Rogue Cop
Encyclopedia
Rogue Cop is a film noir
directed by Roy Rowland
, based on the novel by William P. McGivern
(1954
), and starring Robert Taylor
, Janet Leigh
, and George Raft
.
In a penny arcade, a drug dealer is stabbed to death by a man who claims the territory for himself, and Eddie witnesses a gangland murder. The murderer goes to Kelvaney and asks to buy his brother off. When Christopher Kelvaney realizes that his brother won't change his testimony he tells the mob to leave his brother alone.
An out-of-town button-man is brought in to kill both brothers, but he succeeds only in killing Eddie. His conscience aroused, Kelvaney goes after the mob leaders himself.
gave the film a positive review and wrote, "This is not a new thesis. They've been making movies on it for years. And Rogue Cop is not so exceptional in its construction or performance that it is likely to cause surprise. But it is a well-done melodrama, produced and directed in a hard, crisp style, and it is very well acted by Robert Taylor in the somewhat disagreeable title role...For what it is in the line of crime pictures, there's a lot to be said for Rogue Cop."
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Roy Rowland
Roy Rowland (film director)
Roy Rowland was a film director. The New York-born director helmed a number of films in the 1950s and 60s including Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Meet Me in Las Vegas, Rogue Cop, The 5000 Fingers of Doctor T and The Girl Hunters. Rowland married Ruth Cummings, the niece of Louis B...
, based on the novel by William P. McGivern
William P. McGivern
William Peter McGivern was an American novelist and television scriptwriter. He published more than 20 novels, mostly mysteries and crime thrillers, some under the pseudonym Bill Peters...
(1954
1954 in literature
The year 1954 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Jack Kerouac reads Dwight Goddard's A Buddhist Bible, which will influence him greatly.*John Updike graduates from Harvard with a thesis on George Herbert....
), and starring Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
, Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
, and George Raft
George Raft
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
.
Plot
The film tells of Christopher Kelvaney (Taylor) a crooked police officer who is not timid to take bribes and payoffs from criminals and other nefarious folk. His brother Eddie (Forrest) is a young member of the police force and is honest and uncorrupted.In a penny arcade, a drug dealer is stabbed to death by a man who claims the territory for himself, and Eddie witnesses a gangland murder. The murderer goes to Kelvaney and asks to buy his brother off. When Christopher Kelvaney realizes that his brother won't change his testimony he tells the mob to leave his brother alone.
An out-of-town button-man is brought in to kill both brothers, but he succeeds only in killing Eddie. His conscience aroused, Kelvaney goes after the mob leaders himself.
Cast
- Robert TaylorRobert Taylor (actor)Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
as Det. Sgt. Christopher Kelvaney - Janet LeighJanet LeighJanet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
as Karen Stephanson - George RaftGeorge RaftGeorge Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
as Dan Beaumonte - Steve Forrest as Eddie Kelvaney
- Anne FrancisAnne FrancisAnne Lloyd Francis was an American actress, best known for her role in the science fiction film classic Forbidden Planet , and as the female private detective in the television series Honey West . She won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy award for her role in Honey West...
as Nancy Corlane - Robert EllensteinRobert EllensteinRobert Ellenstein was an American film, television and theatre actor.The son of Meyer Ellenstein, a Newark dentist, Robert Ellenstein grew up in that New Jersey city and saw his father go on to become its two-term mayor. He served in the Air Corps during World War II: earning a Purple Heart during...
as Det. Sidney Y. Myers - Robert F. Simon as Ackerman
- Anthony RossAnthony RossAnthony Ross was a Broadway stage, television and film actor.Born in New York City, he may be best remembered for being the first to play the character of "the Gentleman Caller" in the original 1944 production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.Ross appeared in 20th Century Fox films...
as Father Ahearn - Alan Hale, Jr.Alan Hale, Jr.Alan Hale, Jr. was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Skipper on the popular sitcom Gilligan's Island. Hale was the lookalike son of popular supporting film actor Alan Hale, Sr....
as Johnny Stark - Peter BroccoPeter BroccoPeter Brocco was an American film and TV character actor for nearly 60 years.He appeared as a criminal type in several episodes of Adventures of Superman. He holds the distinction of having been killed off in two of them, a relative rarity for villains in the series...
as George 'Wrinkles' Fallon - Vince EdwardsVince EdwardsVince Edwards was an American actor, director, and singer, best known for the roles of TV doctor "Ben Casey", and Maj. Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film The Devil's Brigade.-Early life:...
as Joey Langley - Olive CareyOlive CareyOlive Carey was an American film and television actress.Born as Olive Fuller Golden in New York City, she appeared in more than fifty films, mostly westerns, including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, often playing tough tom-boy parts. In 1920, she wed actor Harry Carey, Sr., with whom she remained...
as Selma - Roy Barcroft as Lt. Vince D. Bardeman
- Dale Van Sickel as Manny
- Robert F. SimonRobert F. SimonRobert F. Simon was an American character actor, often portraying military or authority figure roles. Though his face was recognized by audiences, he was mostly unknown by name...
as Ackerman - Ray TealRay TealRay Teal was an actor who appeared in more than 250 movies and some 90 television programs in his 37-year career. His longest running role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on NBC's most successful western, Bonanza...
as Patrolman Mullins
Critical reception
Film critic Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
gave the film a positive review and wrote, "This is not a new thesis. They've been making movies on it for years. And Rogue Cop is not so exceptional in its construction or performance that it is likely to cause surprise. But it is a well-done melodrama, produced and directed in a hard, crisp style, and it is very well acted by Robert Taylor in the somewhat disagreeable title role...For what it is in the line of crime pictures, there's a lot to be said for Rogue Cop."
Awards
Nominations- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: Oscar, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, John F. Seitz; 1955.