Chicago Deadline (1949)

On Chicago's South Side reporter Ed Adams finds the body of a dead girl. Her address book leads to a host of names of men frightened by her death but claiming never to have known her. Adams comes to know quite a lot, dangerously so.

Director:

Lewis Allen

Writers:

Warren Duff (screenplay), Tiffany Thayer (novel)

Stars:

Alan Ladd, Donna Reed, June Havoc

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Ladd	...	Ed Adams
Donna Reed	...	Rosita Jean d'Ur
June Havoc	...	Leona Purdy
Irene Hervey	...	Belle Dorset
Arthur Kennedy	...	Tommy Ditman
Berry Kroeger	...	Solly Wellman
Harold Vermilyea	...	Jack Anstruder
Shepperd Strudwick	...	Edgar 'Blacky' Franchot
Dave Willock	...	Pig
Gavin Muir	...	G.G. Temple
John Beal	...	Paul Jean d'Ur
Tom Powers	...	Glenn Howard
Howard Freeman	...	Hotspur Shaner
Paul Lees	...	Bat Bennett
Margaret Field	...	Minerva

Storyline

On Chicago's South Side reporter Ed Adams finds the body of a dead girl. Her address book leads to a host of names of men frightened by her death but claiming never to have known her. Adams comes to know quite a lot, dangerously so.

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Plot Keywords:

reporter | address book | investigation | chicago illinois | dead woman | 

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Taglines:

Ladd pays off for a wronged girl who was a "right guy!".

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

One Woman

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by MCA ever since. Its earliest documented telecast took place, as you might expect, in Chicago Sunday 5 April 1959 on WBBM (Channel 2), and it soon became a popular local favorite all across the USA in markets large and small. It next aired in Milwaukee 6 May 1959 on WITI (Channel 6), in Indianapolis 8 August 1959 on WFBM (Channel 6), in Toledo 5 September 1959 on WTOL (Channel 11), in Detroit 21 October 1959 on WJBK (Channel 2), in Grand Rapids 11 November 1959 on WOOD (Channel 8), in Philadelphia 28 November 1959 on WCAU (Channel 10), in Phoenix 29 November 1959 on KVAR (Channel 12), in Seattle 31 December 1959 on KIRO (Channel 7), in Salt Lake City 15 January 1960 on KUTV (Channel 2), in New York City 23 January 1960 on WCBS (Channel 2), in Pittsburgh 27 January 1960 on KDKA (Channel 2), in Asheville 16 February 1960 on WLOS (Channel 13), in St. Louis 2 April 1960 on KMOX (Channel 4), in Los Angeles 21 May 1960 on KNXT (Channel 2), and in Lowell MA (serving Boston) 1 June 1960 on WBZ (Channel 4).

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Quotes

Leona: What did you take as a sedative before you met me?

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Connections

Referenced in The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio: Screen Directors Playhouse: Chicago Deadline (2017)

User Reviews

one of best noir classics

I have seen this excellent movie in 1951 in Barcelona/Spain when I was 20 and I liked it then and continue to like now very much, I considered it one of the greatest noir classic movies in history. Alan Ladd is fantastic in his role as a reporter; Donna Red is beautiful and had great performance in his playback roll, as Arthur Kennedy and the rest of the cast. is a pity that original seams lost. I have a copy of a VHS from a Honolulu TV, but it can be watched pretty well. the story is very well done by writers Warren Duff and Tiffany Thayer, and the development of the history very well done by director Lewis Allen. Alan Ladd one of my preferred actors is superb and I had said all the cast specially June Havoc, beautiful and charm-ant actress. the end of the movie remains on your mind as one of best ends of a movie in Hollywood history. I highly recommend for the be-lovers of noir classics.