Three young thugs rob a farmhouse, kill the owner and take his stenographer hostage but the woman's estranged husband, a police detective, starts investigating her disappearance.Three young thugs rob a farmhouse, kill the owner and take his stenographer hostage but the woman's estranged husband, a police detective, starts investigating her disappearance.Three young thugs rob a farmhouse, kill the owner and take his stenographer hostage but the woman's estranged husband, a police detective, starts investigating her disappearance.
Philip Carey
- Detective Sgt. Tony Atlas
- (as Phil Carey)
John Drew Barrymore
- Jess Reber
- (as John Barrymore Jr.)
Dave Barry
- Miller
- (uncredited)
Nesdon Booth
- Conway - Truck Driver
- (uncredited)
Paul Bryar
- Bartender
- (uncredited)
Don Carlos
- Felipe
- (uncredited)
Thom Carney
- Character
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPhil Carey's deep voice, tall stature and sexy bearing made him one of the most ubiquitous actors in Hollywood's B-film stock company. He played occasional second leads in top-line pictures such as Calamity Jane (1953), but is perhaps best remembered for his perfectly nuanced turn on TV's "All in the Family" as an old war buddy who turns the tables on Archie Bunker's notions of masculinity by coming out as homosexual in the midst of their climactic arm wrestle.
- GoofsThe Sargent says that Petey was found at "12th and Central", but road signs seen on film of the event show the crossroads to be Valley Blvd. at Nogales St.
- Quotes
Sgt. Paul Denke: 12th and Central.
Featured review
Very claustrophobic Columbia crime drama
I'd actually call this one a 5.5. Pete Atlas (Jerry Mathers) is playing in the yard of a house where his mother is working. He looks inside through a window and sees three young hoods fighting with the old man who lives there and sees them ultimately kill him in that fight which is part of a robbery in progress. The hoods don't know about or see the boy. Pete is traumatized by what he sees and starts wandering down the highway where he is picked up by two truckers who can see he is in shock, worry about him just walking down the middle of a busy highway, and take him to the local police department, and are then on their way.
It so happens that Pete's dad, Tony Atlas (Philip Carey) is a detective at that police department, and wonders what has happened to his son, who refuses to speak. Because Tony and his wife Linda have been separated for eight weeks, he knows that Linda has been working part time as a stenographer, but has no idea where. And the truckers that picked up the boy and could tell him the location are long gone.
Meanwhile, back at the house where the hoods robbed and killed the old man, they are pondering what to do with Linda, the witness they were not expecting to the murder they were not expecting. Jess (John Drew Barrymore) is the cold blooded one who outright says the only thing to do is kill her. The second mainly wants to save himself, and the third has a moral core and just does not want to kill but is afraid of Jess. So this is the very claustrophobic at times hard to watch part of the film where Jess is shocked! shocked I say! that Linda does not want to get romantic with somebody who sees her as a future murder victim.
Meanwhile, outside the house, the entire department - led by Pete's dad - is trying to figure out where Linda is. The police procedural part is a welcome diversion from what is going on in the house with the hoods. Barrymore sure looks the part of an amoral killer. In fact he played several of them. He just doesn't really have the acting chops for the job. Jerry Mathers doesn't get a chance to do much with this role, the same year he will leap to stardom in "Leave it to Beaver".
The standout here is Betty Garrett as the witness/hostage to the three hoods. Mainly known at that time as the comic relief in the MGM musicals of the late 40s and early 50s, she shows she can really hold her own in a drama as she tries to talk the hoods out of doing away with her, as she hopes time is on her side.
It so happens that Pete's dad, Tony Atlas (Philip Carey) is a detective at that police department, and wonders what has happened to his son, who refuses to speak. Because Tony and his wife Linda have been separated for eight weeks, he knows that Linda has been working part time as a stenographer, but has no idea where. And the truckers that picked up the boy and could tell him the location are long gone.
Meanwhile, back at the house where the hoods robbed and killed the old man, they are pondering what to do with Linda, the witness they were not expecting to the murder they were not expecting. Jess (John Drew Barrymore) is the cold blooded one who outright says the only thing to do is kill her. The second mainly wants to save himself, and the third has a moral core and just does not want to kill but is afraid of Jess. So this is the very claustrophobic at times hard to watch part of the film where Jess is shocked! shocked I say! that Linda does not want to get romantic with somebody who sees her as a future murder victim.
Meanwhile, outside the house, the entire department - led by Pete's dad - is trying to figure out where Linda is. The police procedural part is a welcome diversion from what is going on in the house with the hoods. Barrymore sure looks the part of an amoral killer. In fact he played several of them. He just doesn't really have the acting chops for the job. Jerry Mathers doesn't get a chance to do much with this role, the same year he will leap to stardom in "Leave it to Beaver".
The standout here is Betty Garrett as the witness/hostage to the three hoods. Mainly known at that time as the comic relief in the MGM musicals of the late 40s and early 50s, she shows she can really hold her own in a drama as she tries to talk the hoods out of doing away with her, as she hopes time is on her side.
helpful•53
- AlsExGal
- Feb 28, 2021
- How long is The Shadow on the Window?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Missing Witness
- Filming locations
- 1290 Produce Row, Los Angeles, California, USA(produce warehouse)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 16 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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By what name was The Shadow on the Window (1957) officially released in India in English?
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