| The series includes Laura, which also stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, Whirlpool, and Fallen Angel. Laura dealt with posh, sophisticated people with means who just happen to find themselves mixed-up in a murder. But, unknown to Dixon, a war injury has left Paine with a metal plate in his skull. In New York, two honest cops try to hinder a crime syndicate from moving into the precinct and also to prevent the mob's plan of electing a corrupt prosecutor to a judgeship. (uncredited), Police Radio Dispatcher #79 Certificate: Passed Written by Choose an adventure below and discover your next favorite movie or TV show. (uncredited), Man at Dice Table / (1950). Where the Sidewalk Ends This FAQ is empty. Back at Paine's apartment, he is almost seen by Morgan's father, cab driver Jiggs Taylor (Tom Tully), who arrives and noisily threatens Paine, then leaves when there is no answer. Paine strikes her when she refuses to play along. He also has a muted tenderness, a muffled warmth and even wry humor that make him heartbreaking. "[11], The Academy Film Archive preserved Where the Sidewalk Ends in 2004. Official Sites https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Sidewalk_Ends_(film) Among noir protagonists, Dana Andrews had this distinction: he was incapable of appearing unintelligent. Foley tells him he's a good man, but needs to get his head on straight and be more like Det. But for a good guy, he's awfully vicious. She realizes he only brought her to the game so Morrison would follow, and now is determined to leave. No other actor could have expressed so well the bottled-up anger, the slow-burning pain, the agonized intelligence of Mark Dixon. Passerby Dixon goes to Paine's apartment and questions him, but Paine becomes angry and they fight briefly. Instead, a kindly cab driver is suspected because he's the father of the dead man's estranged and mistreated wife Morgan (Gene Tierney). Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Dixon cannot bear to tell Morgan the truth, but he arranges to pay for a top lawyer for Jiggs, one who has never lost a murder case; however, the lawyer rejects the case, as he thinks he would lose this one. As the case develops, the detectives talk to Morgan and Jiggs Taylor. 77 of 88 people found this review helpful. An unlucky man-on-the-run teams up with a suicidal, horse-obsessed billionaire and a mountain woman to outrun a killer by taking the Lewis and Clark trail in present day. Sgt. Soon afterwards, she's found at the scene of a murder with no memory of how she got there, and seemingly no way to prove her innocence. Dixon, falling in love with the wife of the man he killed, tries desperately to save her father without giving himself away. The son of a career criminal who washed killed trying to break out of jail, Mark constantly lives in his father's shadow. What a difference six years makes. When Laura Mansfield's father is killed by a delivery man, the police has few clues and the investigation drags on but Laura decides to find the killer on her own. Where the Sidewalk Ends reunited Otto Preminger, the director of Laura (1944), with Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney, the two stars of Laura. This time Andrews is Mark Dixon, an older, sadder, more troubled version of the cool cop in a trench coat. Paine slaps Morgan, whereupon Morrison starts a fistfight with Paine. According to film writers, this film, a grittier noir, does succeed in showing a darker side of police similar to the film noirs that follow it. That seems to be the worst of it, but later it turns out the guy is dead; and Paine looks guilty. Back at the 16th Precinct, Foley offers Dixon the unopened letter, but Dixon tells him to read it. Add the first question. Company Credits He wrote, "...the plausibility of the script by Ben Hecht, an old hand with station houses and sleazy underworldlings, is open to question on several counts. She and Dixon begin to fall in love. | Sgt. A woman suffering from kleptomania's hypnotised in an attempt to cure her.. J. Spurlin. Where the Sidewalk Ends is the last film that Otto Preminger would make as a director-for-hire for Twentieth Century Fox in the 1940s. The film narrative concerns ruthless and cynical Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews), a metropolitan police detective, who despises all criminals because his father was one. The chivalrous Morrison intervenes but Paine knocks him out cold. His conscientious heroes are marked by exhaustion, guilt, the inability ever to "lighten up." The screenplay and adaptations were based on the novel Night Cry by William L. Stuart. Drama. A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating. Not so, however, his pungent dialogue and unfolding of the plot, which Otto Preminger, who guided the same stars through Laura several seasons back, has taken to like a duck to water and kept clipping along crisply till the fadeout. "Night Editor" was based on the already existing radio program in which a newspaper editor would recount the 'inside story' of some bit newspaper story, and later became a television series... See full summary ». Scalisi tells several lies about the crime, and implicates Paine. At a floating crap game in New York City run by gangster Tommy Scalisi (Gary Merrill), the beautiful Morgan Taylor (Gene Tierney) decides to leave for the night, and Texas tycoon Morrison (Harry von Zell) offers to escort her home. