The Turning Point (1952)
The Turning Point (1952)
„The Turning Point“ is a 1952 Black & White political film-noir crime film directed by William Dieterle. The screenplay by Warren Duff is based on a story by Horace McCoy. It was inspired by the Kefauver Committee’s hearings dealing with organized crime.
John Conroy is a Special Prosecutor given extraordinary powers to break up the crime syndicate in a large midwestern town. His investigation will focus on Neil Eichelberger and his criminal operation. A local journalist, Jerry McKibbon, is sympathetic to this but feels Conroy isn’t experienced enough to handle the task. Matt Conroy, John Conroy’s father, is a local policeman assigned to be his chief investigator.
McKibbon discovers that Matt Conroy is a crooked cop who works for Eichelberger. McKibbon demands that Matt break with the mobster or he’ll inform his son, John Conroy, of the duplicity. To vindicate himself, it is decided that Matt Conroy will procure a damning file from the D.A.’s office that Eichelberger has requested, but he will retain a copy.
Even before this double-cross is exposed, Eichelberger decides to have Matt Conroy murdered in order to instill fear in his operation showing that Eichelberger is in control of the situation, since John Conroy’s investigation is more serious than expected. Matt Conroy is killed during a phony robbery, and his assassin, Monty LaRue, is immediately killed in turn.
John Conroy’s investigation is systematically uncovering Eichelberger’s crimes, and in anticipation of having their books subpoenaed, Eichelberger has the building housing them burned. He has callous disregard for the people renting there, and all but 1 or 2 are killed. An expose of Matt Conroy’s murder reveals that Eichelberger had LaRue killed also.
His widow Carmelina LaRue can prove this. She contacts McKibbon in order to exact revenge but is chased away by Eichelberger’s henchmen. Since McKibbon is the only one that can identify Carmelina LaRue, her husband’s murderer, Roy Ackerman, demands that McKibbon be killed, but Eichelberger refuses. Ackerman then hires a hit man himself whereby McKibbon is lured to a boxing match where he can be shot.
Meanwhile, Carmelina manages to reach John Conroy. Her testimony is sufficient, along with already acquired information, to topple Eichelberger. The hired gun, Red,shoots McKibbon. As he lies dying, Eichelberger and his crew are arrested. McKibbon dies before John Conroy can arrive.
John Conroy’s epitaph for McKibbon is something McKibbon himself has previously said: „Sometimes someone has to pay an exorbitant price to uphold the majesty of the law.“
Cast:
- William Holden – Jerry McKibbon
- Edmond O’Brien – John Conroy
- Alexis Smith – Amanda Waycross
- Tom Tully – Matt Conroy
- Ed Begley – Neil Eichelberger
- Danny Dayton – Roy Ackerman
- Adele Longmire – Carmelina LaRue
- Ray Teal – Clint
- Ted de Corsia – Harrigan
- Don Porter – Joe Silbray
- Howard Freeman – Fogel
- Neville Brand – Red
„The Turning Point“ (dt.: Der Wendepunkt) ist ein politischer Film-Noir-Krimi in Schwarz-Weiß aus dem Jahr 1952 unter der Regie von William Dieterle. Das Drehbuch von Warren Duff basiert auf einer Geschichte von Horace McCoy. Es wurde durch die Anhörungen des Kefauver-Ausschusses inspiriert, der sich mit dem organisierten Verbrechen befasste.
John Conroy ist ein Sonderstaatsanwalt, der mit außergewöhnlichen Befugnissen ausgestattet ist, um das Verbrechersyndikat in einer großen Stadt im Mittleren Westen zu zerschlagen. Seine Ermittlungen konzentrieren sich auf Neil Eichelberger und seine kriminellen Machenschaften. Der örtliche Journalist Jerry McKibbon hat dafür Verständnis, ist aber der Meinung, dass Conroy nicht erfahren genug ist, um diese Aufgabe zu bewältigen. Matt Conroy, John Conroys Vater, ist ein örtlicher Polizist, der ihm als Chefermittler zugewiesen wird.
McKibbon findet heraus, dass Matt Conroy ein korrupter Polizist ist, der für Eichelberger arbeitet. McKibbon verlangt, dass Matt mit dem Mafioso bricht, oder er wird seinen Sohn John Conroy über die Doppelzüngigkeit informieren. Um sich zu rehabilitieren, beschließt Matt Conroy, eine belastende Akte aus dem Büro des Staatsanwalts zu beschaffen, die Eichelberger angefordert hat, von der er aber eine Kopie behalten wird.