14 Hours (1951)

14 Hours Fox Film Noir

Fourteen Hours is an interesting 1951 film about the efforts of a New York police officer played by Paul Douglas to stop a despondent man Richard Basehart from jumping from a building ledge. The otherwise fictional story was inspired by an actual standoff in New York in 1938 between police and a man attempting suicide, which drew crowds of bystanders and media coverage as hours went by. The film has a happy ending, in which the young man is saved by being caught in nets set up below him. In the actual standoff, New York City Patrolman Charles V. Glasco of Woodhaven, Queens strived in vain to convince John Warde that life was worth living. Glasco pretended to be a bellhop at the Gotham Hotel, and tried to persuade Warde that a suicide would be bad for business at the hotel. As the most recent hired, Glasco would be the first one let go if business at the hotel suffered. Although Warde was initially sympathetic to the plight of the bellhop who would lose his job if the hotel lost business, he eventually jumped.

The screenplay was written by John Paxton, based on an article by Joel Sayre in The New Yorker, and was directed by Henry Hathaway. It co-starred Barbara Bel Geddes, and was the first movie for both Grace Kelly and Jeffrey Hunter, who have supporting roles.

There s some interesting multi-character drama in this piece cutting between the dramas on the Hotel window ledge, taxi drivers in the street, the cops trying to get Richard Basehart to come down, the despondent, dominant mother and the father who previously left, the fiancé, a potential divorcee who eventually patches things up with her husband and a young couple who meet out in the street watching the events unfold in the crowd.. It is obvious the screenwriters considered the Window Ledge drama contained too little drama to sustain the suspense and tension for a complete movie and so expanded the story to include minor characters surrounding this story with their own stories all of which link into the main story in some way..

I've always been intrigued by this kind of story with this kind of premise.. There aren't many of these types of movies around with this kind of main premise, its pretty unique and for that alone this oddity is well worth adding to your collection.. Some great photography in this too.. Great little movie... May 5, 2008

Great acting by Basehart

Richard Basehart (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) is the man on the ledge. I thought he gave a great performance throughout. I didn't really care for the psychology bit, but that doesn't take up much of the movie. A few cuts to other things going on down on the street and in a building across the way (with Grace Kelly) add to the movie. Some film noir moments, but I don't know if I'd label it as film noir. Overall I enjoyed it and will definitely keep it in my collection and watch it more than once. March 31, 2008

Surprise

This black and white film is unusually good. The movie is a real surprise. I did not know the movie existed until I watched it. The film has several famous actors and actresses near the begining of their careers. Grace Kelly's performance was unexpected. Some great acting and suspense. June 12, 2007

Excellent value

Great film noir that keeps you in the action from the very start. Not only a plausible story line for today, it also shows the "non-technical" aspect of police work from days long past. An excellent movie with an all star cast. Refreshingly absent are computer graphics, fould language, hyperbolized acting. This film is a must have for the serious film studentor collector.
January 6, 2007

Enjoyable but could have been much better.

First, this isn't a film noir movie. There is no mystery nor are any of the characters complex. The story could not be simpler. You won't be wondering who's lurking in the shadows or why the characters can't see the train wreck ahead. No moral ambiguity. No shades of gray.

Its a pretty good 1950s drama though, with a look like the superior, Naked City. (It even has the same street sweeping scene at the end). Richard Basehart plays a disturbed young man and Paul Douglas, a cop who tries to talk him out of jumping from a ledge. You can guess the ending--after all, this is the 1950s.

The special effects are the real star as they create the suspense. Paul Douglas is very good as the stereotypical street cop--a good Joe with a heart of gold who pounds a beat. Richard Basehart is Richard Basehart. He and Douglas exchange some chit chat about beer, fishing and why life is worth living. Here is where the movie could have had brilliant insights but, asked to give 10 reasons why life is worth living, Paul Douglas says he never really thought of it that way. That suits his character but its not terribly interesting.

There are incidental parts from Agnes Moorehead (who, of course would make anyone jump), a tiny sub plot with Grace Kelly, and some psychology 101 explaning why RB wants to end it all. As night falls there are some great shots at the end giving the last 10 minutes a film noirish look.

Note that this disc has commentary by Foster Hirsch, not the unbelievably knowledgable Eddie Muller who's done most of the Fox Noir series. Hirsch is apparently seeing the film for the first time and simply describes what you are watching as you are watching it. He's silent much of the time and this is good. The disc comes with a small booklet that, in a few paragraphs, covers far more than the commentary.

So, its pretty exciting, the direction and cinematography are very skillful. But its not hard to see why this film wasn't considered for an academy award. October 14, 2006

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