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? The film was primarily shot on a studio set, but the filmmakers also shot a few scenes at actual New York City locations.[6]. Search for "Where the Sidewalk Ends" on Amazon.com, Title: Filming & Production The film stars Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney. Tierney, gorgeous as ever, now works as a department-store mannequin and lives in Washington Heights (the neighborhood of the "doll" who once got a fox fur out of LAURA's Mark McPherson). (uncredited), Detective Gertessen He played ordinary guys, cops and soldiers, but always with a tragic undercurrent of seeing and knowing too much. She figures out too late her husband is using her as a decoy. 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. Release Dates | Sgt. Looking for something to watch? Mark Dixon wants to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. 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. Criminals find him impossible to take serious, considering that his father was a criminal. Meet the cast and learn more about the stars of Where The Sidewalk Ends with exclusive news, pictures, videos and more at TVGuide.com He goes through some movies hardly ever taking off his overcoat; with that boxy, mid-century silhouette, further fortified by the fedora, the glass of bourbon, the cigarette he doesn't take out of his mouth when he talks, he looks imprisoned in the masculine ideal of toughness and impassivity. But for a good guy, he's awfully vicious. West 47th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, What to Watch if You Miss the "Game of Thrones" Cast. Nicholas Foley, demotes him. | But her obsessive love for him threatens to be the undoing of them both, and everyone else around them. But although Dixon insists that Scalisi is the killer, Jiggs was seen at Paine's apartment and he is arrested. He refuses to kill Dixon. As such, they avoided the "wrath of conservative critics and social watchdogs. Though Dana Andrews was a minor star, he may be the quintessential forties man. He then arranges to meet with Scalisi again, fully expecting to be murdered but reasoning that this time Scalisi will be caught for it; but Scalisi has anticipated this, too, and has realized what happened to Paine. [5], Filming locations Where the Sidewalk Ends is set in a … As the gang try to escape in a car elevator, Dixon manages to delay them by stalling it until the police arrive. 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. (uncredited), Railroad Baggage Clerk Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. This comes out when he takes Morgan to a restaurant where he's a regular, and for the first time we see this cold, brutal man trading mock insults with the waitress, whose sarcasm can't hide her affection and concern for him. Cops struggle to deal with him due to who his father is as well. Technical Specs, See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro, Detective at Staff Meeting Nicholas Foley, demotes him. He hates criminals because his father was one. Mark Dixon always wanted to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. Crime, Certificate: Passed The New York Times film critic, Bosley Crowther, while thinking the script was too far-fetched, liked the way the dialogue was written, and the acting as well. (voice) (uncredited). At first glance, it would seem natural to compare Where the Sidewalk Ends with Laura. Morrison just says he is in town all week and "you'll get it back another night", but Scalisi's associate Ken Paine (Craig Stevens) tells Morgan she has to stay. Det. Lt. Thomas, who has just gotten a promotion. This reunion between director and actors was nothing earthshaking. Use the HTML below. Most critics compare the film unfavorably to Preminger's earlier film Laura which used much of the same talent as this film. Both have noirish qualities, both were directed by Otto Preminger, and both star Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney. A small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter. [9] John McCarten of The New Yorker, however, only deemed it to be "a fair-to-middling-melodrama. But that's where most of the comparisons end. A very romantic murderer has plans to seduce, marry and kill a beautiful woman for her wealth, but finds her younger sister to be even better prey. Foley arrests Dixon. We're a long way from LAURA. From "Veronica Mars" to Rebecca take a look back at the career of Armie Hammer on and off the screen. Lt. Thomas, who has just gotten a promotion. The chivalrous Morrison intervenes but Paine knocks him out cold. Morrison is knocked out, but when the police arrive he has been stabbed to death. Will Dixon's vicious nature get the better of him? Then one of Scalisi's men arrives with the news that the police have beaten the truth about Morrison out of another gang member. This series, including a number of never before released titles (such as NIGHTMARE ALLEY and THIEVES' HIGHWAY), suggests that Twentieth-Century-Fox may have had the finest record of all the major studios when it came to film noir. [2][3] The screenplay for the film was written by Ben Hecht, and adapted by Robert E. Kent, Frank P. Rosenberg, and Victor Trivas. WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS belongs to a sub-genre of noir, movies about police brutality focusing on cops who can't control their violent impulses. Morgan asks why, and Dixon asks Foley to show her the letter. It is soon found, but he suggests that Scalisi murdered Paine as well as Morrison.