THE TURNING POINT (1952)

Paramount Pictures, 85m 37s

In 1949 the federal government was petitioned to crack down on the long-term social infection of interstate crime. The reaction to that pressure was the formation of the five-member Kefauver Committee, chaired by first-term senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee. The special committee's hearings captured the interest of American television audiences. In fact some 30 million Americans tuned in to watch the live proceedings in March of 1951. Schools even dismissed students so they could view the hearings. Naturally the movie studios did not let the opportunity to profit from the 15-month investigation escape them. Numerous exposé films inspired by the hearings include THE CAPTIVE CITY (1952, personally endorsed by Senator Kefauver), HOODLUM EMPIRE (1952), KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (1952), THE MIAMI STORY (1954), THE MOB (1951), NEW ORLEANS UNCENSORED (1955), NEW YORK CONFIDENTIAL (1955), THE PHENIX CITY STORY (1955), THE RACKET (1951), THE SELLOUT (1952), THE SYSTEM (1953) and TIGHT SPOT (1955). Perhaps the social problem noir most influenced by the Kefauver Committee is THE TURNING POINT, produced by Irving Asher and directed by William Dieterle.

In a nameless city plagued by a parasitic crime network, crusading Special Prosecutor John Conroy (Edmond O'Brien) arrives on the scene to restore order with administrative assistance in the form of Amanda Waycross (Alexis Smith). Streetwise reporter Jerry McKibbon (William Holden), who grew up with John, suggests the newly-appointed crime czar might be out of his element. Undeterred, John requests the help of his police detective father Matt Conroy (Tom Tully), whose reluctance to get involved immediately implies his covert connection with local racketeer Neil Eichelberger (Ed Begley). It long has been suspected Eichelberger's supposedly legit operation Sphere Trucking hardly accounts for all of his considerable income.

"I'd rather nail one crooked cop than a hundred hooligans."

Family issues as set forth in the noir film often revolve around the absence of marriage or the futility of the institution. That sort of theme is not advanced in THE TURNING POINT. Instead the corrosive noir atmosphere sullies the father/son family dynamic along with law enforcement credibility by way of Matt Conroy, a compromised cop who fathered the man intent on bringing down the Eichelberger operation. Fittingly, the cynical newsman Jerry is the first to recognize Matt has strayed from his professional responsibilities. Jerry issues a clear warning to John that entrenched noir forces have captured control of someone close to him:

"...I'd screen everybody...I'd screen 'em again. I'd get to know them intimately back from the time they were born. I'd question my own mother."

Matt attempts to justify his behavior in terms of pent-up desire for material possessions people with more discretionary income enjoy. He grew to resent the assumption policemen are expected to serve the public largely out of moral obligation rather than for compensation of any substance. Somewhere along the way he fell for the "easy money" available to him through Eichelberger. This sequence slyly casts Matt in a somewhat sympathetic light. Principles guide us less when we find ourselves saddled with debt. That is not to say Matt should not be held accountable for his own impulses, but the scene does imply the system is more broken than he is. One of the film noir's most consistently Marxist assertions is that an economic system in which some have less than others makes criminals out of ordinary people.

As for the individual seemingly benefiting the most from a society that has allowed criminal behavior to get out of hand, the utter ruthlessness of Eichelberger is confirmed on multiple occasions. First he engineers the murder of Matt in such a way as to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. In Eichelberger's effort to close the door firmly on the matter, Matt's killer Monty LaRue (Tony Barr) is sacrificed after he completes his task! Later Eichelberger sets fire to his Arco Securities Co. clearinghouse with full knowledge the blaze is sure to bring about the deaths of those who reside in apartments above the warehouse facility. Eichelberger obviously will do anything to cover his tracks and must be eliminated from decent society, though the moral man John blames himself for the tragic deaths of those unfortunate residents who called the Arco building home. Similarly, Jerry is a man of integrity who blames himself for the downfall of Matt; Jerry gets Matt eliminated after he suggests Matt should double-cross Eichelberger. That incident, along with the Arco fire, emphasizes another theme:  sometimes people must be sacrificed for the greater good (a post-WWII era message if ever there were one). As Eichelberger is brought into custody, Jerry catches a bullet. That equation has a dark implication, commensurate with Jerry's line that John repeats to summarize his old friend's passing:  "Sometimes someone has to pay an exorbitant price to uphold the majesty of the law." An alternate way to critique the scene is that Jerry (the someone) must fall in order for John to rise.

