GamerTab
That was an excellent one.
Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
ChicRawIdol
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
dougdoepke
So who does impulsive thief and part-time mail carrier Joe Norson (Granger) entrust with the $30,000 he's just stolen? Why that well-known paragon of virtue, the friendly neighborhood barkeep, of course. Then, when the latter disappears, a lot richer, guess what-- Joe is surprised! Let's hope the baby his wife just delivered got her genes instead of his. Now Joe gets to chase after the money before either the cops or the crooks get him first. Frankly, my money's on the crooks who certainly know how to surprise us with a broken-down lounge singer (Hagen). But then this is Production Code 1950 with the sweetfaced Granger, so better bet on the kid.This is Dore Schary's MGM playing catch-up with post-war noir, and they've hired the best— director Anthony Mann. That means the New York street scene never looked grittier, nor the great stone canyons more threatening. And that car chase down empty city corridors looks downright science-fiction eerie. Too bad they've saddled Mann with boring cops and a bad guy (Craig) about as scary as a TV salesman. And was there ever an actress whose sheer sweetness could melt the screen faster than O'Donnell. Together with the artless Granger, Mann's tough-guy cynicism never stood a chance. The visuals tell one story; the characters another. This is hard-shell noir with the softest of cores, but will still keep you stapled to the screen.
Lechuguilla
Farley Granger dominates this urban crime drama about a man named Joe Norson, a down-on-his-luck mailman who happens on to a wad of cash, and impulsively steals it, not knowing that the money is connected to the murder of a well-known woman. Sensing his mistake, Joe tries to straighten out the situation, but does all the wrong things. In the process, he gets mixed up with thugs. It's Joe's choices that propel the plot.More than anything else, "Side Street" is a character study of Joe, described by the film's narrator as: "no hero, no criminal, just human like all of us, weak like some of us, foolish like most of us". He's basically a good guy. But he gets tempted. When he yields to the temptation to steal, his whole world unravels.As with 1940s noir crime dramas, all the characters in "Side Street" seem desperate, frightened, and unhappy. They're like rats in a maze. And the film's setting in lower Manhattan really accentuates that boxed in, trapped, claustrophobic feeling.The B&W cinematography is excellent. From wide shots to close-ups, from low-angle to very high-angle, the variety of camera shots keeps the visuals interesting. Overhead shots of Manhattan at the beginning are among the best I have seen for such an old movie. Lighting is noir-based, consistent with crime films of that era.My only complaint is that some of the secondary characters are a tad difficult to keep track of, a fault of the script. But a second viewing clears things up.Beautifully photographed on location in lower Manhattan with its maze of narrow side streets, "Side Street" is a well-made film with an interesting story about a regular guy, trapped in a literal maze between tall buildings and a thematic maze of difficult choices. Farley Granger gives a fine performance, as does Cathy O'Donnell, his long-suffering wife.
ccthemovieman-1
This is a pretty good film noir that, happily, was released recently on DVD, giving us fans of this genre another movie to enjoy. It had one of the best noir directors, too: Anthony Mann, who always makes sure we get some great visuals. This is no exception, with good angles, shadows and light and a great big-city feel of New York.Along the way, we get a not-untypical noirish tale of an basically-good guy who makes a dumb move and pays for his sins even after his conscience gets the best of him and he tries to atone. This winds up to be a story of a man chasing the real crooks, while the crooks and the police chase him! They still make films with these kind of plots and they are almost always interesting.Farley Granger does a fine job in the lead as the dupe, "Joe Norson," who is too weak to pass up easy money and pays for it. Cathy O'Donnell is his wife and gets second billing but she really doesn't have that big a role. A bunch of other actors really share "supporting cast" status as Granger rules the roost here, lines-wise. For me, it was strange seeing James Craig as the "heavy." I mainly know him from totally opposite, All-American characters in films like "The Human Comedy" and "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes." Here, he's a viscous thug.The city of New York might be the real second star of this film. There are many shots of it and its skyscrapers, from above and street level looking up. I love those old cars, too!
MARIO GAUCI
Superbly-handled noir, from one of its absolute masters; despite their reputation for wholesomeness, MGM were really into the groove during this time (one of the genre's finest and most influential offerings, John Huston's THE ASPHALT JUNGLE came from them the same year). Apart from reuniting the hounded young couple from Nicholas Ray's THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1948), Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell, the film also follows the 'story of a city' format laid down by Jules Dassin's THE NAKED CITY (1948).The narrative (written by genre expert Sydney Boehm) may be implausible at face value, but the snowballing of events – with the perplexed Granger at their centre – carries a genuine social resonance (though, thankfully, straying from sentimentality for the most part) and an undeniable charge of excitement (particularly towards the end, when the bodies start piling up and the police are closing in). O'Donnell's role doesn't allow her much range – though her instinctive appeal in the presence of the police for Granger to run away (with the camera suddenly zooming-in to her face) is beautifully done. Paul Kelly is the compassionate police captain on the case who also narrates the tale; one of his assistants is noir regular Charles McGraw.The rogues' gallery includes the thuggish James Craig (it was surprising to find the hero of THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER [1941] on the opposite side of the tracks), a corrupt lawyer, another lackey who conveniently uses his cab for kidnapping/body-disposal purposes and, of course, a couple of dames (Jean Hagen is a particular stand-out here: she was also in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, as a good girl this time). As I said, the climactic car chase along New York streets (shot on location) is terrific – though the ensuing happy ending feels tagged-on (MGM may have ultimately vetoed a downbeat finale) - if still leading to a memorable final shot.
