man on the ledge went to Richard Basehart, who had achieved stage fame in The Hasty Heart and had just signed a long-term contract with Fox. As early as August 1949 Paul Douglas was announced for the role of the cop. In February 1950 Richard Widmark was mentioned as a possibility for the man. By April, Basehart and Douglas had firmed as the leads. Grace Kelly made her film debut in Fourteen Hours, beating Anne Bancroft for the role. Her casting was announced in June 1950. She was best known at the time for playing The Father on stage. Barbara Bel Geddes, who played Basehart's love interest, did not appear in another film until Vertigo, seven years later. Hathaway hired over 300 actors to play bit parts and extras in the film, much of which was filmed on lower Broadway in Manhattan. Among actors performing in uncredited roles were Ossie Davis and Harvey Lembeck, playing taxi drivers, and Joyce Van Patten, Brad Dexter, who subsequently appeared in The Magnificent Seven (1960), John Cassavetes, and Robert Keith's 30-year-old son Brian Keith. Other uncredited and bit players included Richard Beymer, who played the lead in West Side Story a few years later, radio's Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, Willard Waterman as a hotel clerk, future Broadway star Janice Rule, and character actors Leif Erickson and John Randolph. Shooting Filming began in New York City in June 1950. The film was made in just six weeks with a modest budget. The New York exteriors were filmed at the American Exchange National Bank building, located at 128 Broadway in lower Manhattan, starting June 1950. The building has since been demolished. Hathaway avoided stasis by cutting between the film ledge and the reaction of the crowd below, and by adroit use of camera angles. It is considered to be his finest film. Basehart had to spent most of the film not moving. "I got so accustomed to this that I didn't feel the need for movement," he said. "I learned to feel movement by the turn of my head, the puff of a cigarette or the gesture of a hand." His stand in on the ledge of 128 Broadway was Richard Lacovara. There was a padded platform below him; however this was removed for shooting some shots. Even with the double, Basehart still had to endure over 300 hours of standing on the ledge with little movement