Another of the film's crucial themes involves the varied paths people take as they mature. Though we all start out roughly the same, ultimately we define ourselves through different choices. Childhood connections might survive into adulthood, sometimes not. At times personal or professional obligations get in the way of long-term alliances. Jerry and John were childhood mates, but due to the investigation that reunites them, Jerry causes tension when he gains the romantic interest of John's trusted gal Amanda. Then there is Matt, who grew up with one of the hoods, which no doubt had an impact on his decision to turn his back on the law he pledged to uphold.

An old friendship under strain

Director William Dieterle is not one of the big names of the film noir movement, but he deserves credit for helming quality titles like PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1948), THE ACCUSED (1949), ROPE OF SAND (1949) and DARK CITY (1950). His work on THE TURNING POINT is exceptional; this film is loaded with well-balanced compositions and thoughtful performances. It never drags. Screenwriting duties were handled by Warren Duff, who adapted the original story by Horace McCoy. Cinematographer Lionel Lindon managed the camerawork for the film noir classics THE BLUE DAHLIA (1946) and ALIAS NICK BEAL (1949), as well as the spunky little B noir QUICKSAND (1950). Lindon also served as director of photography for THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962), one of the finest films of its era and certainly an instance of the film noir formula at work in the 1960s. And boy does THE TURNING POINT boast terrific starpower with Edmond O'Brien, William Holden and especially Ed Begley, who as far as I know never appeared in an unwatchable movie or gave a substandard performance. I particularly admire his work in PATTERNS (1956), 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) and ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (1959), one of the best examples of the noir genre that closed the decade. The supporting players bring assured stability to the narrative's structure as well, with Jay Adler, Neville Brand, Ted de Corsia and Danny Dayton on board. The plot mechanics honor genre tradition with a suspenseful chase sequence built around the Eichelberger gang's pursuit of the widowed Carmelina LaRue (Adele Longmire). The final act plays out in a boxing arena, always an ideal backdrop for corruption, confusion and murder.

Traditional noir blocking as both actors face the camera

Once again Kino Lorber has given a respectable release to an important film noir title as part of their increasingly reliable Kino Lorber Studio Classics product line. This single-layered Blu-ray edition presents a 4K scan of the 35mm film elements, remastered in HD by Paramount Pictures. Framed at 1.37:1, it looks quite phenomenal in motion and constitutes one of the year's must-haves for knowledgeable film noir collectors. Contrast is just fine and the eye-pleasing level of film grain makes for a reasonable approximation of what the original theatrical presentation must have looked like. What I wouldn't give for a time machine to know for certain.

The labyrinthine noir environment

The ever-dangerous noir staircase

The audio commentary track by the always credible film historian Alan K. Rode meets his usual high standard of research and insight, including an incredibly detailed account of the film's production, budgeted slightly over $1 million with a 30-day schedule that was improved upon by four days. Only Rode would reveal that Whit Bissell earned $250 for his uncredited bit part! Rode also notes W.R. Burnett (also uncredited) worked on the screenplay. Burnett contributed to several noir essentials, among them HIGH SIERRA (1941), THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942), THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950) and THE RACKET (1951). In a cost-savings measure, all of the actors wore their own suits. Only actress Alexis Smith was dressed by costume specialist Edith Head. John Conroy's character was modeled after Thomas Edmund Dewey, New York City prosecutor and District Attorney in the 1930s and early 1940s and sworn enemy of organized crime. He successfully prosecuted Charles "Lucky" Luciano in 1936. The Neil Eichelberger character is a thinly veiled interpretation of Frank Costello, the Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano criminal cabal. Ed Begley's nervous hands at the hearing are meant to remind us of Costello. In another example of gangster world influence, Vito Genovese once directed a gunman to bump off another hitman, very similar to the way Matt Conroy's demise is depicted. The Arco building fire initially met with strict Production Code resistance; arson crimes were not supposed to be chronicled in terms of criminal procedure. But after voicing his objection, lead code administrator Joseph Breen decided to let it go. Probably with a fair amount of reluctance, Breen must have recognized elements of the code had become outdated in post-WWII society. As always when it comes to film noirs that relied upon Los Angeles settings for location work, Rode comments on the significance and history of familiar locales such as Bunker Hill, the Angels Flight Railway funicular (a hillside cable railroad that counterbalances ascending and descending cars), Los Angeles City Hall and the Olympic Auditorium, where the climactic boxing match takes place. THE TURNING POINT returned several hundred thousand dollars of profit for Paramount Pictures, deservedly so.

Other than Rode's commentary, the only other supplemental material is the collection of theatrical trailers for comparable titles available from Kino Lorber.