The Turning Point (1952) User Reviews (36)

Above Average Crime Thriller.

[jpdoherty · 6/10 · 28 January 2014]

Paramount's THE TURNING POINT is unfortunately a forgotten movie. A reasonably good crime thriller the film has suffered probably because of its unavailability in any format. It cannot be found even on VHS and its TV screenings are few and far between. Why this should be is anybody's guess for it is nicely written by Warren Duff and has a sterling cast in William Holden, Edmond O'Brien, Alexis smith and Ed Begley. Produced for the studio in 1952 by Irving Asher it comes from a story "Storm In The City" by Horace McCoy. Crisply photographed in black and white by Lionel Linden it was given a nice noirish style by director William Dieterle. Like Robert Wise's "The Captive City", made the same year, the picture is heavily influenced by the Kefauver Crime Hearings in the U.S. senate in 1950 and 1951 set up to investigate organized crime and its cross border activities.

Newly appointed crime commissioner John Conroy (Edmond O'Brien) is determined to crack down on the crooked syndicate that is holding the city to ransom with its extortion racket and other illegal enterprises. With the help of his police detective father Matt Conroy (an excellent Tom Tully) he intends to eliminate the hoodlum element controlled by syndicate boss the ruthless Eichelberger (Ed Begley). But to his surprise he finds his father is reluctant to get involved. Investigative reporter and John Conroy's boyhood friend Jerry McKibbon (William Holden) is suspicious at Matt's reticence in helping out his son and follows him. He is shocked to discover he does business and has dealings with the syndicate. He is now undecided on just how to tell his friend that his father is no more than a crooked cop. To further complicate matters he begins having an affair with John's secretary and girlfriend the attractive Amanda Waycross (Alexis Smith). The picture comes to a nail-biting finish when an out of town hit man (Neville Brand) comes gunning for McKibbon (an exciting sequence at a boxing match) so as to prevent him from reporting anymore about the activities of the mob in his newspaper.

The acting is splendid from the entire cast. William Holden in the wake of his brilliant performances in the unforgettable "Sunset Boulevard" and his fine railroad cop in the excellent "Union Station" gives his usual well polished performance this time as a hard bitten newspaper reporter. Excellent too is Edmond O'Brien as the commissioner. O'Brien was an actor who was never known to give a bad performance and doesn't disappoint here. Supplying the romance is the attractive Alexis Smith an actress who for years was buried in nothing roles at Warner Brothers here comes out of her shell to give a nice portrayal of a woman torn between two men. The following year she would steal the acting honours from all around her in RKO's neat little thriller "Split Second".

There is no original music in the picture which is something of a disappointment. All that is heard are bits and pieces culled from unused music of Victor Young and Miklos Rozsa and conducted and supervised by Irvin Talbot. However the music score not withstanding the picture doesn't suffer because of it and it remains a good solid crime thriller. Now where is Olive Films to give us the DVD?

The Turning Point is a pretty good crime drama

[tavm · 7/10 · 29 June 2012]

William Holden is Jerry McKibbon, a reporter who's trying to help his pal Edmond O'Brien as district attorney John Conroy and his girl Alexis Smith as Amanda Waycross expose the big city gangster Ed Begley as Neil Eichelberger with some help from O'Brien's cop father, Tom Tully as Matt Conroy. I'll stop there and just say this was quite a thrilling crime drama though compared to others from the period, also perhaps a little subdued. Still, a suspenseful atmosphere permeates throughout especially when a boxing match where someone tries to kill provides the exciting climax. No big music score is provided but there are some good sequences when the story doesn't take the time for some romance between either of the male leads and Ms. Smith which aren't really needed. So on that note, The Turning Point is well worth the time.

A Crime Syndicate With Deep Hooks

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 18 May 2010]

The Kefauver crime hearings in the US Senate were the inspiration for several films of which The Turning Point is one. It's neither the best or the worst of that group.

Idealistic young attorney Edmond O'Brien is put in charge of a local Kefauver like group with prosecutorial powers to go after the syndicate that operates in this unnamed midwest American city. He's the son of veteran police detective Tom Tully and he asks his father to help him in his investigation. Also helping out are Alexis Smith functioning as the commission secretary and a cynical William Holden who is a long time friend of O'Brien's and newspaper reporter.

