14 Hours
by Henry Hathaway
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Agnes Moorehead, Barbara Bel Geddes, Debra Paget, Paul Douglas, Richard BasehartDirector: Henry Hathaway
Brand: Fox
Cinematographer: Joseph MacDonald
Editor: Dorothy Spencer
Producer: Sol C. Siegel
Writer: Joel Sayre
Writer: John Paxton
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Black & White, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-29
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of 14 Hours
Movie Review: 12 1/2 Hours too short
Summary: 5 Stars
***SPOILERS***
Realizing what a technical `tour de force' this film is begins when one finds out that much of this film, though it looks like it was shot mostly on location in New York, was actually filmed in Fox's Studio, Stage 8. What a superb job by all the crew, especially director Henry Hathaway, cinematographer Joe MacDonald, and film editor Dorothy Spencer. I wouldn't be surprised to find that those with a fear of heights have difficulty watching it; it looks very realistic.
On the surface, our story involves Robert Cosick (Richard Basehart). The film begins with a series of locational and studio shots that emphasize loneliness and desolation. Soon, Cosick is outside his hotel room, on a ledge, which is on the 15th floor. A woman's scream alerts Police Officer Charlie Dunnigan (Paul Douglas), who is on traffic detail at the time, that there is a `jumper'. After a quick phone call into police headquarters, Dunnigan rushes to the scene, and is the first to usefully help Cosick. One gets the feeling that he could have had him off the ledge had not the police (led by Howard Da Silva) started pouring into the room, exciting the high-strung Cosick.
The authorities and behavioural specialists try to establish who `the jumper' is and why he might be in trouble. Eventually, Cosick's mother (Agnes Moorehead), his father (Robert Keith), and his ex-fiancee (Barbara Bel Geddes) are called up to talk to him. Unfortunately, his mother and father are part of the reason that he is up there, and the apparent reason why his relationships all fail.
In a way, Cosick is there to counterpoint what is going on around him. Being a film noir, there is a certain amount of cynicism. But for all the selfishness, cynicism, and despair the film contains, there is also a lot of hope. Grace Kelly, in her first role (a small one), was on her way to get a divorce finalized when she saw Cosick on the ledge and thought how her own situation was not really that bad: the couple reconcile. Elsewhere Debra Paget and Jeffrey Hunter meet in the crowd and fall in love. Hunter says that beautiful things can spring from the greatest tragedies: he and Paget usually went to work at different times and never would have met otherwise.
On yet another level, this John Paxton screenplay is most assuredly, IMO, a critique of contemporary American society. But it can also simply be savoured for the humanism and superb performance of Paul Douglas as Officer Dunnigan.
Summary of 14 Hours
Film noir, a classic film style of the ?40s and ?50s, is noted for its dark themes, stark camera angles and high-contrast lighting. Comprising many of Hollywood?s finest films, film noir tells realistic stories about crime, mystery, femmes fatales and conflict.This compelling suspense drama spends its time with a tormented young man (Richard Basehart) as he teeters on a New York hotel?s 15th floor window ledge, deciding whether or not to jump. Paul Douglas plays a traffic cop, the first officer on the scene, and through his gentle, compassionate talk, he becomes the only one the man on the ledge trusts. He certainly doesn?t trust his mother (Agnes Moorehead) or ex-fiancée (Barbara Bel Geddes). The crowd below is mesmerized and for some, the fourteen hours that follow will change their lives forever. This film is notable for the film debut of Grace Kelly in a small role.
"There's a jumper on the ledge...." And so, after a wordless opening sequence, begins Fourteen Hours, a taut thriller about a would-be suicide standing outside his hotel-room window on St. Patrick's Day. The jumper, nervously played by Richard Basehart, is counseled by a gallery of interested parties, including a beat cop (Paul Douglas) and the man's divorced parents (Agnes Moorehead and Robert Keith) and fiancée (Barbara Bel Geddes). Psychiatrist Martin Gabel provides some Freudian analysis of the situation. Along with the drama on the ledge, the film cruises through the reactions of the crowd below, from concerned to cynical. Among the huge ensemble are a surprising gallery of faces, including up-and-comers Grace Kelly, Jeffrey Hunter, and Debra Paget. Howard Da Silva is a cop, and Ossie Davis and Harvey Lembeck (both uncredited) are cab drivers. Director Henry Hathaway had made some of the Fox film noirs emphasizing realism and authentic location shooting (House on 92nd Street, Call Northside 777), and he takes a similar approach to the flavorful Manhattan sites here--albeit mostly within a one-block area. The movie's ticking-clock momentum holds up well, even if some of the social-concern material feels dated. And when you can cut to a vertiginous angle every few minutes, suspense is practically guaranteed. --Robert Horton
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