Fourteen Hours

1951
Approved
1h 32m

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

3.2K

YOUR RATING

Richard Basehart, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jeffrey Hunter, and Debra Paget in Fourteen Hours (1951)

An unhappy man threatens suicide by standing on the ledge of a high-rise building for 14 hours.

Play trailer2:24

1 Video

62 Photos

Film Noir Drama Thriller

A New York policeman tries to talk a man off a ledge as a crowd gathers below.A New York policeman tries to talk a man off a ledge as a crowd gathers below.A New York policeman tries to talk a man off a ledge as a crowd gathers below.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

3.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 4 wins & 4 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:24

Official Trailer

Photos62

+ 56

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Film debut of Grace Kelly.

Goofs
At the end of the movie the son of Officer Dunnigan enters through the revolving door in a clockwise, wrong, direction. Officer Dunnigan and he hug and then leave the hotel, exiting through the revolving door, again pushing it in a clockwise, wrong, direction even though all revolving doors turn in a counter-clockwise direction. The push handles are clearly visible on the opposite side of the door.

Quotes
Room Service Waiter: [calling the hotel switchboard to report the man on the ledge] Operator!
Hotel Switchboard Operator: [taking her time to answer in taking a drink of coffee] Good morning.
Room Service Waiter: This is the waiter. Fifteen oh five.
Hotel Switchboard Operator: I'll connect you with room service.
Room Service Waiter: No, no!
Room Service Waiter: I don't want a waiter, I am a waiter!
Room Service Waiter: [after a brief pause] There's a man...

Crazy credits
[END TITLE]

Out of past experience, the emergency rescue squad of the New York Police has developed techniques to deal with problems of this nature quietly, quickly and efficiently. For their expert advice and cooperation in the filming of this picture we are particularly grateful.

Alternate versions
Two endings were shot, one in which Richard Basehart dies, one in which he doesn't. Some original prints show the two different endings one right after the other.

Connections
Featured in Stars of the Silver Screen: Grace Kelly (2013)

User reviews55

Featured review

8/10

Despite flaws, a fine little gem

Although this film traffics in some of the worst movie clichés (the good-hearted, potato-nosed Irish-American cop; the conventional--and tacked-on--Happy Ending(tm)), it manages to rise above them, thanks to fine acting, a gripping story, and excellent production values. (You feel teleported to the Manhattan of 1951.) The chemistry between Paul Douglas (as Officer Dunnegan) and an incredibly young Richard Basehart (as the suicidal young man) really drives the film. Basehart plays his part with a combination of brittleness and patrician airs that make his character believable. Douglas thankfully doesn't overplay his role; he has to be father-confessor to the young man while attempting to steer him away from thoughts of self-destruction. Some years after seeing this film, I read the non-fiction article that it is based on in an anthology (the article was originally published in The New Yorker as "The Man on the Ledge"). Let us just say that the ending of the article and the film diverge somewhat.