Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)

FORMAT: DVD UPC: 0-24543-21560-8 RELEASED: 2005-12-06TITLE: Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) • NR • 1:34:35 Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill, Bert Freed, Tom Tully, Karl Malden Otto Preminger (Director) If you like film noir (which, presumably you do, or you wouldn't be reading this), then you owe it to your self to see this movie (if you haven't seen it already; or, to see it AGAIN if you have). All of the usual attributes of the genre are here — namely: the high-contrast lighting, the off-kilter camera angles, the highly-stylized visual composition, the in-over-his-head-but-doesn't-know-it "tough guy" cop/detective, the beautiful damsel-in-distress/femme-fatale, the collection of shady (but, colorful) characters, and the dead body. But — as any true fan of the category knows — just because you have all of the parts doesn't mean that you have a good movie (or, as in some cases, even a watchable one). Well, rest easy noir fans — because this one takes all of the "usual suspects" (plus, a few more) and blends them together seamlessly to produce one of the best examples of the art form! I think it's tragic that when people congregate and talk about GREAT examples of film noir, that this movie isn't mentioned more often (if, at all)! See it, then tell your friends about it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! NOTE: This movie is one of the films from Fox Home Video's exemplary "Fox Film Noir" series of DVDs (and, in some cases, blu-rays). Every one of the DVDs from this series that I have purchased (e.g.—this movie,  I Wake Up Screaming (1941) , Fallen Angel (1945) , Boomerang (1947) , etc.) has featured a VERY high average bit-rate, along with an EXCELLENT picture (for a DVD) and, at a minimum, good to better-than-good sound. See the other reviews for more detail and/or other opinions regarding the plot of the movie.VIDEO: 1.33:1 • B&W • 480p • MPEG-2 (8.9 Mbps) Within the confines of the DVD format, this film exhibits VERY good, to — on frequent occasions — excellent, picture quality; due, in part, I'm sure, to a MUCH higher than average bit-rate than is normally used for a 4:3 (1.33:1) B&W catalogue title. Also, Fox Home Video doesn't state on the box that this movie has been restored or remastered, but it surely looks like it — because, artifacts such as black specks or white dots are nearly non-existent; and, I saw very few hair-lines, nor do I recall seeing any dropped frames. In addition, sharpness and detail (for a DVD) are usually very good — with the textures and patterns of most hair-styles, clothing and furnishings being easily discernible. Lastly, contrast, gray scale and shadow-detail (again, for a DVD) are VERY good overall, and in many scenes, even excellent. Overall, this movie's presentation on DVD has VERY good picture quality, and should satisfy all but the absolute pickiest of viewers.AUDIO: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dual-Mono, 192 Kbps) Fox Home Video has apparently also done some clean-up work on the film's soundtrack, because there are no loud bumps nor objectionably high levels of hiss. Also, dialog is very clear and all voices are easily understood. However, dynamic range is very limited, and there is not much bottom-end nor any top-end to speak of (which makes the musical score and the Foley work all sound a little 'thin', and somewhat less than realistic). Otherwise, considering the age of the source elements and the fact that this is a monophonic, dialog-driven movie from the early 1950s, its audio presentation has more than acceptable sound quality.EXTRAS: Commentary by film historian Eddie Muller Still Gallery Theatrical Trailer None of the extras were reviewed.

Really enjoyed this wonderfully atmospheric noir. Great New York black & white shots, a sharp, smart even sensitive script, great characters and, best of all, everybody getting slapped around mercilessly including diva Tierney. Dana Andrews, who at first appeared miscast, was outstanding as the grizzled no-nonsense veteran cop who accidentally kills while trying to find a killer. Everybody in this was simply at the top of their game---probably a result of Otto Preminger's direction. Bert Freed, one of those "I've seen him before" character actors, was excellent as Andrews' cop partner. Gary Merrill, another familiar face, gave the performance of his career as the prime suspect. Karl Malden, in an early career role, was in his usual fine form as Andrews' annoyingly 'know-it-all' new boss. And ANY movie with Neville Brand has gotta be good! 'The old lady in the cafe' & 'the old lady at the window' were two fine characterizations. And how about the 'nasal-spray' pumping ringleader Merrill getting a rubdown in the Turkish baths around his "young" thugs. Preminger, never averse to tackling controversial issues [remember THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, 1955], gave us quite a singular, androgynous and perverse bunch of mobsters, possibly serving as the impetus for the wierdo atypical mobsters we saw at the end of David Cronenberg's A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE [2005]. What fun this was! This is definitely a genre classic BUT what kept this from being an all-around classic? Not my two minor beefs: 1- Tierney being miscast & 2- the way Andrews got rid of the body: through the front door! [geez!]; but, the way the movie ended. Many great movies often have a great [and hopefully happy] ending. However, here we have the movie end with Andrews surviving a gunshot, the mob, apparently vindicated and ready to walk off into the sunset with Tierney, only to see him admit his accidental killing and basically losing it all at the end. After watching the lonely cop [Andrews] and battered-wife [Tierney] find each other in this rough-and-tumble movie a happy ending was what we were primed to expect. It would have sewn this up perfectly. Major gaffe, Otto!

This review is about the disc and PQ only.No synopsis of the movie here.i f you need to read a synopsis go to IMdB.When i started watching this Fox Film Noir release of "Where The Sidewalk Ends" my jaw dropped...i was speechless.The transfer is as pristine as any i've ever seen anywhere from any studio.Very high quality.The PQ is good enough to satisfy almost any videophile...this side of Blu-ray.I can hardly imagine a BD release of this movie being that much better than this DVD is.A BD release would be a bit better,but not a whole lot better,not enough to justify the extra cost of buying BD IMO.Heck,i've seen plenty of Blu-ray releases that didn't have as good PQ this DVD release has.If you appreciate film noir and noir-ish movies like i do,and you demand good PQ,then the release of this Fox film is for you.There aren't many special features on this disc,just some commentary,still photo gallery,and theatrical trailer.The DVD comes in the usual case type.The audio is excellent too,just as pristine as the video.No pops,hissing,or anything else to detract from your viewing/listening pleasure.I highly recommend this Fox release.

Directed by Otto Preminger, this is another classic Film Noir with the same leading actors as his earlier, acclaimed Noir “Laura”.I have the Region 1 DVD Fox Film Noir (12) edition of this which has a commentary as an extra; it also has HOH English subtitles available.For some reason, one short (but rather important ) scene is omitted in this cut of the movie – the UK BFI edition presumably has the complete version, as it has been shown on TV with the scene intact; when I purchased my DVD there was no Region 2 option – please consider this when buying.I've dropped a star in my rating for this reason – the movie is otherwise a must-have for anyone into Film Noir.

A great film noir from Otto Preminger. With a strong cast including a young Karl Malden, this is a pacey old school black and white film with plenty of tension. When Dana Andrews' character as a rough and ready New York police detective is passed over for promotion due to his heavy handed methods, he starts a personal vendetta against Gary Merrill's mobster character. When a card sharp in a game with Merrill's associates apparently is stabbed in the aftermath of a game, then the chase is on to find the culprit. It all goes badly wrong from here! A great film.

Disc would not play due to being either a faulty pressing or only partly 'burned' - disc returned to Spain several weeks ago but no replacement or any contact whatsoever. Bad show all round

a good whodoneit,with a surprise twist at the end. a good performance by dana Andrews and Charles bickford

preminger's camera never disappoints.it moves around in the dark,the suddenly explodes on a close up of a face.that,s what the noir story drives forward up to the unexpected end.a great classic film by a man who knows his trade.