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Detective Story
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Detective Story (1951) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   1,855 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Contact:
View company contact information for Detective Story on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 May 1952 (Denmark) more
Genre:
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. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Dr. No Dies At 91
 (From WENN. 21 October 2009, 9:01 AM, PDT)

Breaking News: Joseph Wiseman, The Original James Bond Villain, Dead At Age 91
 (From CinemaRetro. 20 October 2009, 12:20 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Great film; rare successful stage adaptation more (42 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Detective Story (Australia) (TV title)
more
Runtime:
103 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Film debut of Burt Mustin. more
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.) more
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.
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FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
21 out of 31 people found the following comment useful.
Great film; rare successful stage adaptation, 8 April 1999
8/10
Author: Jaime N. Christley (j_christley@hotmail.com) from NAS Whidbey Island, WA

William Wyler, who won three Oscars for Best Director ("Mrs. Miniver", "The Best Years of Our Lives", "Ben-Hur"), and been nominated a record 12 times between 1937 and 1966, is not often thought of as one of our "great" directors. Truly, he was. Here, with the filmization of Sidney Kingsley's stage play about a NYC police station, focusing on the amazingly bad day which has been happening to Detective Kirk Douglas, Wyler shows his skill and diversity.

Kirk Douglas is the vision of a crumbling spirit disguised by toughness and authority. He towers over a stellar cast, including Eleanor Parker as his wife, William Bendix as one of the other officers in the precinct, and Lee Grant as an inexperienced shoplifter. The one actor who truly stands out from the rest is Joseph Wiseman, who is simply a spark plug made up as an actor, giving an astounding recreation of his stage role as an on-edge, cheap suit-wearing thief. He displays the physical dexterity of James Cagney in the physique of a beanstalk, and proves to be more dangerous than any other movie crook we'd seen in the past.

In one of the great Oscar follies of our time (and there were many), the 1952 voters neglected to nominate Douglas as Best Actor, or Wiseman in a supporting slot. Nominations were given out for Wyler's direction, the screenplay, and for Parker and Grant, lead and supporting actresses respectively. None for Best Picture, the other nominations were passed over in favor of "A Place in the Sun" and "A Streetcar Named Desire". And who was picked for Best Picture? Well, staying true to AMPAS's mission of picking only the most harmless movie of the year ("Driving Miss Daisy", "Chariots of Fire", "Shakespeare in Love"), instead of the best, they picked "An American in Paris", which will be remembered by film historians as merely a rehearsal for "Singin' in the Rain". Oh, well.

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Message Boards

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Notes on DETECTIVE STORY JSlack3
Great acting by Joseph Wiseman richsass
What's the Actor's Name? InsanityLovesCompany
Mary should have run off with Tammy!!! HoferPM-1
music under the opening credits petershelleyau
Barney Miller denmoab
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