film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...
Van Johnson
Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II.
Johnson was described as the embodiment ...
, and featuring
Gloria DeHaven
Gloria Mildred DeHaven (July 23, 1925 – July 30, 2016) was an American actress and singer who was a contract star for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Early life
DeHaven was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actor-director Carter De ...
,
Arlene Dahl
Arlene Carol Dahl (August 11, 1925 – November 29, 2021) was an American actress active in films from the late 1940s. She was one of the last surviving stars from the Classical Hollywood cinema era.
She was also an author and entrepreneur. Sh ...
, and Tom Drake.. The film's screenplay, by Charles Schnee, is based on a non-fiction article by John Bartlow Martin, "Smashing the Bookie Gang Marauders". It was the only property sold by Martin to be made into a film.Muller, Eddie (July 29, 2018) Introduction to
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...
' presentation of ''Scene of the Crime'' ''Scene of the Crime'' was producer
Harry Rapf
Harry Rapf (16 October 1880, in New York City – 6 February 1949, in Los Angeles), was an American film producer.
Biography
Born to a Jewish family, Rapf began his career in 1917, and during a 20-year career became a well-known producer of ...
's last film of his thirty-plus year career; he died of a heart attack a week after principal photography for the film began.
According to film critic Dennis Schwartz:
Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bi ...
was the studio head and insisted on producing more realistic films. This is a transitional film from the 1930s gangster film and a forerunner of the modern day TV cop show. It preaches the credo that 'Crime Does Not Pay'."Schwartz, Dennis (2004-10-13)
),_head_of_an_Los_Angeles_Police_Department.html" "title=" "Scene of the Crime" (review). ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'', 13 October 2004. Retrieved on 2013-07-12 from http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/sceneofthecrime.htm.
Plot
Lieutenant Mike Conovan (
Van Johnson
Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II.
Johnson was described as the embodiment ...
), head of an Los Angeles Police Department">LAPD
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
homicide detective squad, investigates when Ed Monigan, an older member of his squad (and former partner), is murdered while off-duty and carrying $1,000 in cash. Conovan's current partner and one-time mentor, Fred Piper (
John McIntire
John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in Novem ...
), is getting on in years and his eyesight is failing, while under Conovan's wing is rookie detective "C.C." (for "carbon copy") Gordon ( Tom Drake), learning the ropes.
Out to dispel a theory that Monigan was secretly in cahoots with
bookmakers
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.
History
The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795.
Range of events
Bookm ...
, Conovan begins to track down a pair of downstate criminals ("lobos") known as the "Royalty Brothers". (He repeatedly refers to the gangsters as "guns.") The trail leads to a stripper, Lili (
Gloria DeHaven
Gloria Mildred DeHaven (July 23, 1925 – July 30, 2016) was an American actress and singer who was a contract star for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Early life
DeHaven was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actor-director Carter De ...
), whose ex-boyfriend Turk Kingby ( Richard Benedict) has apparently pulled off a series of robberies of gamblers with his partner Lafe Douque (
William Haade
William Haade (March 2, 1903 – November 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1937 and 1957. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California.
Haade was a construction boss until ...
). Conovan's primary informant, Sleeper (
Norman Lloyd
Norman Nathan Lloyd (' Perlmutter; November 8, 1914 – May 11, 2021) was an American actor, producer, director, and centenarian with a career in entertainment spanning nearly a century. He worked in every major facet of the industry, including ...
), is brutally murdered for snitching. Conovan tracks down Lafe and places him under arrest, but leaving Lafe's apartment, gunshots ring out, killing Lafe. Conovan is convinced by his wife Gloria (
Arlene Dahl
Arlene Carol Dahl (August 11, 1925 – November 29, 2021) was an American actress active in films from the late 1940s. She was one of the last surviving stars from the Classical Hollywood cinema era.
She was also an author and entrepreneur. Sh ...
) that police work is too dangerous. He agrees and tenders his resignation.
Lili calls headquarters with a tip for Conovan on where Turk can be found. Piper intercepts the message, investigates it himself and is gunned down. Conovan concludes that Lili has been double-crossing him, secretly helping Turk all along. Over the objections of his wife, he gets his old job back with the police force. Turk and his new partner attempt to flee, but Conovan sets up an ambush. He uses a truck to crash into Turk's armor-plated car, causing it to catch fire. Turk confesses to the murders and clears Monigan before he dies.
Cast
*
Van Johnson
Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II.
Johnson was described as the embodiment ...
as Mike Conovan
*
Arlene Dahl
Arlene Carol Dahl (August 11, 1925 – November 29, 2021) was an American actress active in films from the late 1940s. She was one of the last surviving stars from the Classical Hollywood cinema era.
She was also an author and entrepreneur. Sh ...
as Gloria Conovan
*
Gloria DeHaven
Gloria Mildred DeHaven (July 23, 1925 – July 30, 2016) was an American actress and singer who was a contract star for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Early life
DeHaven was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actor-director Carter De ...
Leon Ames
Leon Ames (born Harry L. Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rememb ...
as Captain A.C. Forster
*
John McIntire
John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in Novem ...
as Detective Fred Piper
*
Donald Woods
Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after ...
as Bob Herkimer
*
Norman Lloyd
Norman Nathan Lloyd (' Perlmutter; November 8, 1914 – May 11, 2021) was an American actor, producer, director, and centenarian with a career in entertainment spanning nearly a century. He worked in every major facet of the industry, including ...
as Sleeper
*
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early years
Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...
as Arthur Webson
*
Tom Powers
Thomas McCreery Powers (July 7, 1890 – November 9, 1955) was an American actor in theatre, films, radio and television. A veteran of the Broadway stage, notably in plays by George Bernard Shaw, he created the role of Charles Marsden in Eug ...
