Scene of the Crime

Director: Roy Rowland Roy Rowland

Overview

The Dore Schary regime at MGM brought a much-needed dose of stark realism to the venerable studio. Van Johnson sheds his boy-next-door image to play L.A. plainclothes lieutenant Mike Conovan. Determined to bring a cop killer to justice, Conovan will let no man stand in his way -- not even his level-headed superiors. The detective's single-purposed pursuit causes a rift in his marriage to wife Gloria (Arlene Dahl). The film comes very close to the Dragnet school of unadorned, unglamorized police procedure: it adheres to standard MGM formula only in the final reconciliation scene. Officially a Harry Rapf production, Scene of the Crime was completed by another producer when Rapf died during filming.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/08/2013
UPC:	0883316685808
Original Release:	1949
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00
Sales rank:	22,322

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Van Johnson	Mike Conovan
Arlene Dahl	Gloria Conovan
Gloria De Haven	Lilli
Tom Drake	Det. "C.C." Gordon
Leon Ames	Capt. A.C. Forster
John McIntire	Fred Piper
Norman Lloyd	Sleeper
Donald Woods	Herkimer
Richard Benedict	Turk Kingby
Anthony Caruso	Tony Rutzo
Tom Powers	Umpire Menafoe
Jerome Cowan	Arthur Webson
Mickey Kuhn	Ed Monigan
William Haade	Lafe Douque
Caleb Peterson	Loomis
Robert Gist	Pontiac
Romo Vincent	Hippo
Tom Helmore	Norrie Lorfield
Thomas E. Breen	Boy
Mary Jane Smith	Girl
Bette Arlen	Girl
G. Pat Collins	Monigan
Ray Teal	Patrolman
Don Haggerty	Detective
Allen Mathews	Detective
Gregg Barton	Detective
Mickey McCardle	Detective
James R. Scott	Detective
William Tannen	Detective
Paul Fierro	Detective
Tony Merrill	Detective
George Magrill	Detective
Ralph Montgomery	Detective
Forrest Taylor	Captain of Detectives
Minerva Urecal	Woman
Margaret Bert	Woman
Charles Wagenheim	Nervous Man
Merrill McCormack	Older Man
Victor Paul	Young Punk
Guy Kingsford	Ballistics Man
Ray Bennett	Sheriff Kiesling
Jack Shea	Fighter
A. Cameron Grant	Fighter
Jean Carter	Marlene,Sanitation Man
Jimmy Dundee	Captain of Waiters,Captain of Waiters
Lucille Barkley	Corrine
Mack Chandler	Man on Table
Fred Murray	Man on Table,Gangster
Richard Irving	Doctor
Harris Brown	Doctor
John Phillips	Doctor
Wilson Wood	Gateman
Billy Snyder	Gangster
Eddie Foster	Gangster
Michael Jordan	Gangster
Michael Barrett	Gangster
Billy Dix	Gangster
Jeffrey Sayre	Manager of the Fol De Rol
Erin Selwyn	Hat Check Girl
Sam Finn	Patron
Charles Regan	Patron
Jimmie Dunn	Patron
John McKee	Recorder,Recorder
Robert Strong	Police Stenographer
Allan Ray	Wounded Officer
Bill Phipps	Young man
Gladys Blake	Voice on tape
André Previn	Composer

Technical Credits

Charles Schnee

Roy Rowland	Director
Charles Schnee	Screenwriter
Harry Rapf	Producer
A. Gillespie	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Scene of the Crime is admired in some circles as a tough noir-ish excursion, but it's really little more than a standard police procedural. It's entertaining, mind you, but there's really nothing about it that raises it above the ordinary, certainly not to anyone raised on decades of police dramas on television. Indeed, so much of Scene is stuff that we've seen before, many times over, that it gets a tad boring. What gives Scene some interest is its cast. Van Johnson is cast against type, and while it sometimes seems a little odd to hear some of the dialogue coming out of a person we're accustomed to being an amiable and genial sort, he actually does quite well. Even better is Gloria De Haven, also cast against type, as the treacherous moll. De Haven is so good it makes you wonder why she didn't play this type more often. Arlene Dahl. On the other hand, is fairly unimpressive dramatically, but she's such an eye-full that many won't care about that. Roy Rowland's direction is fine, if not great. Modern audiences will find Scene familiar, but fans of crime thrillers may still get a kick out of it.