Where the Sidewalk Ends
Encyclopedia
Where the Sidewalk Ends is a 1950 American film noir
directed and produced by Otto Preminger
. 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 drama features Dana Andrews
, Gene Tierney
and Gary Merrill
.
The film narrative concerns ruthless and cynical Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews
), a metropolitan police detective, who despises all criminals because his father had been one. Considered a classic of the film noir
genre, the brand of violence shown in the film, "lurking below urban society", is an important noir motif.
16th Precinct Police Detective Dixon (Dana Andrews
), who's in trouble with his superiors for his heavy-handed tactics, subjects murder suspect and gambler Ken Paine (Craig Stevens
) to the third degree - he strikes the drunken Paine in self-defense and accidentally kills him. Paine, however, had a silver plate in his head, a fine war record, and newspaper friends. Dixon then dumps Paine's body in the river, and is later assigned to find his killer.
Dixon tries to place the blame on an old gangster enemy, Tommy Scalise (Gary Merrill
), yet, he inadvertently places the blame for the killing on cab driver Jiggs Taylor (Tom Tully
). Having fallen in love with Jiggs' daughter and Paine's estranged wife, Morgan Taylor-Paine (Gene Tierney
), Dixon tries to clear the cabbie without implicating himself, but ultimately he becomes trapped in a web created by himself.
The 16th Precinct commander, Detective Lt. Thomas (Karl Malden
), Dixon's boss, is convinced that Morgan's father is the killer.
Dixon continues to find a way to stop Jiggs from being found guilty of murdering Paine, and also tries to redeem himself. In an attempt to move the evidence away from Morgan's father and blame Scalise, Dixon comes face to face with the gangster and his cronies. A shoot-out leaves Dixon wounded, but the police arrive to arrest Scalice and his mob. Jiggs is finally cleared of the charges.
At the end Dixon reassesses his life and decides to confess. He's arrested and goes to jail. He's satisfied that Morgan will wait for him until his release.
, which also stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, Whirlpool, and Fallen Angel
.
Filming locations
The film was entirely shot in New York
: New York City
and Washington Heights, Manhattan
.
which used much of the same talent as this film. 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."
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."
, this film, and others. As such, they avoided the "wrath of conservative critics and social watchdogs."
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed and produced by Otto Preminger
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
. The screenplay for the film was written by Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...
, 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 drama features Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
and Gary Merrill
Gary Merrill
Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
.
The film narrative concerns ruthless and cynical Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
), a metropolitan police detective, who despises all criminals because his father had been one. Considered a classic of the film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
genre, the brand of violence shown in the film, "lurking below urban society", is an important noir motif.
Plot
New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
16th Precinct Police Detective Dixon (Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
), who's in trouble with his superiors for his heavy-handed tactics, subjects murder suspect and gambler Ken Paine (Craig Stevens
Craig Stevens (actor)
Craig Stevens was an American motion picture and television actor.-Early and personal life:Born Gail Shikles, Jr., in Liberty, Missouri, his father was a high school teacher....
) to the third degree - he strikes the drunken Paine in self-defense and accidentally kills him. Paine, however, had a silver plate in his head, a fine war record, and newspaper friends. Dixon then dumps Paine's body in the river, and is later assigned to find his killer.
Dixon tries to place the blame on an old gangster enemy, Tommy Scalise (Gary Merrill
Gary Merrill
Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
), yet, he inadvertently places the blame for the killing on cab driver Jiggs Taylor (Tom Tully
Tom Tully
Tom Tully was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Kane Tulley served in the United States Navy, was a private pilot and worked as junior reporter for the Denver Post before going into acting because he felt the pay was better. Tully started out on stage before eventually...
). Having fallen in love with Jiggs' daughter and Paine's estranged wife, Morgan Taylor-Paine (Gene Tierney
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
), Dixon tries to clear the cabbie without implicating himself, but ultimately he becomes trapped in a web created by himself.
The 16th Precinct commander, Detective Lt. Thomas (Karl Malden
Karl Malden
Karl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...
), Dixon's boss, is convinced that Morgan's father is the killer.
Dixon continues to find a way to stop Jiggs from being found guilty of murdering Paine, and also tries to redeem himself. In an attempt to move the evidence away from Morgan's father and blame Scalise, Dixon comes face to face with the gangster and his cronies. A shoot-out leaves Dixon wounded, but the police arrive to arrest Scalice and his mob. Jiggs is finally cleared of the charges.
