Pushover (1954)

The MPAA Production Code enforced throughout much of the Golden Age of Hollywood included a list of subjects that must be treated with special care, including "...titles or scenes having to do with law enforcement or law enforcing officers." For that reason, corrupt police officers were rarely seen in American movies for much of the era. By the late 1940s, the Production Code had begun to weaken, so crooked cops began to appear much more frequently in movies, especially in film noir. Pushover (1954) was among those movies to feature a corrupt police officer, What is surprising is that the police officer was played by Fred MacMurray, who usually played good guys (Double Indemnity and The Apartment being notable exceptions).

Pushover (1954) begins with a bank robbery in which one of the robbers Harry Wheeler (Paul Richards) not only makes off with $250,000 but kills a bank guard in the process. Among the police officers charged with bringing Wheeler to justice and getting the money back is detective Paul Sheridan (Fred MacMurray). The cops then stake out the apartment of Wheeler's girlfriend, Lorna McLane (Kim Novak), in hopes that she will lead them to Wheeler and the loot. Unfortunately, Paul Sheridan takes a bit too much of an interest in Lorna McLane.

Pushover (1954) began with producer Philip Waxman, who had earlier produced the 1951 film noir The Big Night for United Artists. Mr. Waxman bought the rights to the novel The Night Watch by Thomas Walsh, which had been serialized in The Saturday Evening Post. It was adapted as a screenplay by Orin Jennings and Stanley Ellin. Philip Waxman then sold the screenplay to Columbia Pictures. While Philip Waxman remained an associate producer on the movie, Columbia assigned Pushover (1954) to producer Jules Schermer, who had earlier produced such movies as Framed (1947), Union Station (1950), The Pride of St. Louis (1952), and Pickup on South Street (1953).

It was at Columbia that, Pushover (1954) would take inspiration from another novel besides The Night Watch. The film took the idea of a corrupt cop who wants the money from a bank heist. From the novel Rafferty by William S. Ballinger Pushover (1954) took the idea of a detective becoming obsessed with a woman he was observing during a stakeout. The new screenplay was written by Roy Huggins. Roy Huggins had written the novels The Double Take, Too Late for Tears, and Lovely Lady, Pity Me, as well as the screenplay for 1948's I Love Trouble (based on his novel The Double Take), Too Late for Tears (based on his novel of the same name), The Good Humor Man (1950), and other films. Today he may be best known as the creator of the show Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, The Fugitive, and The Rockford Files.

One change would be made from Roy Huggins's screenplay that he did not particularly care for. Producer Jules Schermer did not particularly like the ending of Mr. Huggins's screenplay, so he took elements from an earlier film he had produced, Framed (1947), starring Glenn Ford. When Roy Huggins saw a rough cut of Pushover (1954), he commented to the producer, "You've ruined my picture. Pushover (1954) would go through the working titles The Killer Wore a Badge (the title under which The Night Watch had been serialized in The Saturday Evening Post), 322 French Street, and The Night Watch.


Pushover (1954) went into limited release on July 14 1954 and then wide release on August 6 1954. The film received generally positive, if not overly enthusiastic reviews. The review from the July 28 1954 issue of Variety read, "Pushover is a cops-n-robbers meller whose suspense holds up despite its mite too long 88 minutes running time." The New York Times review from July 31 1954 was modestly positive, noting the resemblance of Fred MacMurray's role to that in Double Indemnity while at the same time noting, "Viewed strictly on its own, as it should be, this modest Columbia melodrama is a creditable job for about half the time." The critic from The Chicago Tribune wrote, "MacMurray is blunt and believable, and young Phil Carey does very well as his partner. The film has been previously produced, but it's not bad, as crime melodramas go." Audiences liked the movie, as Pushover (1954) did well at the box office.

Of course, Pushover (!954) is notable for giving Kim Novak her first starring role as Lorna McLane. Even at this point in her career, Miss Novak seemed to be every inch a movie star. Fred McMurray, even then known for more wholesome roles, does a good job of playing corrupt cop Paul Sheridan, who is obsessed with Lorna. The rest of the cast is notable as well. Philip Carey does a good job of playing Rick McAllister, the young police officer who realizes that Sheridan is not what he should be. Dorothy Malone gives a good performance as McAllister's love interest, Ann Stewart. E. G. Marshall plays Police Lieutenant Karl Eckstrom.

While Pushover does owe a good deal to other film noirs, Roy Huggins's screenplay is very well done, allowing suspense to build at a moderate pace. Richard Quine also provided the film with appropriately taut direction. Starting an acting career as a child actor in films from Cavalcade (1930) to Little Men (1934), Mr. Quine had taken up directing with the movie Leather Gloves (1948). After Pushover (1954), he would go on to direct such movies as My Sister Eileen (1955), The World of Suzie Wong (1960), The Notorious Landlady (1962), and Sex and the Single Girl (1964).

While Pushover (1954) does not rank among the most famous films noirs, it would be one of the influences on d Jean-Luc Godard's film Breathless, alongside such fellow films noirs as Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) and Gun Crazy (1950).  It is understandable why Mr. Godard would have been impressed with Pushover. While somewhat derivative of other films, it is a tense film noir with several good performances and a plot that will keep viewers hooked for the entirety of its running time.