Cinema Scope: Bridging Genres, Subgenres, & Movements
Postwar Crime Procedurals: The System on Trial (with Foster Hirsch)
1 tim 7 min•10 juni 2026
Om avsnittet
What happens when American cinema stops looking at crime from the outside and puts the institution itself on trial? Postwar Crime Procedurals—the final entry in the Cinema Scope postwar miniseries—traces the mode from Jules Dassin's The Naked City through Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men to Richard Brooks' In Cold Blood, joined by Brooklyn College Professor Foster Hirsch, author of Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties.
Andy Nelson and Foster trace how the semi-documentary mode emerged from wartime filmmaking and Italian neorealism, how the Hays Code shaped its institutional faith, and why the visual grammar that celebrated police efficiency in 1948 became the frame for In Cold Blood's indictment of capital punishment. Foster argues for several overlooked titles and calls In Cold Blood an American masterpiece still lacking the reputation it deserves. Cinema Scope is part of the TruStory FM network.
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Want early access and more? Become a member of The Next Reel Family of Film Shows—and always know what to watch next. Members stay ahead with early access to every episode, an ad-free private feed, the full eleven-film discussion including Boomerang!, Riot in Cell Block 11, Night People, Trial, and The Phenix City Story, and a community that keeps the conversation going.
How to Listen (Cinema Scope): Long-form, multi-film conversations.
Andy Nelson and Foster trace how the semi-documentary mode emerged from wartime filmmaking and Italian neorealism, how the Hays Code shaped its institutional faith, and why the visual grammar that celebrated police efficiency in 1948 became the frame for In Cold Blood's indictment of capital punishment. Foster argues for several overlooked titles and calls In Cold Blood an American masterpiece still lacking the reputation it deserves. Cinema Scope is part of the TruStory FM network.
🎥 Watch Our Full Conversation on YouTube
📍 All episode links and resources
Want early access and more? Become a member of The Next Reel Family of Film Shows—and always know what to watch next. Members stay ahead with early access to every episode, an ad-free private feed, the full eleven-film discussion including Boomerang!, Riot in Cell Block 11, Night People, Trial, and The Phenix City Story, and a community that keeps the conversation going.
How to Listen (Cinema Scope): Long-form, multi-film conversations.
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