Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950)

8/10. Man, do I love these Golden Age film noirs.

Dana Andrews plays a cop with a temper trying to cover up his crime of murdering a suspect. It's only complicated by the fact that the crime is pinned on the victim's father in law, and the fact that he's falling in love with the victim's estranged wife played by Gene Tierney.

Dana Andrews plays against the honorable good guy type he was later known for, this time portraying an on the edge detective trying to break out of the shadow of his deceased criminal father. We've seen this type of cop before, but Andrews really captures the conflict or at least as much as can be expected in a film of this era.

Nice to see Andrews and Tierney together again. Their chemistry is undeniable, and it's understandable why the studios paired them up for a total of five films.

The usual class of noir character actors make appearances, including the thuggish Neville Brand (who I liken to today's Michael Madsen). And we get to see a young Karl Malden playing the by the book precinct lieutenant. Really though, this is Andrews' show, he makes a crooked cop really likable (I mean come on, it is Dana Andrews after all).

I will say it ends up bad for Andrews in the end, but it is the morally right outcome.