kapelusznik18 ***SPOILERS*** It's when the crazy mixed up Robert "Bobby" Cousick, decided to take a stroll on the ledge of the 15th floor of the Rodney Hotel on Saint Patrick's Day no less that had the entire downtown section of Manhattan came to a complete halt. The crazy guy had a number of family and girlfriend issues that drove him to try to off or kill himself but it was traffic cop on his morning coffee brake Charlie Dunnigan, Paul Douglas, who came on the scene trying to talk him out of doing himself in. As tension builds up thousands of new Yorkers as well as tourists gathered beneath the hotel to watch the show including two star struck lovers Ruth & stock and box boy Danny Kempner, Debra Paget & Jeffery Hunter, who ends up talking a walk down Wall Street arm and arm by the time the show or movie is finally over. There was also a bunch of taxi drivers taking bets when Cousick would take his fatal dive just to pass, since they weren't doing any business anyway, the time of day that after 14 hours went into the night.Up on the 15th floor Dunnigan does his best to talk Cousick out of killing himself but is interrupted by police top head shrinker or psychiatrist Dr. Strauss, Martin Gable, who's advice in what he should do, get in touch with his inner feelings, makes things worse not better. That as well as Cousick's parents his drama queen mom Christine, Agnes Moorehead, as just sobering up dad after spending all night in a local bar Paul, Robert Keith, who's very presents makes Cousick far more willing to off himself then not jumping. Finally we get to see the reason for Cousick's demented actions when his girlfriend Virginia Foster, Barbara Del Geddes, is brought in to talk some sense into his confused head. ***SPOILERS***It was Virginia who finally got to Cousick but as usual the police, with the exception of Officer Dunnigan,almost blew it by jumping the gun as he was about to come back into his hotel room setting up the exciting final heart dropping, of many, scene in the movie. Look for a young 21 year old Grace Kelly as Louise Ann Fuller who by watching all the action provided by Cousick from her lawyers office decided not to divorce her husband Thomas, James Warren, by seeing that some people in the world have far more problems that she and her husband do!P.S The movie was based on 26 year old John Warde who jumped to his death off the 17th floor of the Hotel Gotham on July 26, 1938. That after his sister made an off color remark about his mental status that drove him off the edge as well as the edge of the 17th floor of the hotel.

kenjha A man stands on the ledge of a downtown high rise, threatening to jump while drawing crowds and media. The film has parallels to "Ace in the Hole," released a couple of months after this one, and is just as good as that Billy Wilder film. Basehart gives a finely controlled performance as the suicidal fellow. Douglas is terrific as a cop who first happens on the scene and earns Basehart's trust. With the exception of Moorehead, who is over the top, the performances are generally good. Notable for Kelly's film debut, it is also Hunter's second film. It is solidly directed by Hathaway, with authentic-looking exterior shots of the high ledge adding to the suspense.

edwagreen Richard Basehart was absolutely fabulous here as we feel his nervousness, his detachment from life, his hopelessness, and other problems.Paul Douglas, as the cop who Basehart is able to talk to, is great here. Ironically, in so many films Douglas always played the loud-mouthed person you could never count on to calm someone down.Agnes Moorehead gives a gem of a performance as the emotionally unbalanced, distraught mother. She blends into this performance a similarity to "Magnificent Ambersons" and can still be that holy terror as she displayed as Minnie in "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte."The picture again deals with mob psychology with some people anxiously awaiting Basehart to take the fatal plunge.Sidebars include Jeffrey Hunter and Debra Paget, as a young couple who meet among the mob and Grace Kelly, about to divorce her husband before this drama gives her a new lease on life and she is willing to try to sustain the marriage.Barbara Bel Geddes appears briefly as Virginia, the girlfriend to Robert (Baseheart) She is effective here.Martin Gabel's role as the psychologist fascinated me. How could he judge so soon after a brief meeting what the Moorehead and Robert Keith characters were all about? That was a little too far-fetched.Overall, a gripping drama showcasing the living of life to its fullest.

donofthedial It's been perhaps 15 years since I have seen this picture and despite the strong and competent cast of Hollywood favorites, it's Paul Douglas who carries this film on the strength of the sincerity and warmth he brings to his character.Paul Douglas was 42 years old, entering middle age, before he made his first film of any consequence in 1949.He came from a long career in radio as a very popular announcer at CBS in the 1930s and 1940s who was often the man at the mic for the Glenn Miller show for Chesterfield cigarettes. With Judy Holliday, he scored a major Broadway success in BORN YESTERDAY (though the film role went to Broderick Crawford). He was signed to a contract by 2oth Century-Fox and spent most of the next ten years successfully appearing in dramas, comedies, fantasies and even some science fiction before passing away prematurely in 1959.FOURTEEN HOURS is typical of the appeal he brought to his many films. It's based upon a true incident, though the film is opened up for the sake of the large and screen-worthy cast.Paul Douglas is a NYC cop pounding a beat who gets the call of a jumper on the 14th floor ledge of a downtown building. Once the experts appear, Douglas is sent back on the beat, but turns out the potential jumper doesn't want to talk to them. He wants to talk 'to that cop who was here before'. They find him, bring him back and the story continues from there.It's not a faultless film, but that doesn't matter. It's a great period piece and a showcase for Douglas.Excellent direction and camera work, including location shooting in a NYC long vanished.I recommend it without reservation.And cheers for Paul Douglas who has never gotten the acclaim he deserves.