Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

GamerTab That was an excellent one.

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The_Void Unlike most films that considered 'noir', this one does not focus on the police or criminals; but on a man attempting suicide and the attempts by the authorities to talk him out of it. The film reminded me a lot of the 1975 classic Dog Day Afternoon for it's portrayal of a media circus. The centre of the film is really very simple and most of the focus is on the lead character, meanwhile we learn more about him and watch the various attempts to stop him committing suicide. The film gets straight into its plot and we watch a man step out onto a hotel balcony. Somebody sees it and a local traffic cop makes the call to his higher ups. He also goes and sees the guy on the window ledge and has a little chat with him. More police and some doctors then turn up, but the man on the ledge insists he'll only talk to the traffic cop and so he's called back in to help the situation. The reasons for the attempted suicide are slowly unveiled; meanwhile we also get to see the reactions of the various people on the ground.The film is very well directed by Henry Hathaway, who manages to constantly ensure that his simple plot is constantly fascinating. The dialogue between the central characters is good, and the psychology presented by the various doctors is also interesting. Richard Basehart takes the lead role and manages to convince the audience that he's going to commit suicide; although he does constantly sound drunk. He has a good rapport with Paul Douglas, who 'befriends' him during the ordeal. The support cast includes the likes of Agnes Moorehead and Grace Kelly. The central plot is fleshed out by some smaller stories of the people on the ground, and the film portrays some good that comes of the central situation. This is an interesting idea, though it has to be said that the way it is portrayed feels somewhat pretentious. The film flows well throughout and the running time passes quickly up until the ending, which is really quite predictable; but still it works well. Overall, Fourteen Hours is an excellent thriller and comes highly recommended.

evanston_dad First things first: "Fourteen Hours" is NOT a film noir. I don't know why numerous resources about film noir (including IMDb) include it.It does have many of the characteristics of those police procedural docu-dramas from the late 40s and early 50s that so many noirs also shared, so maybe that accounts for it. This film, based on a true story, stars Richard Basehart as a man who threatens to jump from a city skyscraper. Paul Douglas is the cop who works overtime to prevent him from doing so. Over the course of the film, a whole bunch of psychobabble involving the man's childhood emerges to explain his actions, and late in the film, his one-time fiancée (played by Barbara Bel Geddes) shows up to shed even more light on the matter.This is serviceable if not overly remarkable film-making. It will probably engage your interest, but I doubt it will linger in your mind. I will forever remember this film as the one I was watching when my wife went into labor with our son.The movie received a rather random Academy Award nomination for its black and white art direction.Grade: B

Robert J. Maxwell This is, I think, what they called a "high concept" film. Let's have a young man climb out on the ledge of a New York hotel and build up a back story about his tsuris and at the same time tell small tales of the diverse witnesses to the guy's dilemma.That precisely how the movie moves along from point to point, a little mechanically, but suspenseful and engaging. It's professionally handled by Henry Hathaway, a director who probably had little sympathy for a temperamentally unstable fellow who couldn't handle his hysterical and self-indulgent Mamma, Agnes Moorehead.The goods are delivered. Most of the work is done by Richard Basehart as the would-be suicide and Paul Douglas as the traffic cop who befriends him and alternately wheedles and lambastes him.Movies mavens will be left agog after they see the list of supporting and bit players, many uncredited, who were to go on to climb to dazzling heights in Hollywood, either as stars or as indispensable supports -- Grace Kelly, Jeffrey Hunter, Jeff Corey, Brian Keith, Richard Beymer, and John Cassavetes among them.The movie doesn't wallow in easy sentiment. It's pretty tough-minded. But a modern treatment, if it had any pretense to realism, would be far more cynical. The only characters here who exploit Basehart's impending self destruction are a nutty preacher who naturally belongs to no recognized church, a cabbie who organizes a pool to bet on when Basehart jumps, and of course the press. But nobody in the streets complains that a weakling like Basehart, who is probably a sissy just out for attention, deserves to die. And if any of the bystanders jumps up and down yelling, "Jump! Jump!", it must have been while I was in a period of microsleep. In 1951, it's my impression, Americans in general weren't so anxious to see a sensational splash on Broadway, not even New Yorkers.Worth catching.

Arun Vajpey 1951 seemed to be a year for films depicting rescue of an individual in peril; there were three such films - ACE IN THE HOLE, THE WELL and of course, FOURTEEN HOURS. All three were very good films but I like the last mentioned best. The camera-work from several different perspectives is superb, the involvement of the onlookers just right and the rescue efforts looked quite realistic. I disagree with comments that some situations and characters were clichéd; many major cities did have beefy Irish-American beat cops in the early 50s and so Paul Douglas' character is perfectly acceptable. Likewise, the 'good ending' is not necessarily traditional; after all, the rescue attempt would have been in progress for hours and the police were pulling out all stops. The odd thing is that although the film is available on DVD, it remains relatively unknown even among connoisseurs of Film Noir.