Danger Lights (1930)

The tough boss of a railroad yard befriends a young hobo, and unwittingly places in jeopardy his relationship with the woman he loves.

Director:

George B. Seitz

Writer:

James Ashmore Creelman (story and dialogue)

Stars:

Louis Wolheim, Jean Arthur, Robert Armstrong

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Louis Wolheim	...	Dan Thorn
Robert Armstrong	...	Larry Doyle
Jean Arthur	...	Mary Ryan
Hugh Herbert	...	Professor - the Hobo
Frank Sheridan	...	Ed Ryan
Robert Edeson	...	Tom Johnson - Engineer
Alan Roscoe	...	Jim - General Manager
William P. Burt	...	Chief Dispatcher
Jim Farley	...	Joe Geraghty (as James Farley)

Storyline

Head railroad man Dan is as ugly as he is honorable. When he spots a drifter who'd hopped a freight held up by a landslide, Dan offers the man a job; then he finds the man was a railroader, too, and takes him under his wing. Engaged to Mary, Dan doesn't notice the growing attraction between his protégé and his intended, but focuses instead on running the railroad.

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Plot Keywords:

head injury | landslide | hobo | tug of war | train | 

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Taglines:

World's Greatest Railroad Talk Thriller

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fugindo ao Perigo

Filming Locations:

Lombard, Montana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Enough 1930 Chicago buildings have survived to make it possible to reconstruct the train's filmed entrance to Chicago, coming in from the west on Milwaukee Road tracks at ground level, and making a sweeping right turn to parallel the west side of the Chicago River on final approach southbound into Union Station, passing by the loading docks of the curving Braun Bottles building and the massive Seng Terminal Warehouse, now gone. Much of what was open-air track in 1930 is now covered by high-rises such as the Boeing building.

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Goofs

The locomotive that arrives in Chicago is not the same one that left on the trip. When Larry adds oil to the smoking "hotbox" en route, for example, the wheel has an outside journal box that he puts the oil into from a can. The loco that arrives in Chicago has an inside journal on this wheel (under the cab), a different type than the one the loco had earlier.

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Quotes

Dan Thorn: Not exactly handsome. Why, my pants looks like a street before they laid the pavement down.

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Soundtracks

With You With Me
(uncredited)
Music by Oscar Levant
Lyrics by Sidney Clare

User Reviews

Best railroad film!

This is the very best movie for shots of the railroad scene circa 1930. Reportedly contains the only existing film of a dynamometer. Wonderful shots of steam engines. Amazing tug of war between steam locomotives at the Old Timers Picnic. Exciting 100 MPH race to Chicago. This is a must for railroad fans. The old-fashioned acting is quite different than that of effete modern Hollywood. Louis Wolheim is quite the antidote for your basic 20-year-old hermaphroditic hero!