CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

PWNYCNY Dana Andrews was one of the greatest actors in the history of Hollywood cinema. He proves it in this movie. He plays a troubled police detective with psychological problems that get him into deep trouble. This may seem contrived, but it isn't. The movie deals with police brutality not by sensationalizing it, but by dramatizing it from the perspective of the police officer who is beset by issues that drive his behavior. Dana Andrews gives what has to be one of the finest performances as the police detective who wants to avoid becoming what he despises, but fails. How that happens and why is what the movie is about. There are few plots more compelling than that of the out of control police officer who makes serious mistakes. He abuses his position of authority not for money but for more complicated and insidious reasons. To find out more, watch the movie.

gordonl56 WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS – 1950 Director Otto Preminger reunites with Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney in this top flight film noir. The two had starred in Preminger's noir classic, LAURA in 1944. Also returning to the group from the earlier film is the director of photography, Joseph LaShelle.Andrews plays a real hard case detective, who is not at all adverse to the laying on of hands during "interviews". This behaviour has him constantly in hot water with his bosses. Curb his temper or lose his job is the word.Andrews has a particular bee in his bonnet about slime-ball gambling racketeer, Gary Merrill. He can never seem to get enough goods on the man in-order to send him upstate.Anyways, Andrews ends up killing a suspect, Craig Stevens, to a stabbing at one of Merrill's crap games. He then covers up the crime and dumps the body in the drink. This course of action goes south when the body is discovered all too soon.Then there is a whole series of events that end up with the father of Andrew's ex-wife, Gene Tierney, being suspected of Stevens' murder. What is Andrews to do? Everything he tries seems to backfire. Does he come clean, or does he let the innocent man, Tom Tully, get charged.Director Preminger and cinematographer LaShelle are both on their game here, with an excellent series of night scenes. The endless parade of dark alleys, dank apartments and parking garages really stand out. The cast all shines with a cracker-jack performance by Andrews in particular.This is a real top notch exercise in how to make a film noir.

pruthvishrathod Featuring a tough cop, Where the Sidewalk Ends starts like any usual homicide investigation film-noir. It also includes a crime-boss, a few clashes, an attractive female-lead, romance affair and a serious crime. But, the film transcended my expectations as it proceeded further. The best thing about the film is the character of its protagonist. Dana Andrews once again plays the hot tempered detective here but his character is much more complex than in Laura. The story brilliantly develops around this character and his actions. The romance affair is also portrayed nicely without interrupting the flow and all the supporting characters suits well. Gene Tierney was magnificent once again but sadly her scope is quite limited this time.The key feature of this film is the way it covers different shades of its lead character. Dana Andrews does his part brilliantly. Like any common man, his character has a few weaknesses which leads to a serious crime. The story is carefully handled and proper emphasis is given to regrets and decisions of its protagonist. This clearly stands out and we get much more from the film than what its premise promises. Climax is equally good giving it a solid finishing note. Another Compelling noir from Otto Preminger.

Roger Pettit "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is film noir at its best: entertaining, well-acted and directed, with a very good plot and outstanding cinematography and character depiction. Based on the hardboiled crime novel "Night Cry" by William L Stuart (which I have not read), the film tells the story of 16th precinct New York police detective Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews). Dixon is somewhat unconventional in his working methods. He seems to want to punish criminals in addition to investigating them, an attitude that apparently springs from his relationship with his father who was a thief and who died when Dixon was 17 years old while trying to escape from jail. At the beginning of the film, Dixon is not only passed over for promotion because of his disruptive approach to his work but is also demoted. While investigating the death of a wealthy patron of an illegal crap game, he accidentally murders the principal suspect while trying to get information from him. He covers his tracks but, in doing so, inadvertently casts suspicion on an innocent taxi driver, who happens to be the victim's father-in-law. To complicate matters further, Dixon falls in love with Morgan (Gene Tierney), the taxi driver's daughter and the estranged wife of the man he has killed. Matters continue from there (but it would be inappropriate to say anything more about them).The acting in "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is superb. Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney give excellent performances and are ably supported by Karl Malden (who plays the detective who is promoted at Dixon's expense) and Gary Merrill (who plays Scalise, the crook who organised the illegal crap game that brought about the events depicted in the film). Andrews's performance skilfully elicits sympathy from the viewer for a character who is dogged by his antecedents and by the anguish and injury that his unconventional behaviour causes. The screenplay is very good indeed. And one of the many effective aspects of the film is its judicious use of its excellent score. Indeed, one of the notable features of "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is the comparative absence of music in important parts of the film. The opening credits, which consist primarily of a picture of a pair of feet walking along a pavement (sidewalk), have no musical accompaniment at all. There are some faults. A fight scene involving Dixon and Scalise and his fellow hoodlums seems amateurish in execution (many of the seemingly effective punches thrown make no contact whatsoever with their intended targets), even for a film made in 1950. And the optimistic tone of the conclusion jars somewhat. But, despite its faults, "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is a very clever, enjoyable and entertaining film. 8/10.