Incident in an Alley

May. 16,1962      NR
Rating:
5.7
Subscription
Trailer Synopsis Cast

A policeman is accused of manslaughtering a 14-year-old boy but is acquitted of all charges. Still, he feels a lot of guilt and begins to doubt if he really is innocent after all.

Chris Warfield as  Bill Joddy
Jacklyn O'Donnell as  Jean Joddy
Harp McGuire as  Frank
Virginia Christine as  Mrs. Connell
Willis Bouchey as  Police Capt. Tom Brady
Don Keefer as  Roy Swanson
Clancy Cooper as  Sam
Bess Flowers as  Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Reed Howes as  Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Clegg Hoyt as  Jerry's Pool Hall Proprietor (uncredited)

Similar titles

Anatomy of a Murder
Prime Video
Anatomy of a Murder
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.
Anatomy of a Murder 1959
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
Prime Video
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
Terrence McDonagh is a New Orleans Police sergeant, who recieves a medal and a promotion to lieutenant for heroism during Hurricane Katrina. Due to his heroic act, McDonagh injures his back and becomes addicted to prescription pain medication. He then finds himself involved with a drug dealer who is suspected of murdering a family of African immigrants.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans 2009
Murder in the First
Max
Murder in the First
A young, inexperienced public defender is assigned to defend an inmate accused of committing murder while behind bars.
Murder in the First 1995
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
Dick Tracy 1990
Carry On Screaming!
Carry On Screaming!
The sinister Dr. Watt has an evil scheme going—he's kidnapping beautiful young women and turning them into mannequins to sell to local stores. Fortunately for him, Detective Sergeant Bung is on the case, and he doesn't have a clue!
Carry On Screaming! 1966
Earthquake
Prime Video
Earthquake
Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.
Earthquake 1974
K-9
AMC+
K-9
The extravagant cop Michael Dooley needs some help to fight a drug dealer who has tried to kill him. A "friend" gives him a dog named Jerry Lee (Officer Lewis), who has been trained to smell drugs. With his help, Dooley sets out to put his enemy behind the bars, but Jerry Lee has a personality of his own and works only when he wants to. On the other hand, the dog is quite good at destroying Dooley's car, house and sex-life...
K-9 1989
French Connection II
Max
French Connection II
"Popeye" Doyle travels to Marseilles to find Alain Charnier, the drug smuggler that eluded him in New York.
French Connection II 1975
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
Prime Video
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
A demented widow lures unsuspecting children into her mansion in a bizarre "Hansel and Gretel" twist.
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? 1972
Cavalier of the West
Cavalier of the West
Burgess and Greeley are rustling horses and shooting Indians. When they kill Manual they frame Lieutenant Allister. His older brother John now attempts to defend him at his murder trial.
Cavalier of the West 1931

Reviews

Cebalord
1962/05/16

Very best movie i ever watch

... more
PodBill
1962/05/17

Just what I expected

... more
Matialth
1962/05/18

Good concept, poorly executed.

... more
Griff Lees
1962/05/19

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

... more
ofpsmith
1962/05/20

None of the actors in this movie are particularly well known. The director, Edward L Cahn is likewise obscure. The only big name the film has to offer is Rod Serling, whose short story was the basis for the movie. And yet Incident in an Alley is a detective story, a courtroom drama, and a redemption story all in one. Officer Bill Joddy (Chris Warfield) accidentally shoots a boy named Harvey Connell (Bobby Fox) in the back, aiming for his leg. Bill is charged with first degree manslaughter. Bill is acquitted but he is haunted by the shooting. To make things worse, Bill is assigned a new assignment. But redemption comes his way when he investigates a robbery of a music store that Harvey was involved in. I won't spoil the ending but it's very entertaining. It's a hard movie to find, but if you come across it, give it a watch.

