392:, tracks down the stolen car from police records and questions Henry Shanway. Local authorities on the Cape eventually finds Shanway's car in the pond, and he's identified in a police lineup by a variety of figures he encountered during his drunken foray and afterwards, when trying to locate Vivian at her boarding house. Mrs. Smerrling, who was present at the lineup, never mentions the gun, Mr. Harkley, or, obviously, her blackmail attempt. As a result the innocent Shanway is arrested and charged with murder. Grace can only wonder what her husband had gotten himself involved in, evidently killing his pregnant lover while she was hospitalized after losing their baby.
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Before
Morales can question her she again attempts to blackmail Mr. Harkley, this time for $ 20,000, setting up a rendezvous at her home. He arrives and threatens to kill her unless she gives him back his gun. Terrified, she discloses where the gun is, but not its claim check. He strikes her over the
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Still trying to wring more out of his evidence, Dr. McAdoo discovers with
Morales' help a bullet stuck in the car that had shattered one of the skeleton's ribs. As the case develops, Morales begins to reconsider his conviction of Shanway's guilt. Later, Smerrling shows Harkley's gun to Jackie Elcott
400:), a tenant in her building, who is familiar with firearms. Elcott subsequently reads in the paper that the killer used a .45 caliber automatic and informs Lt. Morales that Smerrling has the same type of gun. Smerrling cleverly hides the .45 in a carpet bag and checks it at a nearby train station.
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While at Mrs. Smerrling's home, Morales comes across the baggage claim check hidden in her birdcage, which sends
Morales racing to catch the killer at Trinity Station before he can get to the bag first. Arriving at the train station, Morales chases down Harkley, apprehends him, and takes him into
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magazine called it a "low-budget melodrama without box-office stars or advance ballyhoo does not pretend to do much more than tell a straightaway, logical story of scientific crime detection" but notes that "within such modest limits, Director John
Sturges and Scripters Sydney Boehm and Richard
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Vivian drives. When
Shanway realizes he's out on the Cape some 60 miles from Boston he demands to be taken back. Instead, she ditches him and steals his car. When Vivian meets up with her reluctant beau, he shoots and kills her. He hurriedly buries her body in the
29:
388:). Snooping in the man's desk when he is called out of his office, Smerrling goes so far as to steal his gun during her visit. Soon after, Morales, working at that point in Boston with a partner assigned to him by the
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custody. Morales tells the police to stop looking for
Shanway. He calls Shanway's wife over the phone, telling her that her husband is freed of all charges. Mrs. Shanway can only respond with glassy-eyed silence.
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called it "an adventure which, despite a low budget, is not low in taste or its attention to technical detail, backgrounds and plausibility" with a performance by
Montalban that is "natural and unassuming."
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head with a candlestick, killing her. Morales shows up, but loses
Harkley in a car chase. The next morning, Morales gets a phone call telling him Shanway has escaped.
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McAdoo determines it is of a young woman, who was pregnant at the time of her death, sensational angles which the press plays up. Mrs. Smerrling (
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biographer Bruce
Goldfarb, the story of the death of Irene Perry, in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, in 1940, as suggested by Glessner Lee (creator of
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Shanway subsequently reports his stolen car to his insurance, but claims it had been right outside the hospital where his pregnant wife, Grace (
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where Vivian lived, tracks down and tries to blackmail a wealthy married man Vivian called from her boarding house, James
Harkley (
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According to MGM records the film earned $ 429,000 domestically and $ 346,000 foreign, resulting in a loss of $ 284,000.
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is assigned to team up with another department detective to investigate the case. The pair seeks the help of Dr. McAdoo (
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Brooks have treated the picture with such taste and craftsmanship that it is just about perfect."
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18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee & the Invention of Modern Forensics
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606:. 'Mystery Street', book excerpt, March 30, 2008. Accessed: August 17, 2013.
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322:, he refuses to meet her at the bar where she works, "The Grass Skirt", in
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533:: Best Writing, Motion Picture Story, Leonard Spigelgass; 1951.
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572:Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges
290:), was the basis of the film. The story earned
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450:as Vivian Heldon, "B" girl and murder victim
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574:, University of Wisconsin Press, 2008 p55.
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373:, to learn what the skeleton can reveal.
288:The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
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432:as Dr. McAdoo, of Harvard Medical School
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330:), so she can use his car to drive to
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672:"New Metro Study of Crime Detection"
353:Detective Lieutenant Peter Morales (
219:is a 1950 American black-and-white
1231:English-language crime drama films
334:to confront the man face to face.
