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. But Dixon's vicious nature will 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 | taxi cab | cab | 

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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

This is the last in a series of films that Otto Preminger made as a director-for-hire for Twentieth Century Fox in the 1940's. The series includes Laura (1944), which also stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, Fallen Angel (1945) and Whirlpool (1949).

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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: It's a wonderful day. No job. Everybody against me. My poor dad sitting in a cell... and it's a wonderful day. Isn't that amazing?

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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 A Trip to Swadades (2008)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Fairly taut criminal exploits...

Ben Hecht adapted William L. Stuart's book about a troubled New York police detective--recently called on the carpet by his superior for roughing up too many suspects--interrogating a shady character in the man's apartment, getting into a physical altercation and accidentally killing him. In the lead, drip-dry Dana Andrews doesn't look like the hair-trigger-temper sort, but he acquits himself well with this fascinating role, determined to cover up his mistake though inadvertently leaving the door open for an innocent taxi driver to be accused of murder! Karl Malden is also extremely good as the new police lieutenant on the beat, and his rush to judgment against the working stiff is unsettling (it gives one the feeling that many cases are still 'solved' in this manner); Gene Tierney, Andrews' "Laura" co-star, is perfect as the daughter of the suspect--whom Andrews is quickly falling for--yet the finale is joyless and square. I guess the morals of the time dictated the picture HAD to end on this note, but seen today it plays like Hollywood preening. **1/2 from ****