Where the Sidewalk Ends | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Otto Preminger |
Screenplay by | Ben Hecht |
Story by | |
Based on | Night Cry 1948 novel by William L. Stuart |
Produced by | Otto Preminger |
Starring | Dana Andrews Gene Tierney |
Cinematography | Joseph LaShelle |
Edited by | Louis Loeffler |
Music by | Cyril Mockridge |
Color process | Black and white |
Production company | 20th Century Fox |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,475,000 |
Box office | $1 million [1] |
Where the Sidewalk Ends is a 1950 American film noir directed and produced by Otto Preminger. [2] [3] The screenplay for the film was written by Ben Hecht, and adapted by Robert E. Kent, Frank P. Rosenberg, and Victor Trivas. The screenplay and adaptations were based on the novel Night Cry by William L. Stuart. The film stars Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney.
Andrews plays Mark Dixon, a ruthless and cynical metropolitan police detective who despises all criminals because his father was one, and finds himself trying to cover up his own accidental killing of a suspect in a murder case. Considered a classic of the genre, the film displays a brand of violence "lurking below urban society" considered an important noir motif. [4]
Mark Dixon is a police detective who was just demoted over his too-frequent use of violence. Because his own father was a criminal, he hates them even more than is acceptable to the force.
At a floating crap game in New York City run by gangster Tommy Scalise, the beautiful Morgan Taylor decides to leave for the night, with or without the man, Ken Paine, who brought her there. Effusive Texas tycoon Morrison offers to escort her home. This upsets Scalise, as Morrison is up $19,000 on his bank. Morrison says he is in town all week and "you'll get it back another night," but Paine tells Morgan she has to stay. She realizes he only brought her to the game so Morrison would follow, and is now determined to leave.
Paine slaps Morgan, whereupon Morrison starts a fistfight with Paine. Morrison is knocked out, but when the police arrive he has been stabbed to death. Dixon is one of the officers on the scene. He interrogates Scalise, whom he arrested two years earlier for murder but who was acquitted.
Scalise tells several lies about the crime, and implicates Paine. Dixon goes to Paine's apartment and questions him, but Paine becomes angry and starts a fight. Defending himself, Dixon does not know that a war injury has left Paine with a metal plate in his skull. When Paine falls, he hits his head and dies.
After his recent reprimand, Dixon does not dare report what has happened. Borrowing Paine's coat and putting a bandage on his own face where Paine had one, he lays a false trail suggesting that Paine has left town. Back at Paine's apartment he is almost seen by Morgan's father, cab driver Jiggs Taylor, who arrives and (having found out that Paine had slapped his daughter) noisily threatens him from outside his door, then leaves when there is no answer. Dixon then takes the body and dumps it in the river. It is soon found and, moving to cover himself, Dixon suggests that Scalise murdered Paine as well as Morrison.
As the case develops the detectives talk to Morgan and Jiggs Taylor. It is revealed that Morgan is Paine's estranged wife; the night of the murder is the first time she has seen him in months. She and Dixon begin to fall in love. In spite of Dixon's insisting that Scalise is the killer, Jiggs had been seen at Paine's apartment and is arrested. Dixon cannot bear to tell Morgan the truth, but he arranges to pay for a top lawyer for Jiggs, one who has never lost a murder case. For unspecified reasons the lawyer refuses a retainer.
After a fruitless confrontation with Scalise, Dixon writes a letter, addressing the envelope to Inspector Foley and marking it "to be opened in the event of my death." He then arranges to meet with Scalise again, fully expecting to be murdered but reasoning that at least this time Scalise will be held responsible. Scalise has anticipated this, too, and has realized what happened to Paine. He refuses to kill Dixon, who is shot in his arm instead. Then one of Scalise's men arrives with the news that the police have gotten the truth about Morrison out of another gang member. As the gang attempts escape in a car elevator, Dixon manages to delay them by stalling it until the police arrive.
Back at the 16th Precinct, Foley - extremely proud of Dixon's work trapping Scalise - returns Dixon's letter to him, unopened, but Dixon tells him to read it. Foley arrests Dixon. Morgan is present, looking forward to starting a life with Dixon. Perplexed, she asks why he is now being taken into custody; Dixon asks Foley to show her the letter. Even knowing the truth her love for Dixon is undaunted. She confidently declares that he will not be punished for the accidental death.
Where the Sidewalk Ends is the last film that Otto Preminger would make as a director-for-hire for Twentieth Century Fox in the 1940s. The series includes Laura, which also stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, Whirlpool (starring Tierney), as well as Fallen Angel and Daisy Kenyon (both starring Andrews). [5]
Where the Sidewalk Ends was primarily shot on a studio set, but the filmmakers also shot a few scenes at actual New York City locations. [6]
Most critics compare the film unfavorably to Preminger's earlier film Laura , which used much of the same talent. According to film writers, this film, a grittier noir, does succeed in showing a darker side of police similar to the film noirs that follow it.
The New York Times film critic, Bosley Crowther, while thinking the script was too far-fetched, liked the way the dialogue was written, and the acting as well. He wrote, "...the plausibility of the script by Ben Hecht, an old hand with station houses and sleazy underworldlings, is open to question on several counts. Not so, however, his pungent dialogue and unfolding of the plot, which Otto Preminger, who guided the same stars through Laura several seasons back, has taken to like a duck to water and kept clipping along crisply till the fadeout." [7]
The staff at Variety magazine praised the direction of the film. They wrote, "Otto Preminger, director, does an excellent job of pacing the story and of building sympathy for Andrews." [8] Harrison's Reports called the film "one of the most taut and absorbing crime melodramas produced in many a moon," with "exceptionally good" dialogue. [9] John McCarten of The New Yorker , however, only deemed it to be "a fair-to-middling-melodrama." [10]
The Academy Film Archive preserved Where the Sidewalk Ends in 2004. [11]
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gained attention for film noir mysteries such as Laura (1944) and Fallen Angel (1945), while in the 1950s and 1960s, he directed high-profile adaptations of popular novels and stage works. Several of these later films pushed the boundaries of censorship by dealing with themes which were then taboo in Hollywood, such as drug addiction, rape and homosexuality. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. He also had several acting roles.
