Stop Calling This One Noir!

 Not All ‘40s-‘50s Detective Movies Are Noir

Detective Story (1951) – A police detective is driven by a binary understanding of justice.  There is no gray, only black and white.  And there’s no stepping back over the line.  That world view will drive his own life into the ultimate crisis.

Directed by William Wyler

Starring Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix

Why I Liked It – A tense, driven “day in the life” story of a big city police precinct.

Let me deal with my title plea first.  If you read other reviews of this movie, you will run into more than a few that refer to this as a noir film.  I’ve written before about this American contribution to the cinematic world.  As I’ve also noted, it’s hard to give a firm description of what makes a movie noir.  There are some consistent features, however.  They include a cynical worldview, especially lacking absolutes of right or wrong.  It’s all gray and cruel.  There is usually some kind of sexual tension, often involving a woman who betrays the protagonist.  There’s also a distinctive visual style. It goes beyond the black and white film of the originals, but is often dimly lit, with unusual, off balance framing of the action.  If you see most or all of these characteristics, there’s a good chance you’re watching a noir movie.

And “Detective Story” has none of them.

The essence of the main character, Detective Jim McLeod (Douglas), is that he doesn’t believe in shades of gray.  Commit a crime?  You’re a criminal, and you always will be.  He doesn’t believe in mistakes and offers no forgiveness.  When a young man gets arrested for stealing from his boss, McLeod shows no mercy..  The accused admits his guilt, explains he wanted the money to impress a girl, a way is found to repay the money and his boss agrees not to press charges.  McLeod won’t allow it, and bullies the employer into going ahead with the charges.  Cynicism?  People are constantly trying to help. One poor woman is desperate to find a man to share her life with. A cop tries to help the young man.  McLeod’s boss does everything he can to help the detective over a personal issue.  A woman’s former lover refuses to trash talk because of his respect for her.  There is a betrayal of a sort, but it’s McLeod betraying his wife.  And the movie is lacking in the classic noir visual style.  

This movie is NOT noir.

But it is really good.  Kirk Douglas was the human vision of the tightly wound spring.  He brought an intensity to the screen that few others equaled.  Here, McLeod is wound so tightly that you know he won’t be able to hold on forever.  There are plenty of minor stories going on around him, but this is Douglas’ movie from start to finish.  Eleanor Parker is wonderful as his wife, Mary McLeod.  Devoted to her husband, there is a secret that becomes central to the movie and their marriage.  Horace McMahon is perfect as Lt. Monahan, the precincts boss.  There’s a fine line to be walked here, and McMahon brings just the right balance to a role that could have been a throwaway.  Fans of older movies will recognize the name of veteran character actor William Bendix, who has a class Bendix-type role here.  A lot of the rest of the cast are just OK, minor roles with no depth to them.  But they’re good enough backdrop for the main event.

Douglas all by himself is worth the price of admission for the decidedly NOT noir detective movie.

Rating – *** Worth A Look