Pushover (1954) starring Fred MacMurray, Phil Carey, Kim Novak, Dorothy Malone, E.G. Marshall Directed by Richard Quine. Screenplay by Roy Huggins Based on the novel The Night Watch by Thomas Walsh (New York, 1952) and the novel Rafferty by William S. Ballinger (New York, 1953). Produced by Jules Schermer. Black and White. Run time: 88 minutes. USA. Film Noir, Detective, Drama
While it’s not unheard of, it is still interesting when a
movie is based on two sources. In the case of Pushover, the film is
based on the novels The Night Watch by Thomas Walsh and Rafferty
by William S. Ballinger, even though neither book received onscreen credit.
Even though the film starred Fred MacMurray, an established
star, the film’s low budget required a less expensive actress as the female
lead. The choice was Kim Novak, a little-known actress who, despite the
“Introducing,” label attached to her name, had appeared in small roles (billed
under her real name, Marilyn Novak) in earlier RKO productions The French
Line (1953) and Son of Sinbad (1953, released 1955). When she signed
with Columbia, CEO Harry Cohen wanted to change her name, but Novak would only
agree to changing her first to Kim.
Producer Jules Schermer summed up his lead actress, "Kim
was not an actress when we started shooting. The face was beautiful. The body
was great. She photographed sensationally. But she couldn’t show any emotion. So,
we kept her dialogue to a minimum. When you can’t act, you react — which is
what we counted on."
The film’s production took about a month, from January 16 to February 13, 1954. Working titles for this film included The Killer Wore a Badge, 322 French Street and The Night Watch. The film premiered on July 30, 1954 as Pushover.
