Detective Story (1951)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Sidney Kingsley (play)
Robert Wyler (writer)

Release Date:

November 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

The love story of a man whose wife was more woman than angel!

Plot:

On one day in the 21st Precinct squad room, assorted characters form a backdrop for the troubles of hard-nosed Detective Jim McLeod.

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Infant Death | Marriage | Unwed Pregnancy | Police Brutality

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Det. James 'Jim' McLeod
Eleanor Parker	...	Mary McLeod
William Bendix	...	Det. Lou Brody
Cathy O'Donnell	...	Susan Carmichael
George Macready	...	Karl Schneider
Horace McMahon	...	Lt. Monaghan
Gladys George	...	Miss Hatch
Joseph Wiseman	...	Charley Gennini
Lee Grant	...	Shoplifter
Gerald Mohr	...	Tami Giacoppetti
Frank Faylen	...	Det. Gallagher
Craig Hill	...	Arthur Kindred
Michael Strong	...	Lewis Abbott
Luis Van Rooten	...	Joe Feinson
Bert Freed	...	Det. Dakis

Also Known As:

The Detective Story (Australia) (TV title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:12 (re-rating) (2005) | UK:X (original rating) | Norway:16 (1952) | USA:TV-PG | Australia:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #15300)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Horace McMahon, Joseph Wiseman, Michael Strong and Lee Grant re-enacted their stage roles.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In some of the close-up shots of McLeod and Schneider in the back of the paddy wagon, McLeod's shadow can be faintly seen on the rear-projection screen showing the street behind them. (Other shadows can also be seen.)

Quotes:

Detective James McLeod: At an autopsy the other day I watched the medical examiner saw off the top of a man's skull, take out the brain and hold it in his hand.
[holds out his hand]
Detective James McLeod: Like that.
Mary McLeod: Why are you telling me this?
Detective James McLeod: Because I'd give my soul to take out my brain, hold it under the faucet and wash away the dirty pictures you put there tonight.
Mary McLeod: Dirty pictures?
Detective James McLeod: Yes!
Mary McLeod: Oh, I see. I see. Yes, that would be fine... if we could. But when you wash away what I may have put there, you'll find you've a rotten spot in your brain, Jim. And it's growing. I know, I've watched it.

Movie Connections:

References The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Powerful Kirk Douglas Performance in NYC Precinct Drama

Adapted from a stage play by Sidney Kingsley, "Detective Story" depicts a day at a New York police precinct in the early 1950's. The film resembles a feature-length episode of "Barney Miller" without the jokes as the detectives bring various shoplifters, petty thieves, and embezzlers into the station for booking. However, the film does not lack humor as a broad hammy performance by Joseph Wiseman and an only slightly subtler take on a Brooklynese shoplifter by Lee Grant lighten up the often heavily dramatic proceedings.

The central character, Detective Jim McLeod, is an unforgiving, by-the-book veteran, who sees the world in black and white, good versus evil, with no shades of gray in between. Kirk Douglas brings McLeod to life in one of his finest, most powerful performances. Douglas's Oscar-caliber work is matched by a fragile, deeply felt performance by Eleanor Parker as McLeod's wife, who harbors a secret from her past that, unknown to either McLeod or his wife, connects back to an on-going police case. The scenes between Douglas and Parker are among the best in the film.

Veteran director William Wyler retains most of the play's action in the central precinct room and only occasionally breaks from the claustrophobic set for a breather. Lee Garmes photographed "Detective Story" in crisp black and white, and some of the shots of New York City could be framed and hung on a wall. With a cast of top character players that includes Gladys George, William Bendix, Frank Faylen, and George Macready, the multi-character, multi-plotted "Detective Story" is a powerful, well-acted film that somehow is less often seen than its quality warrants.