Customer Reviews

Detective Story [Import]

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Paramount Pictures presents "DETECTIVE STORY" (1951) (103 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- "Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play Detective Story was praised for its realistic view of an event-filled day in a single police precinct station --- The film, directed by meticulous taskmaster William Wyler, manages to retain this realism, even allowing for the star-turn performance of Kirk Douglas --- A stickler for the letter of the law, Detective James McLeod (Douglas) is not averse to using strong-arm methods on criminals and witnesses alike in bringing lawbreakers to justice --- He is particularly rough on a first-time offender (Craig Hill), on whom the rest of the force is willing to go easy because of the anguish of his girlfriend (Cathy O'Donnell) --- But McLeod's strongest invective is reserved for shady abortion doctor Karl Schneider (George MacReady); McLeod all but ruins the case against Schneider by beating him up in the patrol wagon. When McLeod discovers that his own wife (Eleanor Parker) had many years earlier lost a baby in one of Schneider's operations, and that the baby's father was gangster Tami Giacoppetti (Gerald Mohr), it is too much for the detective to bear --- Punctuating the grim proceedings with brief moments of humor is future Oscar winner Lee Grant, reprising her stage role as a timorous shoplifter; it would be her last Hollywood assignment until the early 1960s, thanks to the iniquities of the blacklist --- Despite small concessions to Hollywood censorship, "Detective Story" largely upheld the power of its theatrical original.

An immensely powerful film with Douglas in top form.

Nominated for 4 Oscars: Director (William Wyler), Screenplay (Philip Yordan & Robert Wyler),
Actress (Eleanor Parker) & Supporting Actress (Lee Grant)

Under the production staff of:
William Wyler [Director/Producer]
Sidney Kingsley [Screenplay]
Robert Wyler [Writer]
Philip Yordan [Writer]
Lester Koenig [Associate producer]
Robert Wyler [Associate producer]
Lee Garmes [Cinematographer]
Robert Swink [Film Editor]
A. Earl Hedrick [Art Direction]
Hal Pereira [Art Direction]

BIOS:
1. William Wyler [Director]
Date of Birth: 1 July 1902 - Mülhausen, Alsace, Germany [now Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France]
Date of Death: 27 July 1981 - Los Angeles, California

2. Kirk Douglas [aka: Issur Danielovitch Demsky]
Date of Birth: 9 December 1916 - Amsterdam, New York
Date of Death: Still Living

3. Eleanor Parker [aka: Eleanor Jean Parker]
Date of Birth: 26 June 1922 - Cedarville, Ohio
Date of Death: Still Living

4. Lee Grant [aka: Lyova Haskell Rosenthal]
Date of Birth: 31 October 1927 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: Still Living

the cast includes:
Kirk Douglas - Det. James McLeod
Eleanor Parker - Mary McLeod
William Bendix - Det. Lou Brody
Cathy O'Donnell - Susan Carmichael
George Macready - Karl Schneider
Horace McMahon - Lt. Monaghan
Gladys George - Miss Hatch
Joseph Wiseman - Charley Gennini
Lee Grant - Shoplifter
Gerald Mohr - Tami Giacoppetti
Frank Faylen - Det. Gallagher
Warner Anderson - Endicott Sims

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay:5 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 103 min on DVD ~ Paramount Pictures ~ (10/25/2005)