Detective Story (1951)

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Sidney Kingsley (play)
Robert Wyler (writer)

Release Date:

19 May 1952 (Denmark)

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:

Film debut of Burt Mustin.

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)

Great film; rare successful stage adaptation

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.