Side Street (1950) – full review!
Side Street (1950) – full review!
Directed by Anthony Mann and written by Sydney Boehm this film-noir crime drama pairs Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell for the second and last time; their earlier film was the essential They Live By Night (1948). Though this one isn’t on par with that one it’s still quite good highlighted by stark cinematography and a climactic car chase through the relatively empty early morning streets of New York City. Granger plays Joe Norson O’Donnell his wife Ellen.
Joe is a loser who has to live with his in-laws (Esther Somers and Harry Antrim briefly appear as Mr. & Mrs. Malby); he’s currently found work part-time as a mail carrier but because he wants the best for his expectant wife he rationalizes stealing what he thinks is $200 from a lawyer’s filing cabinet. Unfortunately for Joe he discovers that he’s just taken $30000 from a corrupt attorney (Edmon Ryan as Victor Backett) who’s just extorted the amount from a wealthy broker-patsy (Paul Harvey as Emil Lorrison) he’s blackmailed with the help of a woman (Adele Jergens as Lucille Colner) and a tough guy (James Craig obviously playing against type as George Garsell). After sweating it out for a while Joe decides to try and return his ill-gotten gain enabling Garsell who’d already disposed of ‘Lucky’ Lucille to track him down and threaten him. Fortunately Joe is able to escape after he’s surprised to discover that the bartender (Ed Max as Nick Drumman) he’d left it with has absconded with the money; this would prove fatal to Nick. Joe who then finds himself a suspect in Lucky’s murder must try and track down Garsell; he’s able to do this because the money he’d stolen was in a satchel with information on the hood and his former girlfriend singer Harriette Sinton (chameleon actress Jean Hagen). She leads Joe to Garsell with tragic results for herself setting up the aforementioned car chase.
Paul Kelly narrates and also plays NYC police Captain Walter Anderson; Charles McGraw plays Detective Stan Simon. John Gallaudet plays bar owner Gus Heldon to whom Nick sold his share when he’d discovered that the package Joe gave him to hold contained the money. Harry Bellaver plays Larry a cabdriver buddy and willing accomplice of Garsell. Whit Bissell plays Harold Simpson the chief teller at Lorrison’s bank. James Westerfield appears uncredited as Charlie the Cop someone Joe chats with earlier in the film.
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