The syndicate is headed by Ed Begley, his number two is his enforcer Ted DeCorsia and he's got a hotheaded torpedo on the payroll in Danny Dayton. This crime syndicate has its hooks in pretty deep and watching the film you see why they are always one step ahead of the investigating commission.

The Turning Point fits right in with Bill Holden's post Sunset Boulevard tough and cynical image. That would reach its apogee when next year Holden would win an Oscar for the ultimate cynic in Stalag 17.

The rest of the cast performs well in roles that fit them admirably. Some you will remember are Neville Brand as an out of town torpedo who has few words, but an aura of menace, Carolyn Jones in her film debut as a Virginia Hill type witness who performs on stand the way Judy Holliday did in the House Un-American Activities Committee as the dumb moll. But the performance that really stands out is that of Adele Longmire who is the wife of another torpedo who was doublecrossed and killed after a hit he performed. She is really a standout in her scenes as a frightened witness trying to flee the mob.

The Turning Point is a good noir drama that holds up very well today and is even relevant with some of the big name prosecutions of more recent vintage.

Well Woven

[dougdoepke · 25 July 2015]

The 85-minutes amounts to a surprisingly good blend of a complexly constructed narrative. The personal, romantic, and political all combine here in what's clearly an effort to tap into Kefauver anti-racketeering hearings of the time. Only here it's Eddie O'Brien as legal eagle Conroy, aided by Holden as hawkshaw reporter McKibbon, both on the trail of racketeering kingpin Ed Begley as Eichelberger. Trouble is Conroy's policeman dad (Tully) has been on the take, so his son must now publicly expose him. Then too, Conroy and buddy McKibbon are in love with same girl, Smith as Amanda. There're a number of threads here, most of which weave in and out effectively.

The two biggest pluses are an expert cast, right down to lethally skinny Danny Dayton (Roy) and unforgettable heavy Neville Brand (Red). While dual leads, Holden and O'Brien, low-key their parts effectively. Together, the cast makes the material more plausible than it should be. Second, are the tacky LA locations, from Olympic boxing arena, to skid row, to beloved Angel's Flight tram. The seedy backgrounds also lend a patina of urban realism. Highlights include Red figuring out a catwalk above a fight arena, and the brutal blowing up of Arco's office showing the cruel reality behind Eichelberger's smooth exterior. And catch that surprise ending I didn't see coming.

I expect the b&w film was out of step with the Technicolor extravaganzas Hollywood was turning to at the time. The noirish parts especially have a 40's feel to them. Note early clunky appearance of that upstart menace TV, then making inroads into theatre attendance. Too bad this generous slice of professionalism likely got lost in the mix. It may not be one of Holden's better-known films. Nonetheless, the strong points make the 85-minutes worth catching up with.

Ed Begley's jovial, corporate killer Turning Point's most haunting image

[bmacv · 7/10 · 8 May 2001]

William Dieterle's resume shows him to be a solid craftsman only occasionally rising to true distinction. Same can be said of The Turning Point, an often routine noir about a government committee -- this was the era of the televised Kefauver hearings -- investigating mob activity and corruption in a "midwestern" city (though one scene is shot on Los Angeles' funicular railway). Routine also are cynical journalist William Holden and chief investigator Edmond O'Brien, though we're lucky to have the seldom-seen Alexis Smith as a woman attracted to them both. But the best thing in the movie is Ed Begley as the owner of a trucking company who is of course the hoodlum in chief, despite his panelled office and tailored suits. He's memorably slick and squirmy in front of the committee. But his best moment comes when he confides to a henchman his plans to burn down the tenement building where his records are stored: "You don't believe I'd do it?" he jokes. "I don't think a jury would believe it either." The following conflagration is as brutal a plot development as can be found in film noir, with firetrucks, ambulances and bodybags aplenty. It's a scene that sticks with you long after the screenplay's romantic triangle has faded from memory.

Darn good, if a bit familiar.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 15 October 2011]

In some ways, the plot of this film seems pretty familiar for a film noir picture. However, its starring cast seem to make the most of the material. The film stars William Holden as a crusading reporter, the ever-reliable Edmond O'Brien as a Special Prosecutor and Alexis Smith as 'the girl'.

