ofpsmith
None of the actors in this movie are particularly well known. The director, Edward L Cahn is likewise obscure. The only big name the film has to offer is Rod Serling, whose short story was the basis for the movie. And yet Incident in an Alley is a detective story, a courtroom drama, and a redemption story all in one. Officer Bill Joddy (Chris Warfield) accidentally shoots a boy named Harvey Connell (Bobby Fox) in the back, aiming for his leg. Bill is charged with first degree manslaughter. Bill is acquitted but he is haunted by the shooting. To make things worse, Bill is assigned a new assignment. But redemption comes his way when he investigates a robbery of a music store that Harvey was involved in. I won't spoil the ending but it's very entertaining. It's a hard movie to find, but if you come across it, give it a watch.
MartinHafer
"Incident in an Alley" is a very simply made film. The budget was small and the actors are mostly faces you won't recognize. However, because it has good writing and surprisingly good writing and direction, it's well worth your time.The film begins with a burglary in progress. The police show up and suddenly teen delinquents are running about everywhere. In the confusion, one cop, Bill Joddy (Chris Warfield) repeatedly tells one of the gang to halt. Eventually, he fires warning shots and somehow a younger teen is hit and killed. Almost immediately, there is a huge uproar and folks are calling for the cop's head. The case goes to court but he is found innocent of responsibility in the death. But, he cannot live with himself and is stuck--alternately blaming himself and searching for more answers. See the film and see where this goes.One of the only folks you probably would recognize if you grew up in the 40s, 50s or 60s is Virginia Christine (the dead boy's mother). She played a lot of characters on TV (such as in the original "Dragnet") and was also the spokesperson for Folger's Coffee for many years. Yup...she's Mrs. Olsen. Another familiar presence is Rod Serling--who wrote the original story. All in all, surprisingly good and worth your time.
gordonl56
A group of young hoods break into a music store late one night. It is their bad luck that the cleaning woman discovers them. They dispatch said witness with a pipe to the side of the head. They then gather up all the loot they can carry and hit the road.When the janitor is found, just clinging to life, the police begin rounding up the usual selection of neighbourhood villains. Chasing several suspects down a darkened alley, a cop, Chris Warfield, yells "HALT!" Then fires a shot when not obeyed.His round hits one of the suspects killing him. The suspect, Bobby Fox, turns out to be a 14 -year old boy. Was it the suspect the policeman had been chasing? Or was it just a kid who happened to be in the dark alley.For political reasons, the D.A. decides to charge the officer with murder. The public and press are calling him a "KID KILLER" and want someone to pay for the boy's death. The viewer, however, knows the kid was in on the break in with his older brother and several others.Warfield goes on trial and is found not guilty. The story in court is told from several diff points of view including, the dead boy's mother, the officer, his wife, the other cops and the press.Warfield gets his job back. Some of the cops welcome him back him while others think he is guilty of being a tad trigger happy.Warfield has bouts of inner turmoil, that maybe the boy's death was his fault, so he decides he must clear his name. He enlists the help of his partner, Harp McGuire in his quest. They go over everything that happened looking for any possible clue.Lila Finn, the cleaning woman, who has been in a coma since the robbery, dies. It is now a murder case. The detectives assigned to the case get a break when some of the stolen goods show up. They grab up a suspect who leads them to a poolroom where he says he bought the items.And who should the Police find, but the dead boy's brother, Michael Vandever. With Vandever is the gang he runs with. The detective's suspect is unable to identify any of the boys so he is returned to jail.After the Police leave, the boys, lead by Gary Judis, start knocking Vandever around. They are less than amused that Vandever had sold some of the stolen goods The plan was to sit on the stolen items for 6 months before selling them. Vandever tells them "I was broke and needed some cash". After a few smacks to the head the gang sends him off to move the goods to Judis place.Later that day as Warfield is on patrol, he sees Vandever in the same alley were his brother had been killed. It is also the same alley where the swag is hidden. Warfield puts the grab on him for a little bit of face to face. He is pretty sure Vandever was involved in the robbery. One of the gang, who was tailing Vandever, sees the two talking and reports back to Judis.Judis, not the most trusting of people, decides they will need to bump off Vandever. Warfield has in the meantime convinced Vandever to come clean about the robbery. He tells Warfield it was Judis who had brained the cleaning woman with the piece of pipe. He also agrees to show Warfield were the stolen goods are.Judis and the boys, now armed with a trio of revolvers, head for the same location. A local warehouse watchman happens to see the boys pull the guns out their hiding spot. He figures they are up to no good and calls the Police.The gang, Vandever and Warfield all bump into each other in the alley with the predictable results. Shots are exchanged with two of the boys, including Judis being hit. Warfield's partner, McGuire arrives just in time to nab the third boy.Vandever turns State's evidence and Warfield's reputation is restored.The cast includes Erin O'Donnell as Warfield's wife, Willis Bouchey as the Police Captain, Don Keffer as the D.A. and Virginia Christine as the dead boy's mother.This good little low renter was from b-film vet, Edward L Cahn. Cahn's work includes, CAGE OF EVIL, VICE RAID, YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST, WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES, THE WALKING TARGET, PIER 5 HAVANA, GUN GIRLS AND GANGSTERS, HONG KONG CONFIDENTIAL, GIRLS IN PRISON, BETRAYED WOMEN, TWO DOLLAR BETTOR, DESTINATION MURDER, BUNGALOW 13 and the great 50's sci-fi classic, IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE.The screenplay was by Harold Medford. His work includes the screenplays for BERLIN EXPRESS, THE KILLER IS LOOSE and THE DAMNED DON'T CRY. The story is from none other than Rod Serling. The d of p was Gil Warrenton whose work includes, PAROLE INC, ALIMONY and HIGH SCHOOL HELLCATS.This is the second time I've caught this one. The first time was on a terrible VHS. This time, thanks to Ned, I got the pleasure of seeing a nice print on DVD.A decent time waster in my humble opinion.
