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

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Screen Director's Playhouse" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 24, 1950 with Alan Ladd reprising his film role.

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Quotes

Ed Adams: Your face is flushed, baby.
Leona: I'm a little dizzy. I don't get along very well with champagne; and you shouldn't have looked at me like that.

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Connections

Referenced in El crimen del cine Oriente (1997)

User Reviews

Telephone enthusiasts will love it

Reporter Alan Ladd (Ed Adams) outrageously interferes with things when he steals an address book from the room in which Donna Reed (Rosita) is found dead. He retraces her life by contacting the people in this address book and a few people get bumped off along the way.

Unfortunately Donna Reed hasn't led a very interesting life so God knows why anyone would show any interest in pursuing her address book, especially as her death is not at all suspicious. Alan Ladd is obviously a weirdo.

A lot of time is spent on the telephone in this film. It's just blah blah blah on the blower! Still, the film is OK even if you can't follow the cast of thousands. Alan Ladd sums things up for you at the end with a synopsis of what has just happened. But he delivers it at breakneck speed so it doesn't really help. It's a vehicle for Alan Ladd and it's all a bit pointless.

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