gordonl56 WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS – 1950 Director Otto Preminger reunites with Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney in this top flight film noir. The two had starred in Preminger's noir classic, LAURA in 1944. Also returning to the group from the earlier film is the director of photography, Joseph LaShelle.Andrews plays a real hard case detective, who is not at all adverse to the laying on of hands during "interviews". This behaviour has him constantly in hot water with his bosses. Curb his temper or lose his job is the word.Andrews has a particular bee in his bonnet about slime-ball gambling racketeer, Gary Merrill. He can never seem to get enough goods on the man in-order to send him upstate.Anyways, Andrews ends up killing a suspect, Craig Stevens, to a stabbing at one of Merrill's crap games. He then covers up the crime and dumps the body in the drink. This course of action goes south when the body is discovered all too soon.Then there is a whole series of events that end up with the father of Andrew's ex-wife, Gene Tierney, being suspected of Stevens' murder. What is Andrews to do? Everything he tries seems to backfire. Does he come clean, or does he let the innocent man, Tom Tully, get charged.Director Preminger and cinematographer LaShelle are both on their game here, with an excellent series of night scenes. The endless parade of dark alleys, dank apartments and parking garages really stand out. The cast all shines with a cracker-jack performance by Andrews in particular.This is a real top notch exercise in how to make a film noir.

noche101 I just watched this film for the first time, never having heard of it before. When I saw the names Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney in the opening credits, I paused. Was this "Laura"? Thank goodness it wasn't. "Laura" is a film that has always left me cold and underwhelmed. This film was engaging, gritty, and there was real chemistry between the leads. Dana Andrews is a guilt-ridden cop torn between right and wrong, love, and hate. Gene Tierney has a warmth and humanity that makes her a sympathetic victim and the only hope Mark has of redemption. I found myself rooting for these star crossed lovers who need each other despite the secret between them. I loved the scenes at Martha's restaurant.... And Mark's moral dilemma had me at the edge of my seat until the very end. Loved it!

Roger Pettit "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is film noir at its best: entertaining, well-acted and directed, with a very good plot and outstanding cinematography and character depiction. Based on the hardboiled crime novel "Night Cry" by William L Stuart (which I have not read), the film tells the story of 16th precinct New York police detective Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews). Dixon is somewhat unconventional in his working methods. He seems to want to punish criminals in addition to investigating them, an attitude that apparently springs from his relationship with his father who was a thief and who died when Dixon was 17 years old while trying to escape from jail. At the beginning of the film, Dixon is not only passed over for promotion because of his disruptive approach to his work but is also demoted. While investigating the death of a wealthy patron of an illegal crap game, he accidentally murders the principal suspect while trying to get information from him. He covers his tracks but, in doing so, inadvertently casts suspicion on an innocent taxi driver, who happens to be the victim's father-in-law. To complicate matters further, Dixon falls in love with Morgan (Gene Tierney), the taxi driver's daughter and the estranged wife of the man he has killed. Matters continue from there (but it would be inappropriate to say anything more about them).The acting in "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is superb. Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney give excellent performances and are ably supported by Karl Malden (who plays the detective who is promoted at Dixon's expense) and Gary Merrill (who plays Scalise, the crook who organised the illegal crap game that brought about the events depicted in the film). Andrews's performance skilfully elicits sympathy from the viewer for a character who is dogged by his antecedents and by the anguish and injury that his unconventional behaviour causes. The screenplay is very good indeed. And one of the many effective aspects of the film is its judicious use of its excellent score. Indeed, one of the notable features of "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is the comparative absence of music in important parts of the film. The opening credits, which consist primarily of a picture of a pair of feet walking along a pavement (sidewalk), have no musical accompaniment at all. There are some faults. A fight scene involving Dixon and Scalise and his fellow hoodlums seems amateurish in execution (many of the seemingly effective punches thrown make no contact whatsoever with their intended targets), even for a film made in 1950. And the optimistic tone of the conclusion jars somewhat. But, despite its faults, "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is a very clever, enjoyable and entertaining film. 8/10.

hrjbabyy This murder mayhem mystery was pretty intense. The actors performances were pretty awesome, I have to admit. Watching this movie made me want to yell at the screen or hide from it because it was such a suspenseful movie. I really enjoyed it. My grandmother adores this film and she told me that although I do not like movies like this? That she knew I would somehow find a way to enjoy it. Full of interesting camera angles and interesting dialog. I never thought I would like movies like this but my grandmother was right, it captivated me and got me to really enjoy watching. I would recommend this movie completely for anyone who liked murder mayhem movies.