14:
444:as Henry Shanway, Grace's husband
258:The film was shot on location in
648:. August 7, 1950. Archived from
620:. Endeavour. pp. 202, 207.
1226:Films scored by Rudolph G. Kopp
438:as Mrs. Smerrling, the landlady
380:), the conniving owner of the
1191:Films directed by John Sturges
1176:American black-and-white films
1:
342:and sinks the car in a pond.
1216:1950s English-language films
710:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
591:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
1206:Films shot in Massachusetts
999:Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
604:Book excerpt: Sherman, Paul
420:as Lieutenant Peter Morales
1247:
1201:Films set in Massachusetts
1181:American crime drama films
351:Massachusetts State Police
1211:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
919:The People Against O'Hara
801:
33:Theatrical release poster
26:
16:1950 film by John Sturges
1023:Last Train from Gun Hill
616:Goldfarb, Bruce (2020).
390:Boston Police Department
1015:The Old Man and the Sea
557:The Eddie Mannix Ledger
456:as James Joshua Harkley
251:with cinematography by
155:July 28, 1950
1171:1950 crime drama films
959:Escape from Fort Bravo
903:The Magnificent Yankee
371:Harvard Medical School
268:Harvard Medical School
1039:The Magnificent Seven
1007:The Law and Jake Wade
967:Bad Day at Black Rock
831:For the Love of Rusty
652:on September 13, 2012
272:Boston, Massachusetts
247:, it was directed by
1221:1950s American films
1143:The Eagle Has Landed
1087:The Hallelujah Trail
284:Frances Glessner Lee
163: (United States)
1196:Films set in Boston
1063:A Girl Named Tamiko
855:The Sign of the Ram
300:1951 Academy Awards
141:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
927:It's a Big Country
839:Keeper of the Bees
823:Alias Mr. Twilight
793:Films directed by
744:TCM Movie Database
677:The New York Times
642:"The New Pictures"
512:The New York Times
292:Leonard Spigelgass
67:Leonard Spigelgass
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1152:
1103:Ice Station Zebra
1047:By Love Possessed
935:The Girl in White
871:The Walking Hills
807:The Man Who Dared
499:Critical response
442:Marshall Thompson
418:Ricardo Montalbán
359:Barnstable County
328:Marshall Thompson
241:Marshall Thompson
225:Ricardo Montalbán
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448:Jan Sterling
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320:"in trouble"
316:Jan Sterling
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276:Harvard Yard
257:
249:John Sturges
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172:Running time
148:Release date
53:Sydney Boehm
43:John Sturges
1055:Sergeants 3
975:Underwater!
895:Right Cross
879:The Capture
847:Thunderbolt
472:Ralph Dumke
466:Wally Maher
460:Betsy Blair
398:Betsy Blair
73:Produced by
39:Directed by
1166:1950 films
1160:Categories
684:August 15,
656:August 15,
538:References
454:Edmon Ryan
386:Edmon Ryan
296:Best Story
278:in nearby
253:John Alton
223:featuring
205:Box office
176:93 minutes
159:1950-07-28
111:John Alton
1186:Film noir
911:Kind Lady
525:Nominated
491:Reception
367:forensics
355:Montalbán
280:Cambridge
221:film noir
208:$ 775,000
200:$ 730,000
117:Edited by
1119:Joe Kidd
1111:Marooned
991:Backlash
943:Jeopardy
815:Shadowed
733:AllMovie
332:Cape Cod
314:Vivian (
298:for the
264:Cape Cod
189:Language
127:Music by
81:Starring
63:Story by
758:YouTube
742:at the
707:at the
588:at the
192:English
181:Country
157: (
1146:(1976)
1138:(1974)
1130:(1973)
1122:(1972)
1114:(1969)
1106:(1968)
1098:(1967)
1090:(1965)
1082:(1965)
1074:(1963)
1066:(1962)
1058:(1962)
1050:(1961)
1042:(1960)
1034:(1959)
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986:(1955)
978:(1955)
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890:(1950)
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858:(1948)
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842:(1947)
834:(1947)
826:(1946)
818:(1946)
810:(1946)
624:
520:Honors
324:Boston
312:B-girl
260:Boston
239:, and
197:Budget
1127:Chino
365:), a
340:dunes
722:IMDb
686:2017
658:2017
646:Time
622:ISBN
505:Time
412:Cast
306:Plot
274:and
262:and
1135:McQ
756:on
731:at
720:at
270:in
245:MGM
1162::
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396:(
161:)
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