Detective Story

The 1951 screen version of Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play, directed by William Wyler and starring Kirk Douglas, William Bendix, and Horace McMahon as top detectives in a New York City police squad, could be the godfather of the TV precinct show. Set almost entirely in the squad room over the course of a long shift, the film charts the courses of a number of cases and characters. Douglas is James McLeod, a law-and-order zealot with a bad temper and a reputation for violence—a classic tough cop with a brutal edge and a ferocious moral superiority. Bendix is Lou Brody, a gentler, more understanding type who is predisposed to give first-time offenders a second chance; and McMahon is Lt. Monaghan, the wary chief trying to reign in the explosive McLeod. Eleanor Parker, a queen of the silver screen in her day, costars as McLeod's devoted wife, Mary, who has a big secret. Providing eccentricity and comic relief in smaller roles are Lee Grant, making her movie debut as a loquacious shoplifter, and Frank Faylen as a detective with a good-natured sense of humor. While it features a roll call of clichés and dated social issues, this stage-bound drama is sustained by good dialogue, fine performances, and engaging characters—and Wyler keeps things rolling at a lively pace. Previously out of print, this is newly available again as part of Warner's manufacture-on-demand Archive Collection. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)