Robert Gist
Robert Marion Gist (October 1, 1917 – May 21, 1998) was an American actor and film director.
Life and career
Gist was reared around the stockyards of Chicago, Illinois, during the Great Depression. Reform school-bound after injuring an ...
as P.J. Pontiac
* Romo Vincent as Hippo
*
Tom Helmore
Tom Helmore (4 January 1904 – 12 September 1995) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1927 and 1972, including three directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Helmore was born in London, England and died in Longboat K ...
as Norrie Lorfield
* Caleb Peterson as Loomis
*
William Haade
William Haade (March 2, 1903 – November 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1937 and 1957. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California.
Haade was a construction boss until ...
as Lafe Douque
Cast notes
* Donna Reed was originally slated to play the part played in the film by Arlene Dahl.
*Gloria DeHaven's character, Lili, was modeled on stripper
Lili St. Cyr
Marie Frances Van Schaack (June 3, 1918 – January 29, 1999), known professionally as Lili St. Cyr, was a prominent American burlesque dancer and stripper..
Early years
St. Cyr was born Willis Marie Van Schaack in Minneapolis, Minnesota, o ...
Production
MGM, Hollywood's "Tiffany Studio", had a long history of making glamorous films, especially musicals, and shied away from making gutty, street-wise films, such as Warner Bros. specialized in. The exceptions were their series of "Crime Does Not Pay" shorts – where director Roy Rowland learned the ins and outs of that genre – and the occasional films in the 1930s and 1940s, such as ''
Kid Glove Killer
''Kid Glove Killer'' is a 1942 American crime film, starring Van Heflin as a forensic scientist investigating the murder of a mayor. The B film, the feature-length directorial debut of Fred Zinnemann, was an expanded version of the 1938 '' Crime ...
'' and ''
Grand Central Murder
''Grand Central Murder'' is a comedy/ mystery film released in 1942. It was based on Sue MacVeigh's 1939 novel of the same name, and stars Van Heflin as a private investigator who is one of the suspects in a murder on a private train car in Gran ...
'', both released in 1942. Once
Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bi ...
returned to MGM in 1948 from his stint at
RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...
, to replace
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
as head of production, the studio began to make darker, more realistic films. ''Scene of the Crime'' was the result of that transition.Miller, Frank (ndg "Scene of the Crime (1949)" TCM.com
The casting for ''Scene of the Crime'' went "against type". Star Van Johnson was known for appearing in light fare such as comedies and musicals, making him a teen idol, so a hard-boiled cop was a complete change for him, and his newly revealed versatility garnered him roles in 1949's '' Battleground'' and the offer to play
Eliot Ness
Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of a team of law enforcement agents, nicknamed The Untouchables. ...
in ''
The Untouchables
Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to:
American history
* Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness
* ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley
* ''The U ...
'' on TV, a role that went instead to
Robert Stack
Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the highly successful ABC tele ...
. Although ''Scene of the Crime'' made a small profit, primarily because of its low production cost, Van Johnson would never make another film noir.
Gloria DeHaven was also making a change for her role in the film. She had been known for playing sweet, innocent ingenues, like Johnson in comedies and musicals. It was Schary's decision to cast her as Lili, a stripper who appears at first to have a heart of gold, but turns out to be a hard-boiled gangster's moll. Unable to show a stripper actually stripping, the film shows her doing a "reverse strip": Lili starts in a – for the time – skimpy outfit, and puts her clothes on while singing Andre Previn and William Katz' song "I'm a Goody Good Girl". As with Johnson, the film opened up new possibilities for DeHaven. As opposed to DeHaven, the third major actor in ''Street of the Crime'', the glamorous Arlene Dahl, might normally have been expected to play the stripper role, instead of a nagging housewife.
Director Roy Rowland was a long-time stalwart at MGM, directing shorts,
B-movies
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
, and a variety of other films. He would make two additional film noirs, '' Rogue Cop'' and ''
Witness to Murder
''Witness to Murder'' is a 1954 American film noir crime drama directed by Roy Rowland and starring Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, and Gary Merrill. While the film received moderately positive reviews, it ended up as an also-ran to Alfred H ...
'', starring
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
, both released in 1954. Rowland is probably best known for directing a cult film, '' The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T'', written by
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...
' presentation of ''Scene of the Crime''
Reception
Box office
According to MGM records, the film earned US$968,000 () in the US and Canada and $423,000 () overseas resulting in a profit of $151,000 ().
Critical response
Critic Dennis Schwartz liked the film:
"It is directed in a workman like efficiency by Roy Rowland ('' Rogue Cop'') ... It's filmed Dragnet style, following ordinary police procedures in solving the case. The film had a violent conclusion, which underscores the dangers of being an urban cop. It portrayed the hard-working policemen in a sympathetic light and showed how they are often misunderstood by the public and betrayed at times by reporters who are eager to grab the headlines and run with them even though they don't have all the facts. Mike comes out as a good cop, but is disillusioned by his low pay and all the pressures from home, the job and its politics, and from an unappreciative public."
Awards and honors
*
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
- Best Motion Picture (nominated, 1950)
See also
*
Film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...