The film begins with O'Brien promising to clean up the massive corruption in the city. However, when he appoints his own father to work for him, Holden assumes the fix is on, as he has long thought the father was on the take. But, O'Brien is honest and has no idea this is the case--and much of the film the two work separately from each other. Only later do they team up and together they think they can clean up the mess run by the wicked boss (Ed Begley). But, it's not like the gang is just going to roll over and play dead--they are tough and have no problem killing the people that get in their way. And, by the end of the film, several key figures in the story are killed.

The corrupt city angle is pretty familiar. Quite a few noir films have such a premise. But, it's all handled pretty well and I loved the VERY snappy and tough dialog. It's a fine film for lovers of the genre and worth your time.

By the way, during a scene where a murder is taking place, one of the guys in on the killing is Russell Johnson--the guy who later played The Professor on "Gilligan's Island". Look fast to see him.

A straight up, really well made if somewhat routine crime noir.

[secondtake · 7/10 · 7 December 2010]

The Turning Point (1952)

Great cast (good guys and bad), great director (William Dieterle is a stalwart Hollywood director who did "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" among many others), and solid plot. You can't go wrong. It moves fast, it makes sense, it has drama and romance, and a great shoot-em-up ending in a boxing arena.

And yet something is withheld. I think it's partly camera-work, all very shadowy and excellent, but not elegant, not pumped up and dramatic. The story, as well, is a little routine. By 1952 this kind of crime noir gangster film is old stuff. They even hint at this in the movie, by saying that the unnamed midwestern city is seeing a rise in crime in the old style, a return of 1920s gangsterism. But if they mean to return to the great gangster films, they don't quite make it.

But it's still really fine--William Holden is an understated player and therefore underrated. And the co-lead, the star of "D.O.A." and "The Hitchhiker" among a few other lesser films, is Edmond O'Brien, who is maybe at his best here. You see a curious position for Holden, hot off of "Sunset Blvd.," in a somewhat secondary role, because he might be the leading hunk, but O'Brien is the leading man.

A good film without that special something to lift it up, but without a flaw, either, in any usual sense. Totally a pleasure in its understated approach.

Very Good

[gordonl56 · 9/10 · 7 March 2014]

THE TURNING POINT – 1952

I've been looking for this one for quite some time. I managed to dig up a watchable print and the wait was well worth it. The film is headlined by William Holden, Edmond O'Brien, Ed Begley and Alexis Smith. It features a crackling good screenplay by Warren Duff, taken from the book by Horace McCoy.

A government commission comes to town to look into mob activities. The main focus of the investigation is local mob boss, Ed Begley. In charge of the commission is Edmond O'Brien. His aide is Alexis Smith. William Holden plays the big city newsman who thinks the commission is really a waste of time and money. He is also a long-time friend of O'Brien.

O'Brien dives in trying to get the goods on mobster Begley and his main henchmen, Ted de Corsia and Danny Dayton. Someone keeps tipping off the mob to what O'Brien and the Police are up to. O'Brien's chief investigator happens to be his father, Police Detective, Tom Tully. The problem here is that Tully is also on Begley's payroll.

Newspaperman Holden knows about Tully being on the take and confronts him on the matter. Holden gives him time to switch teams, or he will need to tell O'Brien about what his father really is. Tully decides to do the right thing and inform on the mob. The mob quickly figures this out and sets up a hit on Tully. They have a low level thug, Tony Barr ambush Tully and kill him. The mob then bumps off Barr to tie off any loose ends.

This does not sit well with Holden who now throws in with O'Brien to help. He writes a series of attack articles highlighting the mob types' criminal activity. Needless to say the mob is not in the least amused. They call in an out of town hit-man, Neville Brand, to deal with Holden.

There is a well-staged shoot out at a local boxing arena with Holden and Brand both getting the big adiós. By now witnesses have started to pop up against the mob. The whole house of cards comes crashing down with Begley and his bunch going for a long holiday on the State's dime.

The entire cast and crew shine in this excellent production. One time Oscar nominated director, William Dieterle does good work on this one. He keeps a firm hand on notorious scene stealer's like de Corsia and O'Brien, not letting them go too far over the top. His other film noir include, DARK CITY, ROPE OF SAND and THE ACCUSED.

Three time nominated, and one time Oscar winner, Lionel Lindon, handles the cinematography duties. His film work includes, THE BLUE DAHLIA, ALIAS NICK BEAL, QUICKSAND, THE SUN SETS AT DAWN, HELL'S ISLAND, THE BIG CAPER and the SCARLET HOUR.

