The Lineup (1958)

In San Francisco, a psychopathic gangster and his mentor retrieve heroin packages carried by unsuspecting travelers.

Director:

Don Siegel

Writer:

Stirling Silliphant

Stars:

Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, Richard Jaeckel

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Eli Wallach	...	Dancer
Robert Keith	...	Julian
Richard Jaeckel	...	Sandy McLain
Mary LaRoche	...	Dorothy Bradshaw
William Leslie	...	Larry Warner
Emile Meyer	...	Insp. Al Quine
Marshall Reed	...	Insp. Fred Asher
Raymond Bailey	...	Philip Dressler
Vaughn Taylor	...	The Man
Cheryl Callaway	...	Cindy Bradshaw
Robert Bailey	...	Staples
Warner Anderson	...	Lt. Ben Guthrie

Storyline

In San Francisco, two police inspectors are on the case when a rogue taxi driver, with the help of a rogue porter, manages to steal the suitcase of an antiques collector before running down a cop, whose dying gesture is to shoot the cabbie dead. The inspectors discover that a statuette in the suitcase contains heroin. Meanwhile, a psychopathic gangster, his malignant mentor and their dipsomaniac driver have the job of picking up the other heroin shipments, hidden in the luggage of unsuspecting travelers. All goes well until they attempt to retrieve the heroin stuffed in a Japanese doll. A little girl and her lovely young mother have the doll, but when the crooks take possession of it, they find that the heroin has mysteriously vanished.

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Plot Keywords:

bagman | phone booth | line up | crime boss | assignment | 

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Taglines:

The Manhunt They Had To Put on the Giant-Sized Movie Theatre Screen!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 June 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Contrabando

Filming Locations:

Nob Hill, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pajemer Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At approximately 0:50, Jaeckel, Wallach & Keith drive by the Nob Hill Theatre on California Street, which was located on the street level of the Fairmont Hotel; the marquee tells us their double bill consists of Deborah Kerr & Cary Grant in An Affair to Remember and Henry Fonda & Lee J. Cobb in Twelve Angry Men.

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Goofs

The dark colored (black) 1957 Dodge sedan used by the police changes back and forth between the high end Custom Royal model and the low end Coronet model.

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Quotes

Julian: [Closing steamroom door after being invited in by Warren] Steam!
Julian: Don't stay in there too long. It opens the pores.
Dancer: [Chuckling] Heh-heh. That's a yock!
Julian: [Disdainfully] A yock?
Dancer: O.K, O.K., That's amusing.
Julian: Better... nuch better. Yock's a crude word.

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Connections

References 12 Angry Men (1957)

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Soundtracks

Polly Wolly Doodle
(uncredited)
Song first published Harvard student songbook in 1880.
Heard on calliope in museum

User Reviews

Hard-assed, violent little flick

This was a breezy, fast-paced little piece of noir that crosses the time barrier pretty efficiently. Each of the three main villains, driving through the sun-lit streets of San Francisco, delivering violence and death, leave up with strongly etched character studies. The locations are wonderful, particularly the ice rink. It's a privilege to sit back, follow, a simple, well-woven plot and travel back in time to a place you never been, yet know pretty intimately anyways. Films that flow with such ease are becoming rare items

This would be a great double bill with Bullitt or Dirty Harry. Heck, it would be a great double bill with anything.