Scene of the Crime

Play trailer

Scene of the Crime

Released Jul 28, 1949

1h 34m

Crime

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

2 Reviews

50%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

When assigned to investigate the murder of a fellow plainclothes policeman, Los Angeles cop Mike Conovan (Van Johnson) follows his hunches straight to a burlesque dancer named Lili (Gloria DeHaven). With a tip from Lili, Conovan trails and arrests a mysterious man spotted at the scene of the crime. After the suspect is gunned down, Conovan's wife (Arlene Dahl) convinces her husband to quit the force -- but can the detective stay away from the case after another fellow officer is murdered?

Paul Chambers

Movie Chambers

"Scene of the Crime" is full of familiar faces from the movies of decades past. It's not all that exciting. But, it's worth a look, if for no other reason, than to see Gloria DeHaven's smoky performance.

Rated: B-

Jan 21, 2013

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

One of the few film noirs attempted by MGM.

Rated: B-

Oct 12, 2004

Full Review

Read all reviews

Mark T

Classic 1940 's film noir. Great script and great performances from Van Johnson and Gloria Dehaven. Realistic portrait of a LA police detective. Full of twists and turns and an ending you never see coming. My favorite Van Johnson movie and I'm a big fan of the late actor. -

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

Full Review

Ted B

The late 1940s and early 1950s were home to some pretty good film noir detective movies. MGM took it up a notch with this film. A stellar cast including Van Johnson, Arlene Dahl, and Gloria DeHaven added the necessary character to the underbelly of the mob side of town, the cop who fights them, and his wife whose support he needs. In this case, Van Johnson plays a police detective whose former partner is murdered by a hitman. His endeavor to find the killer is a constant battle between justice and revenge. It seems every corner he takes seems to lead to a dead end. Ms Haven plays a bar blues singer who has a romantic(?) interest in Van Johnson. Added to this pressure is a wife who is getting tired of hearing the phone ring to call him out on another investigation and the fear that he might not come back home. She's no longer sure this is the life for her. I thought this movie was pretty compelling on both fronts: solving the mystery and keeping his marriage together.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/07/24

Full Review

Angelo C

Very good crime movie with a surprising performance by Van Johnson. I love these oldie but good movies because there’s no gratuitous sex or blood spattering violence. Just enough of the both to make you think what happened, but I actually seeing it. I wish they would make movies like this again.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/27/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Under-appreciated film noir with solid performances and storyline. Check out Gloria de Haven's femme fatale-type performance and her "reverse strip": scene.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

ashley h

Scene of the Crime is an excellent film. It is about a homicide detective who investigates the shooting of fellow detective. Van Johnson and Arlene Dahl give amazing performances. The screenplay is good but a little slow in places. Roy Rowland did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama and mystery.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

MGM tries its best to go 'dark'-noir that is

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Roy Rowland

Director

Van Johnson

Mike Conovan

Arlene Dahl

Gloria Conovan

Gloria DeHaven

Lili

Tom Drake

Det. 'C.C.' Gordon

Leon Ames

Capt. A.C. Forster

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

View more photos

Synopsis

When assigned to investigate the murder of a fellow plainclothes policeman, Los Angeles cop Mike Conovan (Van Johnson) follows his hunches straight to a burlesque dancer named Lili (Gloria DeHaven). With a tip from Lili, Conovan trails and arrests a mysterious man spotted at the scene of the crime. After the suspect is gunned down, Conovan's wife (Arlene Dahl) convinces her husband to quit the force -- but can the detective stay away from the case after another fellow officer is murdered?

Director: Roy Rowland
Producer: Harry Rapf
Screenwriter: Charles Schnee
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 1949, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2016
Runtime: 1h 34m

Most Popular at Home Now