Fourteen Hours (1951)

• Director
  • Henry Hathaway
• Writers
  • John Paxton(screenplay)
  • Joel Sayre(story)
• Stars
  • Paul Douglas
  • Richard Basehart
  • Barbara Bel Geddes

  Henry Hathaway directed this high-tension drama about a man teetering on the verge of self-destruction and how his dilemma affects those around him. Robert Cosick (Richard Basehart) is a desperate and despondent young man who has never gotten along with his parents (Robert Keith and Agnes Moorehead) and believes his girlfriend Virginia (Barbara Bel Geddes) no longer loves him. Cosick creeps onto the ledge of a skyscraper in downtown New York and threatens to jump; for the next 14 hours, Dunnigan (Paul Douglas), a policeman who was passing by, tries to talk him down, searching for a way to convince him that life is worth living. A crowd forms on the street below as Dunnigan talks with Cosick; Danny (Jeffrey Hunter) and Ruth (Debra Paget) meet as they watch the grim spectacle and discover how much they have in common. Meanwhile, in a building across the street, a young woman about to sign her divorce papers (Grace Kelly) finds herself wondering if she should give up on her marriage so hastily as she watches Cosick debate about throwing away his life. Fourteen Hours marked Grace Kelly's screen debut; Ossie Davis and Brian Keith also appear in small roles.