Ransom! (1956)

As Good As It Gets

The acting in this movie is really good.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Love classic film and crime dramas/mysteries even more so. The more than capable cast further added to the interest (Glenn Ford and Donna Reed are always watchable and wanted to see how Leslie Nielson would fare in a very early dramatic role) and the idea was a great one with plenty of room for tension.'Ransom!' turned out to be a nifty and well above average film. It had room for improvement, on the other hand the good things were numerous and enormous. The Mel Gibson film may be better known, but like many others (although that film was quite well done and particularly worth watching for Gary Sinise), there there is a personal preference for the darker, more mysterious and more suspenseful yet not as flashy and more staid perhaps 1956 film, which today is criminally undervalued and generally has more substance.Is 'Ransom!' without faults? No. Donna Reed tries her best but the character is underdeveloped and lacks subtlety, causing Reed to overdo the hysteria especially. Occasionally it's a bit static.Plus it would have been even better if the villains were not as thinly sketched, though that they remained unseen did provide a mysterious edge, and the ending (although slightly touching and thankfully not improbable) less anti-climactic, overwrought and lacking resolve.However, 'Ransom!' is particularly worth seeing for Glenn Ford who gives a superb performance, very deeply felt, suitably stern and often restrained. Juano Hernandez is a sympathetic and heartfelt moral compass (the subplot gave the film heart), while Robert Keith and Juanita Moore are good support. Leslie Nielson fares well in a dramatic early role though he did go on to better things. The villains could have had more meat to them but they do provide some menace and there is a good amount of tension where one cares for the situation (helped by that the lead character here is better fleshed out), something that Gibson's version didn't quite have.The story is more deliberate, but there is a real air of suspense and dread without any gratuity or overblown action to cheapen it. It is also generally far more plausible, whereas Gibson's version unravelled in that aspect near the end. The script is taut, lean and thoughtful while the film is competently if not always imaginatively directed. 'Ransom!' looks suitably atmospheric and is very nicely shot.Overall, good and well done film if not without things that could have done with some tweaking. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Ransom! (1956) *** (out of 4) Glenn Ford plays a tycoon who must decide whether to pay a ransom for his kidnapped son. I had seen the Ron Howard/Mel Gibson remake before but this one here manages to be pretty good even though there are a couple horrible things. The biggest difference between the two versions is that in this one we never see who is doing the kidnapping or why. The bad guys are never shown and instead we center on Ford and his wife (Donna Reed). Ford delivers a pretty strong and intense performance, although I felt he went over the top a couple times. Reed on the other hand delivers an incredibly bad performance. I wouldn't say she can't act but she certainly doesn't do it here. Her performance is downright laughable at times and I think she really brings the film down in her shock and fear moments. I was actually happy when the doctor drugged her up to make her sleep because that meant we wouldn't have to put up with her. Leslie Nielsen and Robert Keith add nice support. The first thirty minutes drag along but once the ransom situation starts then the film becomes quite entertaining. The ending doesn't work at all and comes out of no where but even so this is a slightly enjoyable film.

Hard hitting, raw and no monkey business. One of Fords best! The way Ford acts and the way the director grabs you, and makes you take this film seriously are awesome.Remakes of the old Hollywood, don't even come close as they are put out these days.Hollywood has the answer to going back to basics on real story telling, like this picture.And a surprising Nielson, shows that he is a good actor outside of his usual comical roles.And the little boy, you can't help but wonder what horror he is living, as these days we know all to well, its more common place.

Not to be confused with Jay McInerny's Japan-set follow-up to his seminal 80's novel, "Bright Lights, Big City," or Mel Gibson and Ron Howard's stab at the same material, Glen Ford and company tackle the "title" and the kidnapping tale-of-woe with a heavy splash of sweat and hysteria. Sans modern pyrotechnics, the straight-forward narrative and sharp, clean black and white photography are welcome additions to any film library. Ford is a mass of twisted piano wire. Intense. Brooding. Furious. He rages against everyone in sight. Donna Reed spins from cool, detached resolve to loopy mush. The family doctor sends her to her bedroom loaded with tranquilizers. The kidnapper is never on screen--except for a burning cigarette. And maybe a shadow or two. The black actors are given more to do than usual. The butler has the run of the house and is a deacon. He wears his religion in full view of all the others. Fatherly, he hugs Ford in his hour of need. Could this be the first interracial embrace in movie history? Ford is a very affluent man and has a television anchored in his bookcase. I could see why Gibson was drawn to this material. Ford, jumping all over the place during a "live" broadcast, slaps his hand down over the Bible with such fervor, he almost flattens the tome into a leather pancake. Ouch. Finally, if the ransom gets payed, what are the odds the boy will be returned alive? Two to one. I know this because the police chief and the good book tells Ford so. Perfect.