband Julian March (Knowles) is involved in criminal activities and asks him to help out.
Callahan learns that a man named Alexis Pederas (Lockhart) has involved Julian in a plot to kidnap a prominent nuclear scientist Sean O'Connor and hold him for ransom to the highest bidder. O'Connor is one of the only four men in the world that knows how to detonate the H-Bomb.
Aldrich said he got the idea to make the film while directing episodes of China Smith. When production was on hiatus he wrote a story with a colleague.[6] Bernard Tabakin, who produced China Smith, agreed to produce the film along with Aldrich.[7]
Aldrich says the script was almost entirely written by Hugo Butler but Butler does not get credit due to being blacklisted. Aldrich said "There are optimists in the society, not many left, who thought that someday those guys [on the Hollywood Blacklist] would get post-mortem credits for their work. So he wrote World for Ransom and I put my name on it to try and get him the credit. And it went into arbitration with the Writer's Guild, and another guy Lindsay Hardy got total screen credit on it. It was a joke. He no more wrote that script than walk on the water. Butler made that total screenplay."[8]
Filming started 13 April 1953 at the Motion Picture Center Studio.[9]
The film was shot in 11 days, on a budget that has been reported between $90,000 and $100,000. It was shot over 6 days, then Aldrich halted production to shoot TV commercials in order to raise money for the film's post-production. Then there was a five-day shoot to finish it.[10][6]
"It was a strange and very enjoyable experience and – except for the end result – a marvellous collaboration", said Aldrich. "It really had no sets and thanks to Joe Biroc we had reflections in the water where there was no water and all sorts of silly things. I've always looked back on World for Ransom with a kind of wistful happy feeling.."[6]
The film is similar to another film noir with a nuclear theme by Aldrich, Kiss Me Deadly, the difference being that Callahan is trying to get an old girlfriend back, while Mike Hammer in Kiss Me Deadly was in it for the money.
Reception
The film had a considerable impact on Aldrich's career – in July 1953 Harold Hecht hired him to direct Burt Lancaster in Apache.[11]
When the film was released, film critic Bosley Crowther was negative about the film but appreciated the actors, writing, "Nothing gives it distinction, save possibly the people in its cast ... Robert Aldrich produced and directed. He was trying. Some day he may learn how."[12]
More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz was positive about the film, and wrote, "This is a marvelously understated film noir that parodies all those big-budget spy/adventure films and in my opinion does a better job than most in getting to the underbelly of that genre. Aldrich was upset with censors for lifting the scene where Duryea learns his love interest is a lesbian. He could forgive her love for other men, but not with other women. The 1950s wasn't ready for such relationships, at least not in films. Nevertheless, this was a compelling film doing a fantastic job exploring the uncertainty of partnerships and the indeterminate nature of trust."[13]
References
^Alain Silver and James Ursini, Whatever Happened to Robert Aldrich?, Limelight, 1995 p 231
^"WORLD FOR RANSOM". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 21, no. 240. London. Jan 1, 1954. p. 137.
^Aldrich, Robert (2004). Robert Aldrich : interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. 12.
^ abcAldrich, Robert (2004). Robert Aldrich : interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. 43.
^THOMAS M. PRYOR (Apr 19, 1953). "DOLEFUL HOLLYWOOD: Uncertainty Pervades Industry as Rise In Unemployment Continues -- Addenda". New York Times. p. X5.
^Silver, Alain. "mr. film noir stays at the table". Film Comment. Vol. 8, no. 1 (Spring 1972). New York. pp. 14–23.
^THOMAS M. PRYORS (Apr 4, 1953). "WRITERS, STUDIOS AGREE ON CREDITS: Guild to Vote April 22 on New Terms Concerning Alleged Reds and Arbitration". New York Times. p. 9.