Look close and you will see Russell Johnson and Carolyn Jones in early unbilled roles.

The screenplay was by noir veteran, Warren Duff. He did the story or screenplays for, THE FALLEN SPARROW, CHICAGO DEADLINE, A DANGEROUS PROFESSION, APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER and MAKE HASTE TO LIVE.

This film features some of the best use of Los Angeles' Bunker Hill area I've seen in any production. I really love seeing these long gone areas of the City of Angels.

Why, Sure, I Bought Stocks.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 9 January 2014]

It's not easy to make 1952 Los Angeles look very interesting. A panoramic view shows mostly smog. But "The Turning Point" does its best and the location shooting is one of its most admirable features. Prominent use is made of the two-block long funicular railway that runs up from "Pond Street", meaning Hill and Olive Streets in L.A. The incline is lined on both sides with inexpensive clapboard housing that suggests "working class", and some scenes are shot in the doorways and apartments. It's all gone now, railway included, to make way for some bland and pitiless "redevelopment" in 1968. Everything in Los Angeles gives way to redevelopment when the property becomes valuable enough. Stores proudly announce, "Serving The Public Since 2012!" "Chinatown" gave us a picture postcard view of Los Angeles in 1937 and made the place look limitlessly livable.

At any rate, cynical reporter William Holden and idealistic anti-crime crusader Edmund O'Brien both grew up in the same neighborhood of Central City or whatever Los Angeles is called here. (So did Ted de Corsia, a thug as usual, but not without principles for a change.) O'Brien is anxious to shut down the crooked gangster who runs the city, Ed Begley. I don't want to give away the entire plot but I guess I can say that Alexis Smith is the girl friend with the striking eyes, especially for a Canadian, who is O'Brien's girl friend but finds herself falling for the hard-bitten reporter. She doesn't have much else to do and is chiefly there to add some romantic drama to the story and to demonstrate that both Holden and O'Brien are heterosexual.

Overall, it's rather routine but there are some interesting twists (the corruption reaches into O'Brien's own family) and some nicely done scenes. Aside from the hiding, shooting, and general mishigas on the funicular railway, the scene in which O'Brien rushes to the hospital after his friend Holden has been shot is understated. In a movie that was as corrupt as Central City, we'd expect O'Brien to dash into the hospital's reception room, only to be stopped by a doctor in white. "How -- how is he?", O'Brien would stutter. "I'm afraid we were too late," the doc replies sadly but philosophically. I won't describe how this familiar scene is handled here but it's better than you might think.

Another memorable incident is the arrest of Ed Begley, who plays a much more delicate slime ball here than he did in "Twelve Angry Men". He pitches a few sliders here. He's sitting at a table playing cards with his gang under a single light bulb in what looks like a basement. Police sirens wail. The goons knock over their chairs as they run away, but Begley sits still, staring at his cards. A policeman's hand holding a pistol slowly enters the frame from the right. Begley slams down his hand, gets to his feet in a dignified way, looks at the cop, finishes off his drink, and exits towards the police. The scene isn't masterful, but William Dieterle has lifted it out of the ordinary.

crime commissioner's girlfriend falls for muckraking reporter

[RanchoTuVu · 8/10 · 9 February 2006]

A nicely assembled rather complex story about small time corruption in an anonymous midwestern city that effectively balances its mix of plot elements into a plausible and interesting whole. Edmond O'Brien plays an idealistic lawyer who heads an investigation that leads him into his own family. William Holden plays an investigative reporter and childhood pal of O'Brien's, a likely and believable role for him, a born cynic on screen if there ever was one, who not only gets to the center of the corruption plague but also attracts the attentions of Alexis Smith, O'Brien's girlfriend and secretary. Directed by William Dieterle, the film should be pulled apart by its competing angles, but isn't, holding together nicely while it fits in the increasingly deadly corruption headed by an always convincing Ed Begley, and showing a sympathetic and at times pathetic O'Brien whose life seems to unravel around him as the film reaches its various points, leading to a tight and exciting conclusion with Neville Brand playing a out of town killer in a crowded boxing arena.