Laura is a 1944 American film noir produced and directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Clifton Webb along with Vincent Price and Judith Anderson. The screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel Laura by Vera Caspary. Laura received five nominations for the Academy Awards, including for Best Director, winning for Best Black and White Cinematography. In 1999, Laura was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best mystery films of all time, and it also appears on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" series.
Carver Dana Andrews was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts into the 1980s. He is best known for his portrayal of obsessed police detective Mark McPherson in the noir Laura (1944) and his critically acclaimed performance as World War II veteran Fred Derry in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. She was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the film Laura (1944), and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Ellen Berent Harland in Leave Her to Heaven (1945).
Bunny Lake Is Missing is a 1965 psychological mystery thriller film, directed and produced by Otto Preminger and starring Carol Lynley, Keir Dullea and Laurence Olivier. Filmed in black-and-white widescreen format in London, it was based on the 1957 novel Bunny Lake Is Missing by Merriam Modell. The score is by Paul Glass. The rock band the Zombies also appear in the film.
Lawrence James Tierney was an American film and television actor who is best known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and "tough-guys" in a career that spanned over fifty years. His roles mirrored his own frequent brushes with the law. In 2005, film critic David Kehr of The New York Times described "the hulking Tierney" as "not so much an actor as a frightening force of nature".
Whirlpool is a 1950 American film noir thriller directed by Otto Preminger and written by Ben Hecht and Andrew Solt, adapted from the 1946 novel Methinks the Lady... by Guy Endore. The film stars Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer and Charles Bickford, and features Constance Collier in her final film role. Its plot follows the kleptomaniac wife of a wealthy Los Angeles psychoanalyst who, after a chance meeting with a hypnotist, is charged with a violent murder.
Angel Face is a 1953 American film noir directed by Otto Preminger, starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons, and featuring Leon Ames and Barbara O'Neil. It was filmed on location in Beverly Hills, California.
Boomerang! is a 1947 American crime semidocumentary film noir based on the true story of a vagrant accused of murder. It stars Dana Andrews, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy and Jane Wyatt, with voiceovers by Reed Hadley.
Fallen Angel is a 1945 American film noir directed by Otto Preminger, with cinematography by Joseph LaShelle, who had also worked with Preminger on Laura a year before. The film features Alice Faye, Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell and Charles Bickford. Fallen Angel was Faye's last film as a major Hollywood star, and she did not appear in another film until State Fair (1962).
The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a 1973 American neo-noir crime film starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle and directed by Peter Yates. The screenplay by Paul Monash was adapted from the 1970 novel The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is a 1956 American film noir legal drama directed by Fritz Lang and written by Douglas Morrow. The film stars Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer, and Arthur Franz. It was Lang's second film for producer Bert E. Friedlob, and the last American film he directed.
Daisy Kenyon is a 1947 American romantic-drama film by 20th Century Fox starring Joan Crawford, Henry Fonda, and Dana Andrews in a story about a post-World War II romantic triangle. The screenplay by David Hertz was based upon a 1945 novel of the same name by Elizabeth Janeway. The film was directed and produced by Otto Preminger. Having opened to restrained reception, Daisy Kenyon has seen reappraisal, and now enjoys a minor cult following for its realistic treatment of a typically melodramatic plot.
Margin for Error is a 1943 American drama film directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Lillie Hayward and Samuel Fuller is based on the 1939 play of the same title by Clare Boothe Luce.
"Laura" is a 1945 popular song. The music, composed by David Raksin for the 1944 movie Laura, which starred Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, is heard frequently in the movie. The film's director, Otto Preminger, had originally wanted to use Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" as the theme, but Raksin was not convinced that it was suitable. Angered, Preminger gave Raksin one weekend to compose an alternative melody. Raksin later said, and maintained for the rest of his days, that when, over that weekend, his wife sent him a "Dear John" letter, the haunting theme seemed to write itself.
Laura (1943) is a detective novel by Vera Caspary. It is her best known work, and was adapted into a popular film in 1944, with Gene Tierney in the title role.
Appointment with Danger is a 1950 American crime film noir starring Alan Ladd and Phyllis Calvert, supported by Paul Stewart, Jan Sterling, and Jack Webb. Produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the drama was directed by Lewis Allen and written by Richard L. Breen and Warren Duff.
Captain Carey, U.S.A. is a 1950 American crime thriller film noir directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Alan Ladd and Wanda Hendrix. An American returns to post–World War II Italy to bring a traitor to justice. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on the 1948 novel After Midnight by Martha Albrand. It was filmed under the title O.S.S. and then the title After Midnight.
Chicago Deadline is a 1949 American film noir crime film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Alan Ladd and Donna Reed.
Margin for Error is a two-act play written in 1939 by Clare Boothe Luce. It is a satire of Nazism, and was staged on Broadway shortly after World War II began in Europe. The plot is a whodunit about the murder of a German consul in the United States. The play was adapted as a movie of the same name in 1943.