MovieChat Forums > Pushover (1954) Discussion > Ancestor of 1987's 'Stakeout'

Ancestor of 1987's 'Stakeout'

posted 16 years ago by riogarhed
2 replies | jump to latest

Two cops do surveillance on a beautiful woman from across the street, and one of them falls in love with her. Same basic idea. The writing credits are different, natch, but when "Stakeout" was released I don't think anyone observed that the idea had been executed more tautly in "Pushover," a film deserving of a new life on DVD. (Of course nobody listened when I argued that "Splash" was a steal from "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid"!) Surely the enduring fans of "Double Indemnity," where we see Fred MacMurray undergoing similar waves of conflicting emotion, would add "Pushover" to their video libraries.

[–] kevin-bergin 10 years ago

Also Pushover seems really small budget.

[–] sludgehound 9 years ago

See your line of thinking about Peabody & Splash. Neither really grabbed me but they were popular hits in their days. Certainly delivered the goods for popcorn crowd. My standards today are of a different kind.

Pushover really gets under your skin considering how easy it can be to slip the line.
Stakeout was ok but didn't have the same intensity of character study. Each had its own direction and execution regarding conflict with the id vs superego (or wrong & right).
I felt more for the MacMurray lead. Then again always liked his performances.
This is one that can stand several viewings, a rare thing. Second viewing Stakeout and nothing extra emerged as 'classic'. More of a Top Gun micro classic of pleasing the most with flash bang. Nothing wrong with that just not enough to touch the soul.