Good Dialogue: The Turning Point

[arthur_tafero · 7/10 · 27 April 2019]

If you like your noir realistic, then this film is for you. The twist ending will also provide a surprise for some, although it is generally a Hollywood formula that when two good guys are interested in the same girl, one of them usually gets knocked off. William Holden, Edmund O'Brien, Neville Brand (TV Untouchables), and Carolyn Jones all give outstanding performances. A reporter and cop love the same woman and the mob is after both men. Great dialogue; especially the line where the top hood says (paraphrasing) "your college degree didnt make you better or smarter than the rest of us in the real world".

The problem of an honest man and corruption with your own involved in it

[clanciai · 9/10 · 17 March 2021]

The turning point here is the murder of the father, an honest policeman, which no one expected, least of all the audience, and which even the gangsters afterwards regret as their chief mistake. William Holden and Edmond O'Brien both make excellent performances as a journalist and investigator, and between them is the always strikingly elegant Alexis Smith. Ed Begley makes a self-satisfied boss of the crooks leading divers syndicates, and the film could also be seen as an effort at the anatomy of corruption, how it affects and involves innocent people bringing them to ruin, while the worst thing they can do is to try to get out of it, which will kill them. The dialog and the tempo are excellent all the way, and that's what makes the film worth watching, and we have seen this story and theme many times before, as there is nothing new to it. But the staging here is on a virtuoso level.

some familiar plot points and good acting

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 3 September 2016]

From 1952 Paramount, The Turning Point is a crime drama starring William Holden, Alexis Smith, Edmond O'Brien, and Ed Begley.

O'Brien is John Conroy an attorney who has returned to his home town to lead a commission dedicated to wiping out corruption in their city, somewhere in the midwest. Holden is Jerry McKibbon, his childhood friend who is now a sharp and somewhat cynical reporter. He spots McKibbon's idealism right away and thinks he might be headed for a big reality check. Alexis Smith plays Amanda, a socialite who is John's girlfriend and secretary.

Some of this is telegraphed early. First off, how long does anyone think Amanda will stay Ed Begley's girlfriend once she sees William Holden? Then John happily tells his police detective father that he is hiring him as chief investigator for the commission. His father (Tom Tully) doesn't want the job. Now why do we suppose that is?

Ed Begley is the head mobster, Neil Eichelberger, a crumb who doesn't care whom he has to kill or blow up to get his way. One of his henchman is Roy Ackerman (Danny Dayton). They're both foul.

Even with some predictability, this is a well-acted, tight story directed by William Dieterle. The end takes place at a boxing match and is exciting. Watch for Neville Brand as an out of town hit man at the end of the film.

For trivia buffs, there are some uncredited people who rose above being uncredited: Carolyn Jones in her first film; '50s starlet Rachel Ames, who joined the cast of General Hospital in 1964, a year after its debut. She still occasionally makes an appearance, and she looks fantastic. Also Whit Bissell and Robert Rockwell (Mr. Boynton on Our Miss Brooks). Good movie.

Surprisingly average

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 2 March 2018]

THE TURNING POINT is a typical film noir-styled crime thriller in which a couple of crusading guys attempt to clean up the city's criminal element but find themselves bogged down instead in corruption and ruthless slayings. William Holden is on fine form as the reporter with the bit between his teeth while Edmond O'Brien is even better as the prosecutor determined to bring down a kingpin. Surprisingly, this is a far from exciting little picture, too much bogged down in lengthy courtroom scenes and lacking suspense, particularly early in the picture. It dies pick up later on with Neville Brand perfectly cast as an assassin, but overall it's quite average.

The captive city bis.

[dbdumonteil · 22 April 2004]

Robert Wise's "the captive city" was released the same year and it's roughly the same subject .William Dieterle's work is not as absorbing because his directing is too static and academic in spite of a good cast.Melodramatic elements interfere with the film noir treatment -the father trying to redeem himself after behaving very bad,but he did it in order to pay his son 's studies etc etc -.Fortunately,the last sequence avoids pathos .Wise's film was more interesting because the enemy was almost invisible and the stranglehold it had on the town was complete though.In Dieterle's movie ,in spite of a lot of violence,we never really feel a threatening atmosphere.

Routine Crime Drama

[kenjha · 6/10 · 29 December 2010]

A special prosecutor is assigned to tackle organized crime. Inspired by the Kefauver hearings that had been conducted during the two years preceding this film, this is an earnest but routine drama. It moves at a good pace but becomes bogged down during extended scenes focusing on the hearings. Holden plays a cynical reporter and nobody does cynical better than Holden. In fact he would win the Oscar for playing a cynical POW in his next film, "Stalag 17." O'Brien is OK as the prosecutor. Holden and O'Brien would team up more memorably 17 years later in "The Wild Bunch." Begley is the crime boss while Smith provides the love interest.