At the end Dixon reassesses his life and decides to confess. He's arrested and goes to jail. He's satisfied that Morgan will wait for him until his release.
Cast
- Dana AndrewsDana AndrewsDana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
as Detective Sgt. Mark Dixon - Gene TierneyGene TierneyGene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
as Morgan Taylor-Paine - Gary MerrillGary MerrillGary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
as Tommy Scalise - Bert FreedBert FreedBert Freed was a prolific American character actor, voice over actor, and the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.-Life and career:...
as Detective Sgt. Paul Klein (Dixon's partner) - Tom TullyTom TullyTom Tully was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Kane Tulley served in the United States Navy, was a private pilot and worked as junior reporter for the Denver Post before going into acting because he felt the pay was better. Tully started out on stage before eventually...
as Jiggs Taylor, Morgan's father - Karl MaldenKarl MaldenKarl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...
as Detective Lt. Thomas - Ruth DonnellyRuth DonnellyRuth Donnelly was an American stage and film actress. Her father was the mayor of Trenton, New Jersey....
as Martha, owner of Martha's Cafe - Craig StevensCraig Stevens (actor)Craig Stevens was an American motion picture and television actor.-Early and personal life:Born Gail Shikles, Jr., in Liberty, Missouri, his father was a high school teacher....
as Ken Paine - Neville BrandNeville BrandNeville Brand was an American television and movie actor.-Early life:Neville Brand was born in Illinois. He was born to Leo and Helen Brand as one of seven children. Leo, was an electrician and bridge building steel worker in Detroit, where Neville was raised...
as Steve, a Scalise hood - Oleg CassiniOleg CassiniOleg Cassini was a French-born American fashion designer noted for being chosen by Jacqueline Kennedy to design her state wardrobe in the 1960s....
as Oleg the fashion designer - Kathleen HughesKathleen HughesKathleen Hughes is an American film, stage, and television actress from Hollywood, California.Kathleen's ambition as an actress came from two sources. She saw a film with actor Donald O'Connor, which gave her the idea that acting looked like fun. Also, her uncle was playwright F...
as secretary - Lou NovaLou NovaLou Nova aka Cosmic punch was an American boxer and actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, the Nova was the U.S. and World Amateur Boxing Champion in 1935. After turning pro, he remained undefeated in his first 22 matches, and won 40 fights in total...
as Ernie, a Scalise hood - Harry von ZellHarry von ZellHarry von Zell , born in Indianapolis, made his mark as an announcer of radio programs and an actor in films and television shows....
as Ted Morrison, man killed at Scalise's place
Background
This is the last film that Otto Preminger would make as a director-for-hire for Twentieth Century Fox in the 1940s. The series includes LauraLaura (1944 film)
Laura is a 1944 American film noir directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and Clifton Webb. The screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Elizabeth Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel of the same title by Vera Caspary....
, which also stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, Whirlpool, and Fallen Angel
Fallen Angel (1945 film)
Fallen Angel is a 1945 black-and-white 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. It was the last film Faye made as a major...
.
Filming locations
The film was entirely shot in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
: New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
.
Critical reception
Most critics compare the film unfavorably to Preminger's earlier film LauraLaura (1944 film)
Laura is a 1944 American film noir directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and Clifton Webb. The screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Elizabeth Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel of the same title by Vera Caspary....
which used much of the same talent as this film. 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
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
film critic, Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
, 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
Laura (1944 film)
Laura is a 1944 American film noir directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and Clifton Webb. The screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Elizabeth Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel of the same title by Vera Caspary....
several seasons back, has taken to like a duck to water and kept clipping along crisply till the fadeout."
The staff at Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
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."
Noir analysis
According to Boris Trbic, scriptwriter and media instructor, Where the Sidewalk Ends reflects a specific phase in the development of the film noir style. The large film production companies in the early 1950s backed away from the social-problem drama, and instead made "low-budget and low-risk thrillers" such as: Panic in the Streets, No Way OutNo Way Out (1950 film)
No Way Out is a black-and-white film noir directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and starring Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally, and Sidney Poitier...
, this film, and others. As such, they avoided the "wrath of conservative critics and social watchdogs."
External links
- Where the Sidewalk Ends trailer at Dailymotion