classicsoncall What might be more fascinating to me than the psychological drama playing out between the man on the ledge and the beat cop trying to talk him down, is the cross section of humanity on the street below with disparate views on how to interpret the situation. They range from the compassionate woman Ruth (Debra Paget) who skips work to voice moral support for the troubled man, right up to the cynical cab drivers making book on how soon Robert Cosick (Richard Basehart) will jump. Never let it be said that it's only modern times in which callous disregard for human life could rear it's ugly head if a dollar could be made off it. Or in this case, twelve 'tax free' bucks for the dubious winner of the suicide pool.The event takes place on St. Patrick's Day in the Big City, lending some backdrop to Officer Dunnigan's (Paul Douglas) efforts to reason with the young man contemplating his one way mission. As the story unfolds, we learn that Cosick's family life was roiled by a mother (Agnes Moorehead) who didn't want him, and an alcoholic father who left because of the constant carping and complaining. The police shrink brought in on the case laid out a fairly well rationalized life pattern for the suicidal man, but it sounded just a bit too pat for my understanding, even if he hit the highlights.Nice support work here from a cast filled with future luminaries of the movie and TV screen, with a young Grace Kelly in her first film appearance, Barbara Bel Geddes, Howard Da Silva, Frank Faylen and Jeff Corey. And while troubled relationships remain the focus of the story, it's interesting that love blossoms down below on the streets of the city as the compassionate Rita is won over by the earnest entreaties of a co-worker who consistently misses her by a half hour each morning on the way in to the office. It looked to me like Jeffrey Hunter and Miss Paget would have made a nice couple.

Aaron Igay I've always seemed to enjoy films that were about a single event in real time. Archival time is obviously necessary for any story that spans more than a few hours, but real time films just seem to be inherently engaging. OK so the film isn't 14 hours long, but it does all take place in one spot on one day. This noir about a jumper on the side of a skyscraper in NYC is packed with great (if slightly cliché) characters, including the on-screen debut of Grace Kelly. Unfortunately many of the actors in this film were blacklisted during the HUAC witch hunt a few years later and would not be seen in films again. Uniquely, there is no score or music in the film outside of the titles which further adds to the realism.

evanston_dad First things first: "Fourteen Hours" is NOT a film noir. I don't know why numerous resources about film noir (including IMDb) include it.It does have many of the characteristics of those police procedural docu-dramas from the late 40s and early 50s that so many noirs also shared, so maybe that accounts for it. This film, based on a true story, stars Richard Basehart as a man who threatens to jump from a city skyscraper. Paul Douglas is the cop who works overtime to prevent him from doing so. Over the course of the film, a whole bunch of psychobabble involving the man's childhood emerges to explain his actions, and late in the film, his one-time fiancée (played by Barbara Bel Geddes) shows up to shed even more light on the matter.This is serviceable if not overly remarkable film-making. It will probably engage your interest, but I doubt it will linger in your mind. I will forever remember this film as the one I was watching when my wife went into labor with our son.The movie received a rather random Academy Award nomination for its black and white art direction.Grade: B

Jay09101951 This is pretty good story of how the New York City Police Rescue Unit operated in the post-war years. The background story is good also and while there is a bit of over acting ( the woman who plays Basehart's Mother), the character roles are quite good. Paul Douglas gives his usual fine performance and Martin Gabel does a fine job also as the understanding doctor. This is one of the last feature movies Howard Da Silva had a role in, as he was soon blacklisted by HUAC. I have seen the modern-day NYCPD Rescue unit a few times and they are an elite unit with fancy uniforms and all sorts of high-tech gadgets. But back in 1951, they had to use rope,nets,pulleys,wenches and hand tools to do the same work they do today.