The plot is OK, but Yikes! That dialogue!

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 4 February 2022]

John Conroy (Edmund O'Brien) is a Special Prosecutor looking into the activities of the criminal Eichelberger syndicate. The setting is a midwestern city, never named, perhaps because they didn't want to smear the name of Chicago once again. Jerry McKibbon (William Holden) is a local journalist who grew up with John, but who is very cynical and thinks John is just too naive for the task. Jerry gets suspicious of Matt Conroy, John's dad and a policeman, and starts following him. He finds that Conroy is meeting with Eichelberger and his men, and is probably the leak in the prosecutor's office and on the take. Meanwhile, John is suspecting that Jerry might be that leak, and yet Jerry does not have the heart to tell John the truth about his dad, whom John lionizes. Complications ensue.

The plot is fine, though it really doesn't go anyplace that surprises. If you are expecting some neat twists and turns, they never really appear. But that dialogue! Yikes! It's like the writing style of Ayn Rand got spliced together with that of Damon Runyan. You've got ordinary people talking like gangsters and the respectable higher class people range from having what sounds like normal conversation at times to dialogue that sounds like it was written for a Soviet play, with a bunch of ham fisted melodramatic dialogue thrown in for good measure. It really is an odd combination. And you haven't lived until you've heard Russell Johnson - The Professor of Gilligan's Island fame - talking like he was raised in Brooklyn.

The individual scenes are like a guided tour of urban noir settings - the fights, a police line-up, a rather dingy diner, a bowling alley, and a pool hall just to mention a few. And the cinematography does not disappoint. Just don't think too hard when it comes to individual decisions made, in particular those by Holden's character. At times it seems like his actions make no sense other than, without him doing or suggesting something rather stupid, the plot could not progress any further.

Crime In The City

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 19 July 2022]

The acting in this film is fine, but it can't rise above the story, which is average at best: the tale of a special prosecutor determined to bring a criminal enterprise to justice. Edmond O'Brien is the prosecutor and William Holden is the hard-nosed reporter who warns him, as a friend, that he might have to get dirty to do battle with the likes of Neil Eichelberger (Ed Bagley).

Alexis Smith is the high-society girlfriend who finds herself wedged, emotionally, between the prosecutor and the reporter. Her performance is the linchpin that makes the drama and the romance work.

This is a film about realism versus idealism when it comes to law and order.

Dark Shadows Amidst The Lights

[boblipton · 8/10 · 6 February 2022]

Not to be confused with more than five dozen other movies of the same name, The Turning Point (1952) has Edmond O'Brien tapped to head an investigation into organized crime, aided by his girlfriend Alexis Smith. This provides background for newspaperman William Holden, who advises him that there's a lot of corruption to be rooted out; even O'Brien's father, police officer Tom Tully may be implicated. As the committee's investigation falls apart, Holden keeps digging. He becomes the target.

Based on a Horace McCoy story, this is a fine, complex noir feature rooted in the events of its time. William Dieterle directs with his usual sure hand, pulling out fine performances. Although Lionel Lindon's photography is not as dark as some noirs, he shoots all of the standard LA noir spots except the Bradbury Building, and his shadows, particularly in the climactic Olympic Stadium sequence, are as dark as any.

Mixed bag potboiler as cynical newspaperman and intrepid DA attempt to take down the entrenched mob

[Turfseer · 6/10 · 10 February 2022]

I recently saw The Turning Point on TCM's Noir Alley with Noir Expert Eddie Muller and he only had good things to say about the film. My reaction to it was not as enthusiastic as Mr. Muller although it's still better than a number of noirs, many of which fall into the "B list" picture category. The Turning Point is actually an "A list" film as evidenced by the casting (with the hot star of the time William Holden in the lead role).

Then what exactly is wrong with The Turning Point? Well the first quarter is kind of slow. Holden plays a cynical newspaperman Jerry McKIbbon on the trail of DA John Conroy's (Edmond O'Brien) cop father, Matt (Tom Tully) whom he believes is on take from mob boss Neil Eichelberger (Ed Begley). Jerry follows John's Dad around and does indeed discover that he's been a crooked cop for years. But all the determined newspaperman does is follow his suspect around from place to place-not much suspense here.

