Sightlines · reception
How Where the Sidewalk Ends was received
1950 · Otto Preminger · Where the Sidewalk Ends on Sightlines
The arc
In 1950 it landed as just another solid Fox crime picture — well-reviewed but overshadowed by Preminger's own Laura. Decades of noir scholarship have flipped that: it's now widely ranked among the great late-40s/early-50s noirs and often called one of Preminger's best films, full stop.
What’s debated
The perennial fan debate is whether this beats Laura — noir devotees love arguing that the grimier, meaner reunion is actually the superior Preminger/Andrews/Tierney picture.
Its footprint
It's a cornerstone of the 'compromised cop' lineage — the rogue-detective noir that later dirty-cop thrillers get measured against — and a fixture of repertory noir programming and best-of-noir lists.
Where it stands
A cinephile's noir rather than a household name: a Noirvember staple and a reliable 'deeper cut' recommendation once someone's seen Laura and Out of the Past.
Did you know? It's a full-blown Laura reunion six years on: director Otto Preminger, stars Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney, and cinematographer Joseph LaShelle all return — with a screenplay credited to Ben Hecht.