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Scene of the Crime

Play trailer Poster for Scene of the Crime Released Jul 28, 1949 1h 34m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 48% 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?

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Scene of the Crime

Critics Reviews

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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

Audience Reviews

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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 Audience Member Johnson buries his boyishness and gives a decent performance as a tough cop in this obscure noir, he's no Bob Mitchum or Dick Powell but he gets the job done. He's surrounded by a quality cast also turning in good work. Worth a look. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Scene of the Crime

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Movie Info

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
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