''Calling Homicide'' is a 1956 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Edward Bernds Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois. Career While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur li ...

and starring

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott Sr. (born October 8, 1955), also known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill", or "Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Superstar Racing Experienc ...

Don Haggerty Don Haggerty (July 3, 1914 – August 19, 1988) was an American actor of film and television. Early life and education Haggerty was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. Before he began appearing in films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University ...

and Kathleen Case. The picture was the third of five films in the Lt. Andy Doyle series, all starring Elliott.

Plot

When a policeman is murdered by a car bomb, Lt. Andy Doyle is given the case to investigate. On the victim he finds the name of a woman, Francine Norman, who is murdered shortly thereafter, strangled and mutilated. Doyle determines that there is a connection between the two deaths. Norman was a former actress who owned a modeling agency that is now run by Darlene Adams. Doyle finds many suspects, as Norman was universally hated. He uncovers that the agency was being used as a front for a

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

ing racket most likely run by Norman's love interest Jim Haddix, the owner of a local construction company. However, all the evidence of the blackmail ring is destroyed when the modeling school is destroyed by fire, with the janitor as the main suspect.

Cast

as Lt. Andy Doyle *

as Sgt. Mike Duncan * Kathleen Case as Donna Graham *

Myron Healey Myron Daniel Healey (June 8, 1923 – December 21, 2005) was an American actor. He began his career in Hollywood, California during the early 1940s and eventually made hundreds of appearances in movies and on television during a career span ...

as Jim Haddix * Jeanne Cooper as Darlene Adams * Thomas B. Henry as Alan Gilmore *

Lyle Talbot Lyle Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on a wide ...

as Tony Fuller * Almira Sessions as Ida Dunstetter * Herb Vigran as Ray Engel *

James Best Jewel Franklin Guy (July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015), known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. Duri ...

as Arnie Arnholf * John Dennis as Benny Bendowski *

Robert Bice Robert Bice (March 14, 1914 – January 8, 1968) was an American television and film actor. Biography Bice was born on March 14, 1914, in Dallas, Texas. He died on January 8, 1968, in Los Angeles, California. Bice was buried in Eternal Vall ...

as Phipps * John Close as Deputy Warren * Mel Wells as Valensi * Dee Carroll as Rita * Stanley Adams as Peter Van Elda *

Mary Treen Mary Treen (born Mary Louise Summers; March 27, 1907 – July 20, 1989) was an American film and television actress. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in dozens of movies and t ...

as Flo Burton *

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

as Pierson * William Meigs as Ted Allen *

Harry Strang Harry Strang (December 13, 1892 – April 10, 1972) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 500 films and television shows between 1929 and 1965. On Broadway, Strang appeared in ''The Girl in the Train'' (1910). Primarily a characte ...

as Deputy Wall

Production

The working title of the film was ''House on Lookout Mountain''. Production began in the first week of April 1956, and was completed before the end of the month. In July, the release date was announced as September 30, 1956. The

National Legion of Decency The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was an American Catholic group founded in 1934 by the Archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, as an organization dedicated to identifying objectionable content i ...

gave the film a Class A Section II rating, indicating that it was morally unobjectionable but for adults only. In December, it was announced that ''Calling Homicide'' would be part of a two-film deal, along with '' Friendly Persuasion'', booking first-run films directly into "second-run" theaters. It was the first such deal in the nation.

Reception

Motion Picture Daily ''Motion Picture Daily'' was an American daily magazine focusing on the film industry. It was published by Quigley Publishing Company, which also published the '' Motion Picture Herald''. The magazine was formed by the merging of three existing Q ...

'' gave the film a good review, enjoying its action and pace. It complimented the complexity of the plot, the screenplay and Bernds' direction.

References

External links