Jerry suggests that Matt play along with the mob and pilfer a police report from the police archives which Eichelberger fears may incriminate him. The mob gets wind that Matt is now talking to Jerry and arrange for him to be assassinated by a low level hoodlum Monty LaRue (Tony Barr) who is turn gunned down by Eichelberger's henchman at the scene of Matt's murder. So things finally do pick up at this juncture.

The story slows down again as DA John Conroy conducts hearings grilling Eichelberger who artfully dodges questions regarding his business history. The hearings mimic the nationally broadcast Kefauver Congressional hearings into mob activities. The only memorable thing about this scene is Carolyn Jones' acting debut as a mob moll (Jones of course became famous as Morticia in the Addams Family).

But the stakes once again increase exponentially when the mob torches the Arco Securities building, a company that contains business records that can incriminate them. It's an effective scene as innocent people are shown as burn victims on the street.

A subplot involves Conroy's assistant, Amanda Waycross (Alexis Smith) who falls for Jerry much to Conroy's chagrin.

Following the burning down of the Arco Securities building and the tremendous loss of life, Conroy becomes depressed and is on the verge of quitting but suddenly gets an unlikely break when Carmelina LaRue (Adele Longmire), wife of the slain assassin Monty, comes forward and offers to testify against Eichelberger's cronies.

The mob attempts to kill both Carmelina and Jerry (who can corroborate her testimony) but is only successful with the latter. I suppose the intentional lack of a happy ending here broke the Hollywood mold and was the better aesthetic choice.

The ending however I felt was contrived as I had a hard time believing that Jerry would so easily fall into the trap of going to the boxing arena where indeed he is picked off by the mob's hired gun.

The acting here is consistently good with some good steamy chemistry between Holden and Smith. O'Brien also does well as he ends up taking down the mob despite having to deal with all the prior adversity that comes his way.

I would recommend The Turning Point if it's on TCM again but be forewarned there are parts to the narrative that are uneven.

A crime syndicate crumbles.

[michaelRokeefe · 8/10 · 4 December 2012]

THE TURNING POINT is a crime drama based on Horace McCoy's novel Storm in the City. Crusading district attorney John Conroy(Edmond O'Brien)is tabbed to crack down on a powerful crime syndicate that is believed to have control of many of the city's leading citizens and officials. Conroy wants his father Matt(Tom Tully), a veteran cop,to be his lead investigator. Friend and hard nosed newspaper man, Jerry McKibbon(William Holden)has doubts John is the right choice for the assignment and during his own investigation discovers that Matt Conroy has been running around with local mobsters. Neil Eichelberger(Ed Begley)is believed to be the syndicate's kingpin and it will be a tall order to prove such. This film is directed by William Dieterle and has a supporting cast featuring: Alexis Smith, Don Porter, Ted de Corsia, Ray Teal and Neville Brand.

The idealistic lawyer without political aspirations against deadly mobsters..Hum I'd already saw this picture somewhere!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 17 September 2023]

Based in "Kaufer Committee" against Organize crime in an unnamed city (Los Angeles) lead by a naïve idealistic Lawyer Edmond O'Brien and his girlfriend Alexis Smith on the spotlights of the press meets with his childhood pal the sardonic down the earth newspaper man William Holden advising him over the powerful man Ed Begley that lead of syndicate crime that hold two million bucks in several front business to cover up all illegal bookmakers on forbidden gambling that entails a high sum of money.

Asking for William Holden what a exactly reason to fighting for the against the powerful organized crime O'Brien replays that haven't any political aspirations at all, just a matter of justice, at this point Holden realizes dealing with a dreamer fool, William soon figures out that O'Brien's father who is invited to add on Committee as adviser, was in the payroll of mobsters as informer, a sub plot comes over when Alexis and Holden start a secret affair somehow it is a betrayal of his buddy O'Brien, soon his father is erase in a fake assault carried out by the Mobsters due Holden reaching near, at last Alex withdraw the info from Holden that Edie's father was a corrupt cop, haggard Eddie considers a resign due the facts will spoil the whole thing, convinced by Holden and Alexis that he must goes ahead whatever the price he can afford.

