Incident in an Alley

Last updated
Incident in an Alley
Incident in an Alley.jpg
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Screenplay byHarry Medford
Orville H. Hampton
(as Owen Harris)
Based on Rod Serling
(from a story by)
Produced by Robert E. Kent
StarringChris Warfield
Erin O'Donnell
Harp McGuire
Cinematography Gilbert Warrenton
Edited byRobert Carlisle
Music by Richard LaSalle
Color process Black and white
Production
company
Harvard Film
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • May 16, 1962 (1962-05-16)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Incident in an Alley is a 1962 American neo noir crime film directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Chris Warfield, Erin O'Donnell and Harp McGuire. [1]

Contents

The film's premise rests on a legal precedent that police may use force against fleeing suspects if the suspect has committed a crime and is warned of the officer's intent to shoot. In 1985, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of Tennessee v. Garner that deadly force may be used to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon only if the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a serious risk to the officer or to others. [2]

Plot

After beat cop Bill Joddy shoots and kills a fleeing suspect, the victim is found to be a 14-year-old boy. Joddy is charged with manslaughter but is acquitted by a jury. He begins to question his own culpability while trying to prove that the boy was participating in a robbery just before he was shot.

Cast

Production

The film was based on a television play written by Rod Serling that had aired in 1955 as part of the US Steel Hour starring Farley Granger. [3] It was then announced as a film project by United Artists. [4] Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse were assigned to produce, with Serling adapting the screenplay, [5] [6] but the film was not made until several years later.

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Howard Thompson wrote: "For all its devious, transparent moralizing about the shooting of a young boy by a policeman, 'Incident in an Alley' belongs in one. The synthetic, floridly hewn little melodrama that opened yesterday on the circuits is strictly pulp stuff, conventionally posing a background of juvenile delinquency and the business of adult 'responsibility.'" [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Serling</span> American screenwriter (1924–1975)

Rodman Edward Serling was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues, including censorship, racism, and war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Deacon (actor)</span> American actor (1922–1984)

Richard Lewis Deacon was an American television and motion picture actor, best known for playing supporting roles in television shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It to Beaver, and The Jack Benny Program, along with minor roles in films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963).

<i>Harlem Nights</i> 1989 comedy drama crime film directed by Eddie Murphy

Harlem Nights is a 1989 American crime comedy-drama film starring and directed by Eddie Murphy, who also wrote. The film co-stars Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello, Michael Lerner, Della Reese, and Murphy's older brother Charlie. The film was released theatrically on November 17, 1989, by Paramount Pictures. The film tells the story of "Sugar" Ray and Vernest "Quick" Brown as a team running a nightclub in the late 1930s in Harlem while contending with gangsters and corrupt police officials.

In common law, the fleeing felon rule permits the use of force, including deadly force, against an individual who is suspected of a felony and is in clear flight.

<i>Boy on a Dolphin</i> 1957 film by Jean Negulesco

Boy on a Dolphin is a 1957 American romantic adventure film theatrically released by 20th Century-Fox. It is set in Greece and shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. It was directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Samuel G. Engel from a screenplay by Ivan Moffat and Dwight Taylor, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by David Divine.

<i>Miss Sadie Thompson</i> 1953 film by Curtis Bernhardt

Miss Sadie Thompson is a 1953 3-D American musical romantic drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, and Aldo Ray. The film was released by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on W. Somerset Maugham's 1921 short story "Miss Thompson". Other film versions include Sadie Thompson (1928) starring Gloria Swanson, Rain (1932) starring Joan Crawford, and Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. (1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willis Bouchey</span> American actor (1907–1977)

Willis Ben Bouchey was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films and television shows. He was born in Vernon, Michigan, but raised by his mother and stepfather in Washington state.

A contagious shooting is a sociological phenomenon observed in military and police personnel, in which one person firing on a target can induce others to begin shooting. Often the subsequent shooters will not know why they are firing, unless they are infantrymen, in which case they are expected to do so. For instance, if someone was a member of a fire team following the point man and he suddenly begins firing his weapon, there is a good chance that their element is in contact with the enemy.

Jay Anthony "Jaybird" Dobyns is a retired Special Agent and veteran undercover operative with the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), New York Times Best-Selling author, public speaker, and high school football coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Pickard (American actor)</span> American actor (1913–1993)

John M. Pickard was an American actor who appeared primarily in television westerns.

<i>Run for the Sun</i> 1956 film released by United Artists

Run for the Sun is a 1956 American Technicolor thriller adventure film released by United Artists, the third film to officially be based on Richard Connell's classic 1924 suspense story, "The Most Dangerous Game", after both RKO's The Most Dangerous Game (1932), and their remake, A Game of Death (1945). This version stars Richard Widmark, Trevor Howard, and Jane Greer, and was directed by Ray Boulting from a script written by Boulting and Dudley Nichols. Connell was credited for his short story.

