Detective Story (1951)

On one day in the 21st Precinct squad room, assorted characters form a backdrop for the troubles of a hard-nosed detective.

Gripping study of a character spiralling downward with a good cast and a splendid central performance, but otherwise quite talkative and stagebound.

Halliwell **: "Clever, fluent transcription of a Broadway play with some of the pretentions of Greek tragedy; it could have been the negation of cinema, but professional handling makes it the essence of it."

Maltin ***1/2: "Sidney Kingsley's once-powerful play about life at a N.Y.C. police precinct has lost much of its punch, but is still a fine film."