... more
gordonl56
1962/05/21

A group of young hoods break into a music store late one night. It is their bad luck that the cleaning woman discovers them. They dispatch said witness with a pipe to the side of the head. They then gather up all the loot they can carry and hit the road.When the janitor is found, just clinging to life, the police begin rounding up the usual selection of neighbourhood villains. Chasing several suspects down a darkened alley, a cop, Chris Warfield, yells "HALT!" Then fires a shot when not obeyed.His round hits one of the suspects killing him. The suspect, Bobby Fox, turns out to be a 14 -year old boy. Was it the suspect the policeman had been chasing? Or was it just a kid who happened to be in the dark alley.For political reasons, the D.A. decides to charge the officer with murder. The public and press are calling him a "KID KILLER" and want someone to pay for the boy's death. The viewer, however, knows the kid was in on the break in with his older brother and several others.Warfield goes on trial and is found not guilty. The story in court is told from several diff points of view including, the dead boy's mother, the officer, his wife, the other cops and the press.Warfield gets his job back. Some of the cops welcome him back him while others think he is guilty of being a tad trigger happy.Warfield has bouts of inner turmoil, that maybe the boy's death was his fault, so he decides he must clear his name. He enlists the help of his partner, Harp McGuire in his quest. They go over everything that happened looking for any possible clue.Lila Finn, the cleaning woman, who has been in a coma since the robbery, dies. It is now a murder case. The detectives assigned to the case get a break when some of the stolen goods show up. They grab up a suspect who leads them to a poolroom where he says he bought the items.And who should the Police find, but the dead boy's brother, Michael Vandever. With Vandever is the gang he runs with. The detective's suspect is unable to identify any of the boys so he is returned to jail.After the Police leave, the boys, lead by Gary Judis, start knocking Vandever around. They are less than amused that Vandever had sold some of the stolen goods The plan was to sit on the stolen items for 6 months before selling them. Vandever tells them "I was broke and needed some cash". After a few smacks to the head the gang sends him off to move the goods to Judis place.Later that day as Warfield is on patrol, he sees Vandever in the same alley were his brother had been killed. It is also the same alley where the swag is hidden. Warfield puts the grab on him for a little bit of face to face. He is pretty sure Vandever was involved in the robbery. One of the gang, who was tailing Vandever, sees the two talking and reports back to Judis.Judis, not the most trusting of people, decides they will need to bump off Vandever. Warfield has in the meantime convinced Vandever to come clean about the robbery. He tells Warfield it was Judis who had brained the cleaning woman with the piece of pipe. He also agrees to show Warfield were the stolen goods are.Judis and the boys, now armed with a trio of revolvers, head for the same location. A local warehouse watchman happens to see the boys pull the guns out their hiding spot. He figures they are up to no good and calls the Police.The gang, Vandever and Warfield all bump into each other in the alley with the predictable results. Shots are exchanged with two of the boys, including Judis being hit. Warfield's partner, McGuire arrives just in time to nab the third boy.Vandever turns State's evidence and Warfield's reputation is restored.The cast includes Erin O'Donnell as Warfield's wife, Willis Bouchey as the Police Captain, Don Keffer as the D.A. and Virginia Christine as the dead boy's mother.This good little low renter was from b-film vet, Edward L Cahn. Cahn's work includes, CAGE OF EVIL, VICE RAID, YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST, WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES, THE WALKING TARGET, PIER 5 HAVANA, GUN GIRLS AND GANGSTERS, HONG KONG CONFIDENTIAL, GIRLS IN PRISON, BETRAYED WOMEN, TWO DOLLAR BETTOR, DESTINATION MURDER, BUNGALOW 13 and the great 50's sci-fi classic, IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE.The screenplay was by Harold Medford. His work includes the screenplays for BERLIN EXPRESS, THE KILLER IS LOOSE and THE DAMNED DON'T CRY. The story is from none other than Rod Serling. The d of p was Gil Warrenton whose work includes, PAROLE INC, ALIMONY and HIGH SCHOOL HELLCATS.This is the second time I've caught this one. The first time was on a terrible VHS. This time, thanks to Ned, I got the pleasure of seeing a nice print on DVD.A decent time waster in my humble opinion.

... more
django-1
1962/05/22

Between 1959 and 1962, director Edward Cahn made MANY very-low-budget films for a production company that went under a few different names, but all were produced by Robert Kent. TCM did a salute to Cahn in 2001 and dug many of these up, including this one, INCIDENT IN AN ALLEY. Chris Warfield plays a police officer who breaks up what he thinks is a robbery and possibly an assault in an alley, and shoots one of the suspected robbers who runs away. That takes place in the first five minutes. After that, the film surveys exactly what happened, looks at the incident from multiple perspectives, has a trial where the officer is charged with manslaughter, and THEN starts another plot which becomes just as exciting as the first one, and finally it all comes to wild but satisfying close in just over an hour! Pardon my vagueness, but I don't want to give anything away. This film, written by the great Rod Serling, is a completely unexpected gem that does not go in any direction you expect it to. Shot on a few small sets, b-movie veteran Cahn keeps an exciting pace going, and the acting makes each character seem individual and real. In some ways this seems more like a play than an action film, but that's not surprising considering Serling's background in 1950s live TV and Cahn's background in VERY low budget films where talk and atmosphere make up for scenes that would be too expensive to shoot. As I wasn't expecting anything special, just a b-grade crime film, I was very pleasantly surprised at the care taken in the making of the film and in the many serious and complex issues it dealt with both intelligently and realistically. Bravo to writer Serling, director Cahn, and star Warfield for his little-known gem of a film.

... more
barahona
1962/05/23

Low budget cop movie which pops up on Showtime now and then concerns a cop who shoots and kills a young juvenile delinquent and how he deals with it. The most amusing part is the big city 'precinct' set which looks like the receptionist area at a dentist office.

... more