Where the Sidewalk Ends

Play trailer

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Released Jun 26, 1950

1h 35m

Crime

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Ashamed that his father lived a life of crime, hard-boiled New York City cop Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews) has a reputation for being too tough on criminals. So when Dixon unintentionally kills a murder suspect during a routine questioning, he hides the fact from the department and tries to pin the killing on his nemesis, notorious gangster Scalise (Gary Merrill). The snag in the cop's plan comes when his boss wrongly accuses the father of Dixon's love interest, Morgan (Gene Tierney), of the murder.

Variety Staff

Variety

Otto Preminger, director, does an excellent job of pacing the story and of building sympathy for Andrews.

Oct 23, 2007

Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Fox may not have plumbed the depths of realism this time, but it still looks interesting, even two-thirds of the way down.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 25, 2006

Full Review

Time Out

A weatherbeaten Andrews gives one of his finest performances.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Diana Tuova

Spotlight on Film

Though Where the Sidewalk Ends wanes in its intrigue and believability in the second half, its thrillingly clever beginning, palpably gritty nature, and the galvanising acting still make it a memorable viewing experience.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 1, 2024

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

[Dana Andrews'] chiseled face made him convincing as both a working class cop and a master of industry and paired nicely with [Gene] Tierney’s sculptured features: scar tissue and smooth glamour brought together by violence.

May 4, 2024

Full Review

Ian Thomas Malone

ianthomasmalone.com

Preminger's slick noir gem presents a damning indictment of the criminal justice system's perpetual rot and the kinds of cops who take the law into their own hands.

Nov 30, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Alain E

Not the greatest, but overall watchable. The story doesn’t make completely sense. Cops who are abusive treating members of the public, even criminals, in their professional capacity, usually have similar conduct in their personal relationships. They feel entitled to follow their own rules and thus unlikely to confess and face possible imprisonment, especially when in the end the girl’s father is not being threatened with prosecution anymore.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/17/25

Full Review

nick s

Nicely acted and smartly paced crime drama. Well set up plot. Some character decisions seemed a little unlikely, but not entirely implausible. Dana Andrews did a good job of anchoring the movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/25

Full Review

Steven M

This is one tough film. Dana Andrews and Bert Freed mesh well together as police detectives. Karl Malden is a plus in any movie and Gene Tieney is great as usual.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/11/25

Full Review

acsdoug D

If you're a fan of the noir genre from the 49s and 50s like me you should like this one. If you're not you might not..

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/09/24

Full Review

Steve D

Solid but a waste of Tierney's talent.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/03/24

Full Review

deke p

"WHERE the SIDEWALK ENDS" (1950) 1950 ! 'Film Noir'. VERY SERIOUS plot and acting. Honest detective in trouble for accidental moider. DANA ANDREWS! GARY MERRILL. KARL MALDEN. & OTTO PREMINGER director!!-13-201=22 Never heard o til saw on telly 3-13-2022. 3 1/2 out of 5 poss RT Stars.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Otto Preminger

Director

Dana Andrews

Det. Mark Dixon

Gene Tierney

Morgan Taylor

Gary Merrill

Tommy Scalise

Bert Freed

Det. Paul Klein

Tom Tully

Jiggs Taylor

The Street With No Name

100%

58%

The Street With No Name

Watchlist

Cry of the City

93%

85%

Cry of the City

Watchlist

Kiss of Death

89%

76%

Kiss of Death

Watchlist

Night and the City

86%

90%

Night and the City

Watchlist

Call Northside 777

81%

74%

Call Northside 777

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Ashamed that his father lived a life of crime, hard-boiled New York City cop Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews) has a reputation for being too tough on criminals. So when Dixon unintentionally kills a murder suspect during a routine questioning, he hides the fact from the department and tries to pin the killing on his nemesis, notorious gangster Scalise (Gary Merrill). The snag in the cop's plan comes when his boss wrongly accuses the father of Dixon's love interest, Morgan (Gene Tierney), of the murder.

Director: Otto Preminger
Producer: Otto Preminger
Screenwriter: Ben Hecht
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 26, 1950, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2017
Runtime: 1h 35m