<i>The Man in the Net</i> 1959 film by Michael Curtiz

The Man in the Net is a 1959 American drama film starring Alan Ladd and Carolyn Jones, and directed by Michael Curtiz. The supporting cast features Diane Brewster.

<i>Ten North Frederick</i> (film) 1958 film by Philip Dunne

Ten North Frederick is a 1958 American drama film in CinemaScope written and directed by Philip Dunne and starring Gary Cooper. The screenplay is based on the 1955 novel of the same name by John O'Hara.

<i>Raintree County</i> (film) 1957 film by Edward Dmytryk

Raintree County is a 1957 American epic historical romance western film adapted from the 1948 novel of the same name by Ross Lockridge Jr. The film was directed by Edward Dmytryk and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the Antebellum South and the American Civil War, the film tells the story of a small-town Midwestern teacher and poet named John Shawnessy, who meets and marries a beautiful Southern belle named Susanna Drake; however, her emotional instability leads to the destruction of their marriage. The leading roles are played by Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, Nigel Patrick and Lee Marvin.

<i>The McConnell Story</i> 1955 film by Gordon Douglas

The McConnell Story is a 1955 dramatization of the life and career of United States Air Force (USAF) pilot Joseph C. McConnell (1922–1954) directed by Gordon Douglas. McConnell served as a navigator in World War II before becoming the top American ace during the Korean War and was killed on August 25, 1954, while serving as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, California. The Warner Brothers production, filmed in CinemaScope and Warner Color, stars Alan Ladd as McConnell and June Allyson as his wife. Longtime Warners staff composer Max Steiner wrote the musical score for the film.

<i>Hell on Frisco Bay</i> 1956 film by Frank Tuttle

Hell on Frisco Bay is a 1956 American CinemaScope film noir crime film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson and Joanne Dru. It was made for Ladd's own production company, Jaguar.

<i>The Yellow Canary</i> 1963 film by Buzz Kulik

The Yellow Canary is a 1963 American thriller film directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Pat Boone and Barbara Eden. It was adapted by Rod Serling from a novel by Whit Masterson, who also wrote the novel that was the basis for Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. The film was photographed by veteran Floyd Crosby and scored by jazz composer Kenyon Hopkins.

<i>No Time to Die</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film

No Time to Die is a 1958 British war film about an American sergeant in the British Army during the Second World War. In the US, the film was renamed Tank Force!.

Fighting Father Dunne is a 1948 American biographical film about the life of Father Peter Dunne, and the creation of his News Boys Home in St. Louis, Missouri. Directed by Ted Tetzlaff, the screenplay was written by Martin Rackin and Frank Davis, based on an original story by William Rankin. The film stars Pat O'Brien as Fr. Dunne, along with Darryl Hickman, Charles Kemper, Una O'Connor, Arthur Shields, Harry Shannon, Joe Sawyer, Myrna Dell, and Ruth Donnelly.

Jacklyn Pearl O'Donnell is a retired American actress who was active from 1956 until 1970. She had regular starring roles on two television series, and performed on stage and in films. From September 1961 on she used the name "Erin O'Donnell" for billing credits.

References

  1. Review at Film Monthly accessed 19 May 2013
  2. "Tennessee v. Garner" . Retrieved August 12, 2015. [Deadly] force may not be used unless necessary to prevent the escape [of a fleeing suspect] and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.
  3. J. P. SHANLEY (24 Nov 1955). "TV: True Life 'Incident': ' U. S. Steel Hour' Has Story of Policeman". New York Times. p. 59.
  4. THOMAS M. PRYOR Special to The New York Times. (28 Nov 1955). "M-G-M SIGNS TRIO FOR 'HIGH SOCIETY': Crosby, Sinatra and Grace Kelly to Star in New Film of 'Philadelphia Story'". New York Times. p. 27.
  5. THOMAS M. PRYOR Special to The New York Times. (9 Aug 1956). "FOX SIGNS WALD FOR 18 PICTURES: Producer to Set-Up His Own Organization at Studio Under 5-Year Contract Carnera Loses Bout Of Local Origin". New York Times. p. 22.
  6. GILBERT MILLSTEIN (2 Dec 1956). "'Patterns' of a Television Playwright: 'Patterns' of a TV Playwright". New York Times. p. SM13.
  7. Thompson, Howard (1962-05-17). "'Incident in an Alley' Dabbles in Morals". The New York Times . p. 31.