Pushover (1954)

Undercover cop falls for the beautiful moll of a bank robber on the run and together they plan to double-cross the hood and the cops.

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Roy Huggins (screenplay), Thomas Walsh (novel)

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak, Philip Carey

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fred MacMurray	...	Paul Sheridan
Philip Carey	...	Rick McAllister (as Phil Carey)
Kim Novak	...	Lona McLane
Dorothy Malone	...	Ann Stewart
E.G. Marshall	...	Police Lt. Carl Eckstrom
Allen Nourse	...	Paddy Dolan

Storyline

A bank heist yields $210,000. Soon, sultry Lona McLane, girlfriend of one of the robbers, meets Paul Sheridan and has a torrid affair. When she finds out Paul's a cop, to save herself she sets out to corrupt him. He's a pushover. But it won't be easy for Paul to get his hands on the money when he's part of a complex, peeping-tom stakeout. Soon, he's in much deeper than he'd planned, amid atmospheric night scenes.

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Plot Keywords:

voyeurism | voyeur | beat generation | movie theatre | song | 

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Taglines:

A STORY OF TEMPTATION! (original half-sheet poster-all caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the sources for the film was the novel "The Night Watch" by Thomas Walsh, which was serialized under the title "The Killer Wore a Badge", in the Saturday Evening Post from November 10 to December 15, 1951.

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Goofs

Exterior shots of the entrance side of Lona McLane's apartment building show it to be angled, but the map of the building in the stakeout room has all straight sides.

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Quotes

Rick McAllister: I can't spot it, but something's wrong somewhere!

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Connections

Referenced in The Red Balloon (1956)

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Soundtracks

There Goes That Song Again
Music by Jule Styne (uncredited)
Played by duo pianists at the cocktail lounge

User Reviews

Tight, one locale film noir

Tight, driven little peice of "film noir" with MacMurray as a good cop driven to distraction (and murder) by the gangester moll (Novak, in her film debut, somewhat more effective than usual) he's been assigned to spy on. Malone fills in for a charming bit as the girl-next-door who MacMurray's sidekick falls for. Typically, a mistake is made by the criminals, and they will pay for it, but they're having fun along the way. Some confusion in the script seems to have resulted in Novak's character turning somewhat sympathetic towards the ending, sounding a disingenuous note. Still, good solid bit of film.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 August 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Killer Wore a Badge

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1