Tributo de Sangue

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.