{"id":41314,"date":"2018-10-27T23:26:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-28T06:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41314"},"modified":"2022-04-14T20:18:24","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T03:18:24","slug":"detective-story-a-1951","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41314","title":{"rendered":"Detective Story (1951)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Congratulations, Carl &#8212; you&#8217;re still a lucky man. You must have been kissed in your cradle by a vulture.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Poster-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-41315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Poster-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Poster-768x1163.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Poster-676x1024.jpg 676w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Poster.jpg 845w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn embittered detective (Kirk Douglas) finds his values shaken when he learns his beloved wife (Eleanor Parker) has a connection with a noted abortionist (George Macready) he&#8217;s been trying to prosecute for a year. Meanwhile, Douglas and his colleagues &#8212; including his supervisor (Horace McMahon) and a fellow detective (William Bendix) &#8212; manage a variety of other cases, including a shoplifter (Lee Grant) who seems curiously content to hang out and people-watch; a young man (Craig Hill) who has stolen from his boss to impress a model whose sweet sister (Cathy O&#8217;Donnell) has nursed a lifelong crush on him; and a psychopathic convict (Joseph Wiseman) whose every action and reaction is unpredictable.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Detectives and Private Eyes<\/li>\n<li>Eleanor Parker Films<\/li>\n<li>George Macready Films<\/li>\n<li>Kirk Douglas Films<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptations<\/li>\n<li>William Bendix Films<\/li>\n<li>William Wyler Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nWilliam Wyler directed this adaptation of a play by Sidney Kingsley which takes place within a single day at the 21st precinct in New York. Critical responses seem mixed about the authenticity of both Douglas&#8217;s character and the narrative pivot, with DVD Savant arguing that &#8220;the enjoyable Kirk Douglas gives one of his first over-modulated &#8216;star&#8217; performances, throwing the film off balance&#8221;, and Bosley Crowther pointing out we need &#8220;not search too hopefully for plausibility in this case&#8221; given how far-fetched the connection is between Parker and Macready. I&#8217;m not disturbed by either of these factors, and find both Douglas&#8217;s performance and the central scenario quite believable. While this is very much a filmed play &#8212; with revelatory action &#8220;unnaturally&#8221; concentrated into one time stretch &#8212; Wyler nicely highlights the claustrophobia of the high-tension setting, and Douglas&#8217;s crisis seems almost inevitable given the stress he puts himself under each day (compounded by his personal history); it&#8217;s unusual to watch such a train wreck happening to a major movie star in a film of this era. The supporting performances are all noteworthy, with Parker and Bendix especially sympathetic, and Wiseman effectively playing, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1783dete.html\">DVD Savant<\/a> puts it, &#8220;a mass of ethnic gestures distorted through a lowlife&#8217;s self-awareness&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Kirk Douglas as Detective McLeod<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Douglas.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Douglas.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Douglas.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Douglas-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Douglas-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Eleanor Parker as Mary McLeod<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Parker.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Parker.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Parker.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Parker-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Parker-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A fine supporting cast<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Bendix.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Bendix.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Bendix.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Bendix-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Bendix-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Grant.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Grant.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Grant.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Grant-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Grant-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lee Garmes&#8217; cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Cinematography.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Cinematography-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Detective-Story-Cinematography-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a strong outing by a master director. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0043465\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tcm.com\/this-month\/article\/152026%7C0\/Detective-Story.html\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1951\/11\/07\/archives\/the-screen-four-newcomers-on-local-scene-detective-story-film-based.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1783dete.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Congratulations, Carl &#8212; you&#8217;re still a lucky man. You must have been kissed in your cradle by a vulture.&#8221; Synopsis: An embittered detective (Kirk Douglas) finds his values shaken when he learns his beloved wife (Eleanor Parker) has a connection with a noted abortionist (George Macready) he&#8217;s been trying to prosecute for a year. Meanwhile, Douglas and his colleagues &#8212; including his supervisor (Horace McMahon) and a fellow detective (William Bendix) &#8212; manage a variety of other cases, including a&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41314\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41314"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83000,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41314\/revisions\/83000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}