The Lineup (film)

The Lineup
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Don Siegel
Screenplay by	Stirling Silliphant
Produced by	Jaime Del Valle
Starring	Eli Wallach Robert Keith
Cinematography	Hal Mohr
Edited by	Al Clark
Music by	Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Production company	Pajemer Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	June 1, 1958 (1958-06-01) (United States)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Lineup is a 1958 American film version of the police procedural television series of the same name that ran on CBS radio from 1950 until 1953, and on CBS television from 1954 until 1960. The film was directed by Don Siegel. It features a number of scenes shot in locations in San Francisco during the late 1950s including shots of the Embarcadero Freeway (then still under construction) and the Sutro Baths.

Plot

An international drug-smuggling racket plants heroin on unsuspecting American tourists traveling in Asia, so that the dope can pass through customs undetected. Two psychopathic killers (Eli Wallach and Robert Keith) and their driver (Richard Jaeckel) then collect the contraband, murdering several people along the way. Lt. Ben Guthrie leads the police hunt for the criminals.

Cast

• Eli Wallach as Dancer
• Robert Keith as Julian
• Warner Anderson as Lt. Ben Guthrie
• Richard Jaeckel as Sandy McLain
• Mary LaRoche as Dorothy Bradshaw
• William Leslie as Larry Warner

In the film Warner Anderson reprises his role as Lieutenant Ben Guthrie from the TV series. However, Tom Tully's character, Inspector Matt Grebb, is replaced by Inspector Al Quine, played by Emile Meyer. Tully, the T.V. series co-star, was not seen in the film. Anderson, the star of the TV series, is not given star billing in the movie; star billing was instead given to Wallach, who played the movie's main villain.

In popular culture

The film contains the line, "When you live outside the law, you have to eliminate dishonesty," of which Jonathan Lethem writes that "Bob Dylan heard it…, cleaned it up a little, and inserted it into 'Absolutely Sweet Marie'" (as "To live outside the law you must be honest.").

See also

• List of American films of 1958
• Illegal drug trade

External links

• The Lineup at IMDb
• The Lineup at AllMovie
• The Lineup at the TCM Movie Database
• The Lineup film scenes on YouTube