The Turning Point
Director: William Dieterle
Year Released: 1952
Rating: 2.0
Slightly below average crime drama (and quite the downer): an investigator (Edmond O'Brien) decides he's going to crack down on corruption in his 'Midwestern' city - with an aggressive journalist (William Holden) sniffing for new info - only to find out the investigator's "stand-up" Dad is not immune from the influence of bad people. Formulaic (complete with a hastily tacked-together romantic subplot) and only really tense at the end (involving a boxing match and a hit placed on Holden's snoop), there were so many of these kinds of movies made - about the supposed integrity of journalists, of good men having to sacrifice themselves because of evil - that this one doesn't do much to stand out. Holden is fine doing his whole world-weary act (and eats lead because of his meddling) and Ed Begley is just right as the amoral heavy.
