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7.0/10
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A tough, hard-driving business tycoon suffers a broken leg and is left to die in the desert by his scheming wife and her greedy lover.A tough, hard-driving business tycoon suffers a broken leg and is left to die in the desert by his scheming wife and her greedy lover.A tough, hard-driving business tycoon suffers a broken leg and is left to die in the desert by his scheming wife and her greedy lover.
Robert Adler
- Ken - Ranch Hand
- (uncredited)
Harry Carter
- Deputy Fred Parks
- (uncredited)
Everett Glass
- Mason, Carson's Butler
- (uncredited)
James Gonzalez
- Hotel Guest
- (uncredited)
Adrienne Marden
- Emory's Secretary
- (uncredited)
Barbara Pepper
- Waitress
- (uncredited)
Charles Tannen
- Police Radio Broadcaster
- (uncredited)
Dan White
- Lee - Ranch Hand
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen the cast and crew arrived at the Mojave Desert location it was covered in snow and Rhonda Fleming subsequently developed pneumonia.
- GoofsEarly in the movie, after Robert Ryan has put a splint on his broken leg (which continues to cause him a lot of pain), he takes a small branch and breaks it over the injured leg, seemingly without feeling any pain.
- Quotes
Donald Whitley Carson III: [after finding water in a cactus] This stuff's a great discovery. Just sit there and work on it all day and you can get enough juice to sit there and work on it all day.
- Alternate versionsAlso shown in a 3D version.
- ConnectionsFeatured in A New Dimension in Noir: Filming Inferno in (2017)
Featured review
Survival-in-wilderness thriller worth a look, even minus 3-D
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.
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.
helpful•402
- bmacv
- Dec 21, 2003
- How long is Inferno?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Verhängnisvolle Spuren
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,055,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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