Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)

Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon wants to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. Will Dixon's vicious nature get the better of him?

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Ben Hecht (screenplay), Victor Trivas (adaptation)

Stars:

Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dana Andrews	...	Det. Mark Dixon
Gene Tierney	...	Morgan Taylor
Gary Merrill	...	Tommy Scalise
Bert Freed	...	Det. Paul Klein
Tom Tully	...	Jiggs Taylor
Karl Malden	...	Lt. Thomas
Ruth Donnelly	...	Martha
Craig Stevens	...	Ken Paine

Storyline

Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon always wanted to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. But for a good guy, he's awfully vicious. After several complaints over his roughing people up, his boss, Insp. Nicholas Foley, demotes him. Foley tells him he's a good man, but needs to get his head on straight and be more like Det. Lt. Thomas, who has just gotten a promotion. Meanwhile, Tommy Scalise has an illegal dice game going and is looking to make a sucker out of the rich Ted Morrison, who was brought in by Ken Paine and his beautiful wife Morgan. She figures out too late her husband is using her as a decoy. Paine strikes her when she refuses to play along. The chivalrous Morrison intervenes but Paine knocks him out cold. That seems to be the worst of it, but later it turns out the guy is dead; and Paine looks guilty. Soon Dixon has fallen in love with Morgan - but not before losing his temper again and committing a terrible deed that he tries to cover up. Morgan's father...

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Plot Keywords:

police call box | squad car | new york city | subway | hall | 

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Taglines:

Only a woman's heart could reach out for such a man!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Night Cry

Filming Locations:

West 47th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,475,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Only feature film appearance for fashion and costume designer Oleg Cassini, who was married to Gene Tierney at the time. They would divorce in 1952. Reportedly Cassini talked director Otto Preminger into giving him the part.

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Goofs

When Andrews is staging the murder scene after Stevens' death, he is gloveless. A few seconds later he suddenly has gloves on both hands.

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Quotes

Morgan Taylor: What did they hit you with?
Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon: Various objects.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits start as chalk writing on a sidewalk, with someone walking over them.

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Connections

Referenced in Produced and Directed by Otto Preminger: An Appreciation by Peter Bogdanovich (2018)

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Soundtracks

Street Scene
(uncredited)
Music by Alfred Newman
Whistled during opening credits

User Reviews

A Different Film Noir with Moralist Conclusion

In New York, Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews) is an efficient, but violent police detective that is haunted by his past. His father was a hoodlum and Detective Dixon hates criminals. After twelve complaints on his abusive behavior, his chief, Inspector Nicholas Foley, threatens him to take his badge if he loses his temper again. Meanwhile, the gangster Tommy Scalise (Gary Merrill) has an illegal casino and loses US$ 19,000.00 in the crap game to the wealthy Mr. Ted Morrison, who was invited to the game by Kenneth "Ken" Paine (Craig Stevens) and his ex- wife Morgan Taylor (Gene Tierney). When Morgan tells that she needs to go home because she needs to work on the next morning, Paine asks her to stay and she realizes that he is using her as a decoy to take Morrison's money. Morgan tells that she will go and Paine hits her face. Morrison defends her and Paine knocks him out with a punch.

Later the police department is called by Scalise and his men and Morrison is found stabbed to death. They accuse Paine and Detective Dixon heads to his apartment to investigate. Paine is drunk and punches Dixon on the face. The detective reacts and punches Paine that falls on the floor. Soon Dixon discovers that Paine is dead and he was a war hero with many friends in the press. He plots a scheme to get rid off Paine's body and during the investigation he falls in love with Morgan. When her father becomes the prime suspect of Paine's murder, Detective Dixon lives a dilemma while hunting down Scalise.

One of the main characteristics of a film noir is the amoral story and characters. "Where the Sidewalk Ends" has a moralist conclusion totally unusual in the genre. Further, there is no femme fatale, usually an ambiguous seductive woman that manipulates her lover to do something dangerous and amoral. Therefore "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is a film noir different and also a police story. The characters are well developed and Dana Andrews is perfect in the role of a stubborn and violent detective that falls in love with the gorgeous Morgan performed by Gene Tierney. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Passos na Noite" ("Steps in the Night")