Paramount's THE TURNING POINT is unfortunately a forgotten movie. A reasonably good crime thriller the film has suffered probably because of its unavailability in any format. It cannot be found even on VHS and its TV screenings are few and far between. Why this should be is anybody's guess for it is nicely written by Warren Duff and has a sterling cast in William Holden, Edmond O'Brien, Alexis smith and Ed Begley. Produced for the studio in 1952 by Irving Asher it comes from a story "Storm In The City" by Horace McCoy. Crisply photographed in black and white by Lionel Linden it was given a nice noirish style by director William Dieterle. Like Robert Wise's "The Captive City", made the same year, the picture is heavily influenced by the Kefauver Crime Hearings in the U.S. senate in 1950 and 1951 set up to investigate organized crime and its cross border activities.

Newly appointed crime commissioner John Conroy (Edmond O'Brien) is determined to crack down on the crooked syndicate that is holding the city to ransom with its extortion racket and other illegal enterprises. With the help of his police detective father Matt Conroy (an excellent Tom Tully) he intends to eliminate the hoodlum element controlled by syndicate boss the ruthless Eichelberger (Ed Begley). But to his surprise he finds his father is reluctant to get involved. Investigative reporter and John Conroy's boyhood friend Jerry McKibbon (William Holden) is suspicious at Matt's reticence in helping out his son and follows him. He is shocked to discover he does business and has dealings with the syndicate. He is now undecided on just how to tell his friend that his father is no more than a crooked cop. To further complicate matters he begins having an affair with John's secretary and girlfriend the attractive Amanda Waycross (Alexis Smith). The picture comes to a nail-biting finish when an out of town hit man (Neville Brand) comes gunning for McKibbon (an exciting sequence at a boxing match) so as to prevent him from reporting anymore about the activities of the mob in his newspaper.

The acting is splendid from the entire cast. William Holden in the wake of his brilliant performances in the unforgettable "Sunset Boulevard" and his fine railroad cop in the excellent "Union Station" gives his usual well polished performance this time as a hard bitten newspaper reporter. Excellent too is Edmond O'Brien as the commissioner. O'Brien was an actor who was never known to give a bad performance and doesn't disappoint here. Supplying the romance is the attractive Alexis Smith an actress who for years was buried in nothing roles at Warner Brothers here comes out of her shell to give a nice portrayal of a woman torn between two men. The following year she would steal the acting honours from all around her in RKO's neat little thriller "Split Second".

There is no original music in the picture which is something of a disappointment. All that is heard are bits and pieces culled from unused music of Victor Young and Miklos Rozsa and conducted and supervised by Irvin Talbot. However the music score not withstanding the picture doesn't suffer because of it and it remains a good solid crime thriller. Now where is Olive Films to give us the DVD?

The Kefauver crime hearings in the US Senate were the inspiration for several films of which The Turning Point is one. It's neither the best or the worst of that group.

Idealistic young attorney Edmond O'Brien is put in charge of a local Kefauver like group with prosecutorial powers to go after the syndicate that operates in this unnamed midwest American city. He's the son of veteran police detective Tom Tully and he asks his father to help him in his investigation. Also helping out are Alexis Smith functioning as the commission secretary and a cynical William Holden who is a long time friend of O'Brien's and newspaper reporter.

The syndicate is headed by Ed Begley, his number two is his enforcer Ted DeCorsia and he's got a hotheaded torpedo on the payroll in Danny Dayton. This crime syndicate has its hooks in pretty deep and watching the film you see why they are always one step ahead of the investigating commission.

The Turning Point fits right in with Bill Holden's post Sunset Boulevard tough and cynical image. That would reach its apogee when next year Holden would win an Oscar for the ultimate cynic in Stalag 17.

The rest of the cast performs well in roles that fit them admirably. Some you will remember are Neville Brand as an out of town torpedo who has few words, but an aura of menace, Carolyn Jones in her film debut as a Virginia Hill type witness who performs on stand the way Judy Holliday did in the House Un-American Activities Committee as the dumb moll. But the performance that really stands out is that of Adele Longmire who is the wife of another torpedo who was doublecrossed and killed after a hit he performed. She is really a standout in her scenes as a frightened witness trying to flee the mob.

The Turning Point is a good noir drama that holds up very well today and is even relevant with some of the big name prosecutions of more recent vintage.

In some ways, the plot of this film seems pretty familiar for a film noir picture. However, its starring cast seem to make the most of the material. The film stars William Holden as a crusading reporter, the ever-reliable Edmond O'Brien as a Special Prosecutor and Alexis Smith as 'the girl'.

The film begins with O'Brien promising to clean up the massive corruption in the city. However, when he appoints his own father to work for him, Holden assumes the fix is on, as he has long thought the father was on the take. But, O'Brien is honest and has no idea this is the case--and much of the film the two work separately from each other. Only later do they team up and together they think they can clean up the mess run by the wicked boss (Ed Begley). But, it's not like the gang is just going to roll over and play dead--they are tough and have no problem killing the people that get in their way. And, by the end of the film, several key figures in the story are killed.

The corrupt city angle is pretty familiar. Quite a few noir films have such a premise. But, it's all handled pretty well and I loved the VERY snappy and tough dialog. It's a fine film for lovers of the genre and worth your time.

By the way, during a scene where a murder is taking place, one of the guys in on the killing is Russell Johnson--the guy who later played The Professor on "Gilligan's Island". Look fast to see him.