The Mobsters contract a hitman Neville Brand aiming for to kill Holden at sport arena in a boxing event, meanwhile O'Brien got the witness that due her statement is enough able to send to the jail all organization by a framed to kill O'Brien's father, meanwhile O'Brien and police head to Arena to warning Holden that was caught in a trap by the Mobsters.

I'd confess those Committee were and will a steep-stone for these self-called idealistic men that hide behind their masks of their true intentions, political aspirations, moreover on those witch-hunts prove many times arresting many criminals and also countless good citizens for envious whistleblowers made irreparable injury on those innocents involved in this sticky net that doesn't spare anyone, be carefully on those idealistic men whose like to present himself as guardian of justice without any political aspirations!!

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2023 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5.

A crime drama that pulls no punches!

[JohnHowardReid · 9/10 · 9 June 2018]

Copyright 1 November 1952 by Paramount Pictures Corp. New York opening at the Globe: 15 November 1952. U.S. release: November 1952. U.K. release: 1 December 1952. Australian release: 21 November 1952. Sydney opening at the Prince Edward: 21 November 1952 (ran 3 weeks). 7,797 feet. 86 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: John Conroy, an honest, aggressive lawyer and politician, is head of a special committee investigating organized crime in a large Midwestern city. His friend, investigative reporter Jerry McKibbon, is shocked to discover that Conroy's father, Matt, was once a policeman on the syndicate payroll; but McKibbon decides not to tell Conroy about his father. As the committee puts pressure on the syndicate chieftain, Eichelberger, the gangsters decide that Matt Conroy must be killed.

NOTES: Although the film was only moderately successful in America and England, it proved to have an astonishing second wind in Australia which made it one of Paramount's top money-earners of the 1950s. The initial Sydney season at the plush Prince Edward cinema had to be pulled for the pre-set engagement of The Greatest Show On Earth. On move-over to the downtown Lyric, a second release grind house, the film attracted such consistent turnaway business, it became Paramount's best sleeper of the decade, being constantly revived and re-circulated. Prints of the film were never idle and even the front-of-house lobby card posters eventually wore out. The Lyric itself re-presented the film "by popular demand" no less than seven or eight times.

COMMENT: "Turning Point" is a crime drama that was totally under-rated by half-asleep professional critics (except in Australia). Written by Warren Duff and Horace McCoy, it was photographed and directed in an imaginative film noir style that made most effective use of its natural urban locations (in Los Angeles). Realistic sound is used to augment some tingling action sequences, handled with superb control of crowds and effects. In some ways, the story parallels The Enforcer (1951), but Dieterle's direction is beholden to no-one.

Although it does use the real backgrounds beloved of the semi-documentary film-makers, this is no mere reportage approach. Dieterle has directed not only with style, polish and finesse, but at a crackling pace.

Oddly, the script has many subtleties which censors didn't notice at the time (although wide-awake audiences did, which would partly account for the film's tremendous popularity, particular;y in Australia): Holden staying the night in Smith's apartment, for example; but even more startlingly, the explicit identification of the crime czar (surely the most vicious ever to appear on celluloid) as Jewish (his name is Eichelberger, and he gets most of his income from usurious money-lending) and of his heroic opponent as a Gentile (at one stage our hero even pointedly asks for a ham sandwich).

The principals turn in most believable and arresting performances which just manage to keep a few tenuous steps ahead of the extremely able support cast led by Tom Tully, Ed Begley and as thuggy a group of gangsters as any film noir fan could wish: Don Porter, Ted De Corsia, Neville Brand. An exceptional cameo cast includes Ralph Sanford as the Detroit contact in the pool-room, Howard Freeman, Ray Teal, Carolyn Jones and Jay Adler.

The Turning Point review

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 14 May 2020]

Intelligently scripted crime thriller penned by Warren Duff (who, years earlier, had written Angels With Dirty Faces) in which William Holden outshines Edmond O'Brien as a cynical, hard-bitten reporter. O'Brien's a crusading DA trying to break mobster Ed Begley, and Alexis Smith provides the source of a half-hearted, lukewarm romantic sub-plot. Begley's great, Holden's good, O'Brien fills an empty space.

Gee pop, an honest cop like U. Ya don't wanna investigate cops?

[phlbrq58 · 5/10 · 27 March 2021]

That's in the opening scenes! So O'Brien 's gonna 'get woke' to the world. I don't think its worth yr time but there is a theological reason to see, even enjoy.