# Great police interview/interrogation scenes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 24, 2023, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617 "2023-11-24T08:26:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/21 "2023-11-24T16:52:03Z")
Um… Sharon Stone… Basic Instinct… perhaps the most well known and iconic police interview/interrogation scene ever. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/22 "2023-11-24T16:52:57Z")
I am not showing that to my daughter. What is wrong with you. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/23 "2023-11-24T16:54:11Z")
_Detective Story_ (1951) is a movie that should be watched for its own sake, directed by William Wyler. Wyler directed movies like _(Dreiser’s) Carrie, The Heiress, The Best Years of Our Lives,_ etc. that take great consideration for the humanity of their characters, events the baddies. Something you don’t get in the hyper-stylized Nolan, Cohens, Wes Anderson. Besides some great small moments with Joseph Wiseman and Lee Grant, _Detective Story_ has an impromptu interrogation scene where Elenor Parker, the detective’s wife keeping a secret, piques the policeman’s instinct of her husband’s lieutenant played by Horace McMahon. McMahon usually played thugs, but here he’s a kindly uncle who persistently gets her to open up everything. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/24 "2023-11-24T16:54:52Z")
She can play the Wayne Knight part if it makes you more comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/25 "2023-11-24T16:58:51Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I can recommend the Michael Gambon series of dramatizations, which you can find on Youtube, as a possibly fertile source. Season 2 Episode 1, Maigret and the Night Club Dancer (taken from Maigret at Picratt’s) has a pretty representative interrogation scene about halfway through (I’m watching it now). Good cast in this episode, Minnie Driver, Brenda Blethyn, and Michael Sheen getting interrogated. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/26 "2023-11-24T17:04:46Z")
Not police but the interview scenes with the arsonist in _Backdraft_ should be of interest. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/27 "2023-11-24T17:33:37Z")
Came in to suggest this. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/28 "2023-11-24T17:43:11Z")
Another one from _The Wire_, Bunk and McNulty interrogate D’Angelo. What this clip doesn’t show at the end is that they get D’Angelo to write an apology to the dead man’s family. Dumb move on D’s part. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wyuk5AWxk_A/maxresdefault.jpg "The Wire - Bunk And McNulty Interrogating D'Angelo Barksdale - Part 1 D'Angelo Gets Questioned") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyuk5AWxk_A) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/29 "2023-11-24T17:50:43Z")
And this classic. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DgrO_rAaiq0/maxresdefault.jpg "The Wire | The Machine Tells The Tale") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgrO_rAaiq0) ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/30 "2023-11-24T18:14:43Z")
You might find this interesting. It’s the real thing that happened as a result of one of our (Canadian) senior air force officers (then-Colonel Russell Williams) who sexually assaulted and murdered two people several years ago. In addition I believe that there were some other sexual assaults. This has excerpts of the interrogation so I believe that a lot of awful stuff is omitted. There are two hour versions that have a lot more really disturbing stuff. What’s interesting about this is that it has none of the histrionics and overt drama of something like a CSI Miami interrogation. Don’t be fooled by the calmness and near-boring nature of it; it’s absolutely fascinating. He basically accepts an invite to the Ottawa Police Service main station for an interview, probably assuming that he’ll leave shortly thereafter. He’s quite arrogant at the start. In youtube: The Interrogation of Col. Russell Williams I would post the link but I keep getting this message: “An error occurred: Sorry, you can’t embed media items in a post.” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/31 "2023-11-24T18:26:52Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > I would post the link but I keep getting this message: “An error occurred: Sorry, you can’t embed media items in a post.” You have to hit _Reply_ before Discourse loads the preview image. I made the same mistake in another thread today; I got the video to show by appending &t=0 to the end of the url and replying before the link is loaded. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/32 "2023-11-24T18:36:25Z")
> [@Tusculan](#): > > The dentist interrogation in Brooklyn 99 season 5 episode 14. That was a good episode. I miss that show. > [@TriPolar](#): > > Um… Sharon Stone… Basic Instinct… perhaps the most well known and iconic police interview/interrogation scene ever. That movie is hot garbage. I’m not a stickler for details, but even I was rolling my eyes at the shoddy police work. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/33 "2023-11-24T18:44:38Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > The scene from Season 1 of _The Shield_ where Dutch interrogates a serial killer is fantastic. He’s flailing and embarrassing himself, the suspect is clearly enjoying toying with him and prolonging his misery. But then you find out that it was all just a play for time, as detectives were searching the suspect’s aunt’s property and finding bodies. She had tried to call the suspect to see what she should do when officers asked if they could search, but he was too busy enjoying his cat-and-mouse game with Dutch. Came in here to mention the Dutch “Cuddle R\*\*\*\*\*” interrogation. I actually forgot about the season 1 serial killer (I didn’t really start watching the show regularly until season 3.) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/34 "2023-11-24T18:57:45Z")
The Netflix series [Mindhunter](https://www.netflix.com/title/80114855) maybe/kinda fits in here (well done, worth watching). It is more after-the-fact though. They talking to serial killers and interview them to learn what makes them tick. But, I think, interrogation techniques are still part of that even if they already caught the person. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/35 "2023-11-24T19:00:28Z")
The novel _The Big Nowhere_ has at least 2 or 3 one-on-one interrogation scenes every bit as intense as _LA Confidential_, no surprise since both books were written by James Ellroy. You’ll probably want to read it first before letting your daughter see it. _The Prisoner_ (1955) – Not technically a _policier_, but an interrogation-based film with state inquisitor Jack Hawkins trying to break Cardinal Alec Guinness. Based on/inspired by the case of [József Mindszenty - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zsef_Mindszenty). _The Big Combo_ (1955) – In one scene, cop Cornel Wilde gives crook Richard Conte a lie detector test, leading to some heated give-and-take. Worthwhile just for Conte’s staccato delivery which might (or might not) translate well into _le français_. _The Offense_ (1973) – Interrogation-based film with police detective Sean Connery going at it with a suspected child molester. Not graphic, but perhaps not appropriate, either. _Marathon Man_ (1976) – Not a _policier_, but an iconic interrogation scene between Dustin Hoffman (in the dentist’s chair) and Sir Larry. Lastly, I leave you with [Best French Film Noir - films policiers francais - polars](http://www.frenchfilms.org/best-policiers.html). I haven’t seen them all, and most I have seen do not have interrogations scenes (that I recall), but I do remember some such scenes in _Le Deuxième Soufflé_ featuring cop Paul Meurisse. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/36 "2023-11-24T19:17:36Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Le Deuxième Soufflé Ooo, a Melville I haven’t seen. Worth checking out for that alone. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/37 "2023-11-24T20:21:32Z")
Can’t forget this classic: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/het1kl-A8qw/hqdefault.jpg "Police Squad! (In Colour) - Name Confusion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=het1kl-A8qw) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/38 "2023-11-24T21:15:12Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Each episode of _Criminal_ has a new suspect in the room, and we follow the team of detectives between the room, the other side of the double-mirror, and the corridor between the two. The first episode of the UK version has David Tennant as the close-lipped suspect. Excellent! Thanks for the recommendation ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/39 "2023-11-24T21:45:47Z")
The episode in _Scott and Bailey_ where Scott is interviewing the farmer played by Ellie Haddington. Wonderful scene. Beautifully played. ETA: Season 4, Episode 8 ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617/40 "2023-11-24T21:50:33Z")
An even better interrogation by Police Squad: (Jump to 0:40 in the video) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uxviBxaSjyc/maxresdefault.jpg "The Naked Gun 1988: Bribe scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxviBxaSjyc&t=40/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-police-interview-interrogation-scenes/993617.md?page=3)