Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's lowlife. The characters who pass through the precinct over the course of the day include a young petty embezzler, a pair of burglars, and a naive shoplifter.
Acting
Douglas's barely contained rage is genuinely frightening.
Direction
Wyler traps you in one set like a fly in a jar.
Writing
Sidney Kingsley's stage roots show in every brutal exchange.
Director
William Wyler
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
Craig Hill
Arthur Kindred
Michael Strong
Lewis Abbott
Luis van Rooten
Joe Feinson
Bert Freed
Det. Dakis
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot almost entirely on one massive police station set built on Paramount's largest soundstage.
The abortion backstory had to be heavily euphemized; 'baby selling' was the Hays Code compromise that let them mention it at all.
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