Largely restricted to one set, a police station in New York, Detective Story, William Wyler’s sharply written drama, is well-acted by Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Powell, and especially Lee Grant (in her film debut).
Though it still feels like theater—the scenario is based on Sidney Kingsley’s noted play–the situations and the characters are sufficiently intriguing to make it an interesting movie.
As director, Wyler is greatly helped by the ace cinematographer Lee Garmes, whose fluid, restless camera keeps the story and parade of characters flowing.
Grade: B+ (**** put of *****(
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Theatrical release poster
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The protagonist, Jim McLeod (Kirk Douglas), is a fanatic, obsessive detective, dedicated to the letter of the law, and known for his excessive brutal handling of criminals; he is not above belting his suspects.
We learn that a tragic event in his past, and love-hate relationship with his father-crook, have caused him to be particularly upset about abortionists, perceived by him as pathological.
In the film, the part of the abortionist Karl Schneider (George Macready) was expanded, turning him into a manipulator of an abortion ring and a farm of unmarried women.
When Jim finds out that his wife Mary (Eleanor Parker) was the subject of an abortion, illegally performed by Schneider, he can’t control his anger—or forgive her.
The film is stronger in characterization than in plot, and we get a parade of colorful characters and their psychological studies. Among them is Lee Grant, then only 22, as a naive and confused juvenile thief. Grant, who had played the role in the Broadway production, was singled out for her acting at the Cannes Film Fest.
Perfectly cast, Kirk Douglas renders a dramatically intense, swirling performance as the overzealous and tormented policeman, who ultimately loses his life “in the line of fire,” when a desperate hoodlum pulls a gun while trying to escape from the station.
Douglas had researched the part meticulously for months, observing the daily work at the 16th Precinct, and then playing it on stage at the Sombrero Playhouse (in Phoenix, Arizona) before shooting began.
Eleanor Parker, one of Hollywood’s most underestimated actresses, renders an impressive, multi-nuanced performance that earned her a Best Sctress Oscar nod. In the following year, Parker would turn in another stellar performance in the superb prison drama, Caged.
Cast as the eccnetric hoodlum, Joseph Wiseman would achieve international fame a decade later with his reucrribg role in the James Bond franchise.
Wyler makes excellent us of the advantages and constraints of shooting in a single confined setting. For the record, there is only one sequence in which the tale goes outdoors, set in a police wagon.
Lee Garmes’ deep-focus photography accentuates the foreground-background relationships, shifting the viewers’ perspectve as to situations in which the characters are agents of their actions, and those in which they are just observers or being observed.
My Oscar Book:
Oscar Nominations: 4
Director: William Wyler
Actress: Eleanor Parker
Supporting Actress: Lee Grant
Screenplay (Adapted): Philip Yordan and Robert Wyler
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
In 1951, “A Streetcar Named Desire” swept most of the acting Oscars, including Best Actress for Vivien Leigh, and Best Supporting Actress for Kim Hunter. “A Place in the Sun” brought Oscars to director George Stevens and screenwriters Michael Wilson and Harry Brown.
Cast
Kirk Douglas as Detective Jim McLeod
Eleanor Parker as Mary McLeod
William Bendix as Detective Lou Brody
Cathy O’Donnell as Susan Carmichael
George Macready as Dr. Karl Schneider
Horace McMahon as Lt. Monoghan
Gladys George as Miss Hatch
Joseph Wiseman as Charley Gennini, a burglar
Lee Grant as Shoplifter
Gerald Mohr as Tami Giacoppetti
Frank Faylen as Detective Gallagher
Craig Hill as Arthur Kindred
Michael Strong as Lewis Abbott
Luis Van Rooten as Joe Feinson
Bert Freed as Detective Dakis
Warner Anderson as Endicott Sims, lawyer
Grandon Rhodes as Detective O’Brien
William “Bill” Phillips as Detective Pat Callahan
Russell Evans as Patrolman Steve Barnes
Credits:
Produced, directed by William Wyler
Screenplay by Robert Wyler, Philip Yordan, based on “Detective Story,” 1949 play by Sidney Kingsley
Cinematography Lee Garmes; John F. Seitz (uncredited)
Edited by Robert Swink
Distributed by Paramount
Release date: Nov 6, 1951 (U.S.)
Running time: 103 minutes
Budget: $1.5 million
Box office: $2.8 million (rentals)
