seymourblack-1 "Side Street" begins with some impressive aerial shots of New York City and statistical information about its citizens that together signal an attempt to make this, a production that's as realistic as possible. As it continues, the presence of an authoritative voiceover narration and extensive use of location filming successfully ensure that the desired level of authenticity is achieved in a movie which ultimately displays many of the characteristics of a docu-noir. Its story about a young man who, in a moment of weakness, gives in to temptation and does something wrong which he can't subsequently put right is a typical film noir "downward spiral" plot which, as well as being gripping, exemplifies the futility of trying to struggle against the hand of fate.Joe Norson (Farley Granger) is a young man who's devoted to his pregnant wife Ellen (Cathy O'Donnell) and has ambitions to buy her a mink coat and take her to see some of Europe's great cities. This isn't possible however, because following a failed business venture and his inability to get a full-time job, the couple are actually poverty-stricken and live with his in-laws. One day his job as a part-time letter carrier takes Joe to the office of an attorney called Victor Backett (Edmon Ryan), where he sees $200 which has dropped on the floor and is deterred from following his natural instinct to pick it up. On a later occasion, when he calls to make a delivery to the same office, the opportunity presents itself for him to simply take the money from a filing cabinet and so he goes ahead and steals the cash.Joe immediately finds himself in a state of panic and becomes even more scared when he discovers that the sum he's stolen was actually $30,000. To make matters worse, Backett is no ordinary victim as the stolen money was actually the proceeds of a blackmail scheme that he'd carried out with the help of the beautiful Lucille Colner (Adele Jergens) who'd lured a wealthy businessman called Emil Lorrison (Paul Harvey) into a honey trap. In a state of desperation, Joe puts the stolen cash in a package which he leaves with a local bartender for safekeeping.In order to cover his tracks, Backett arranges for his accomplice George Garsell (James Craig) to kill Lucille and dump her body in the East River and after this is done, NYPD Captain Walter Anderson (Paul Kelly) takes charge of the investigation into the murder.Joe tries to relieve his anguish by visiting Backett at his office and confessing what he'd done. Backett suspects that Joe may be working with the police and so pretends that he doesn't know what Joe's talking about. Subsequently though, Backett sends Garsell and a taxi driver called Larry Giff (Harry Bellaver) to retrieve the money. When Garsell catches up with Joe, he learns that the bartender, Nick Drumman (Edwin Max) has absconded with the money and so both men then go separately in search of the guy who Joe had foolishly trusted. Joe's search for Drumman ends when he discovers his dead body in circumstances that put him in the frame for the dead man's murder. Now being pursued by both the criminals and the police, Joe tries to avoid coming to a sticky end by making his own investigations into how and from whom, Backett had originally acquired the stolen money.In "Side Street" the aerial shots of New York City emphasise how insignificant the struggling young couple are in their surroundings and also how trapped Joe is when he tries to escape the attentions of his pursuers. Similarly, because the indoor action takes place in very small rooms and shadowy staircases etc. the fact that Joe always seems to be physically hemmed-in, reflects perfectly the mental torment that he's experiencing and how impossible it seems for him to escape from his predicament.Reuniting Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell who'd worked together so successfully in "They Live By Night" (1948) must have seemed an irresistible prospect for both commercial and artistic reasons and they both turn in good performances in this movie which is tense, riveting and ends with an exciting car chase. The supporting cast is also above average and contribute some cameos that make a really strong impression.

gordonl56 SIDE STREET – 1949 Side Street is one of the lesser seen Anthony Mann film noir productions. Don't let that stop you from taking in this excellent noir. It has all the usual Mann ingredients at play, with a cracker-jack story, violence a plenty, and a superb look.Farley Granger is a just returned veteran working odd jobs to make ends meet. Granger and his pregnant wife, Cathy O'Donnell, are living with his parents till he can earn enough to get a place of their own. Needless to say this grates on the young man.He stumbles into a situation where he can grab a few hundred in cash from an office he make deliveries to. This of course starts a rather unpleasant series of events that involve, blackmail, murder etc. Even when he tries to do the right thing, it just digs him further into the mess.The cast in this one are all excellent with James Craig, Edmon Ryan and Harry Bellaver as the villains. The cops are played by Paul Kelly, King Donovan and noir favourite, Charles McGraw. The distaff side is well represented by some good work from Cathy O'Donnell, Adele Jergens and Jean Hagen.Veteran cinematographer, Joseph Ruttenburg really shines here and makes excellent use of the New York locations. The four time nominated, and two time Oscar winner, only dabbled in noir, but each one was a top effort. These include GASLIGHT and THE BRIBE.The story and screenplay was from the one time Oscar nominated, Sydney Boehm. Boehm was another film noir veteran having supplied stories or screenplays for, HIGH WALL, THE UNDERCOVER MAN, MYSTERY STREET, UNION STATION, ROUGE COP, BLACK TUESDAY, VIOLENT Saturday and of course, THE BIG HEAT.No need to mention director Mann's noir pedigree. Suffice it to say that all noir fans have 2 or 3 of his films on their top 10 list.This one is well worth the 82 minute time investment.

ZenVortex Everything about this movie is good, especially the cinematography, which is visually stunning with great camera angles and beautifully composed shots reminiscent of Citizen Kane. This is one of the best noirs ever made, fast paced with strong direction and tight editing. Of special mention are the helicopter shots of New York, which create the feeling that the city is a board game or crossword puzzle.Granger delivers an excellent performance -- perhaps the best of his movie career -- as a delivery boy who falls victim to temptation and foolishly steals $30K from a couple of nasty villains. Of course, he is in over his head and the plot twists and turns as he desperately tries to extricate himself.The rest of the cast also deliver good performances, making this a tense, stylish crime drama. The only criticism is that the dialog lacks sharp, memorable lines although the omniscient stentorian narrator in the opening scene gives the movie an interesting fascist undertone. Nevertheless, the movie is classic noir and not to be missed.

robert-temple-1 After the shocking and emotive 'They Live by Night' (1948), Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell were paired again for another adventure together. Cathy O'Donnell repeats her heart-wrenching performance of a good girl who loves a guy in serious trouble, with her inner radiance once again practically burning holes in the celluloid. Farley Granger is more than merely confused and panicky in this film, his character goes too far over the edge into being stupid, which loses a lot of our sympathy for his plight. That was a script weakness. Anthony Mann is at full strength here as director, and the film is powerful and disturbing. Jean Hagen delivers an excellent supporting performance. The plot involves a young man desperate for a modest amount of money who steals what he thinks is $200 but it turns out it is a $30,000 blackmail payoff. You can imagine the rest. 'I want my money!' as the usual gangster's refrain, with knives and guns to back up the demand. Poor old Farley goes from one extreme peril to another, all unwitting and largely uncomprehending. His innocent young face is ravaged with panic as he sweats from one thug to another, and is caught up in murder, corruption, and intrigues which proliferate like rabbits. Neither Farley nor the audience ever knew what hit them. The film was slightly too formula, and should have had a more sophisticated script and would then have been a real classic, as it had all the other ingredients. It is eminently watchable, and frantic, and guaranteed to give you an ulcer for the duration just imagining yourself caught up in any of that nightmare. Well done all around, but it falls short by being an overly contrived concept. It lacks the onrush of the unexpected but horror of the inevitable of the loving pair's previous effort. It could so easily have surpassed it. However, it is still a very superior noir film.