Fourteen Hours (1951)

An unhappy man threatens suicide by standing on the ledge of a high-rise building for 14 hours.

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

John Paxton (screenplay), Joel Sayre (story)

Stars:

Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Barbara Bel Geddes

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Douglas	...	Police Ofcr. Charlie Dunnigan
Richard Basehart	...	Robert Cosick
Barbara Bel Geddes	...	Virginia Foster
Debra Paget	...	Ruth
Agnes Moorehead	...	Christine Hill Cosick
Robert Keith	...	Paul E. Cosick
Howard Da Silva	...	Deputy Police Chief Moskar (as Howard da Silva)
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Danny Klempner
Martin Gabel	...	Dr. Strauss
Grace Kelly	...	Mrs. Louise Ann Fuller
Frank Faylen	...	Room Service Waiter
Jeff Corey	...	Police Sgt. Farley
James Millican	...	Police Sgt. Boyle
Donald Randolph	...	Dr. Benson

Storyline

A young man, morally destroyed by his parents not loving him and by the fear of being not capable to make his girlfriend happy, rises on the ledge of a building with the intention of committing suicide. A policeman makes every effort to argue him out of that.

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Plot Keywords:

ledge | suicide | police | reporter | policeman | 

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Taglines:

From the edge of the ledge he defied them all!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Quatorze heures

Filming Locations:

Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is based on a real life incident which happened July 26, 1938 in New York City. John W. Warde, 26 years of age, leaped seventeen floors to his death from the ledge outside a room in the Hotel Gotham.

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Goofs

The middle-aged priest climbs 15 flights of stairs, and is not the least bit out of breath.

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Quotes

Ofcr. Charlie Dunnigan: Look, I almost had him a couple of times. I - I know I can con him in if I can just get my hands on what's bothering him.

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Connections

Referenced in Grace Kelly: The American Princess (1987)

User Reviews

They sure made the most of an incredibly simple plot.

FOURTEEN HOURS begins with Richard Basehart walking onto the ledge outside his hotel room. He's about to jump but can't quite bring himself to do it. A nearby cop (Paul Douglas) looks up and sees him on this ledge on the 15th floor and hurries over to the hotel to try to talk him out of jumping. Soon, his superiors come and relieve him--they'll work on trying to get Basehart down and Douglas simply isn't trained for this sort of thing. However, the so-called experts don't seem to get through to them, so they get Douglas back--after all, he had developed some rapport with the jumper. Soon, a series of family members are brought to help out, though in hindsight his mother (Agnes Moorehead) visiting was probably NOT the best idea. Does he jump or does he chose life? And, why in the first place did he decide to end it all? See for yourself to find out--you won't be sorry you did.

This film has one of the simpler plots I can think of--yet it all seemed to work very well. This is because the film was written so very well and the actors managed to make the most of it--especially Douglas as a sort of "everyman" cop. Taut direction, excellent lighting and a first-class production all around sure helped. Who would have thought such a deceptively ordinary idea could be handled so well?