''Side Street'' is a 1950 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

starring

Farley Granger Farley Earle Granger Jr. (July 1, 1925 – March 27, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his two collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock: ''Rope'' in 1948 and '' Strangers on a Train'' in 1951. Granger was first noticed in a small ...

and

Cathy O'Donnell Cathy O'Donnell (born Ann Steely, July 6, 1923 – April 11, 1970) was an American actor who appeared in '' The Best Years of Our Lives,'' '' Ben-Hur,'' and films noir such as ''Detective Story'' and '' They Live by Night''. Early life O' ...

. Directed by

Anthony Mann Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor. Mann initially started as a theatre actor appearing in numerous stage productions. In 1937, he moved to Hollywood where ...

, the picture was filmed on location throughout New York City and culminated in one of the first modern car chases. Part of the story is set in the vicinity of the long-demolished

Third Avenue El The IRT Third Avenue Line, commonly known as the Third Avenue Elevated, Third Avenue El, or Bronx El, was an elevated railway in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City. Originally operated by the New York Elevated Railway, an independent railwa ...

, a favorite location of the films made in the city during that era. Granger and O’Donnell were paired for the second and last time; their earlier film was the noted noir '' They Live By Night'' (1948).

Plot

Joe Norson lives with his wife and her parents in New York City; he has lost his gas station job and found work as a part-time mail carrier. Because he wants the best for his expectant wife Ellen, Joe rationalizes stealing what he thinks is $200 from a lawyer's office on his route. He discovers that he's actually stolen $30,000 from Victor Backett, a corrupt attorney. Backett has framed wealthy broker/patsy Emil Lorrison in a sex scandal, then extorted the money from him with the help of Lucille "Lucky" Colner and ex-con and accomplice Georgie Garsell. From the start, Joe begins to panic. He explains his newfound wealth to Ellen as a lucrative out-of-town job, then disguises the money as a package and leaves it with bartender Nick Drumman. In the meantime, Lucille's body is found in the East River, strangled, and Captain Walter Anderson of the New York Police Department investigates the murder. Both Lorrison and Backett are interviewed, their names having been found in Lucille's "love diary." After the birth of his child, Joe decides to try to return his ill-gotten gain, but Backett suspects a trap and refuses the offer. Backett instead sends Garsell and a taxi driver to grab Joe and recover the cash. Joe is able to escape after they discover that Drumman has substituted a nightgown in the package and gone into hiding with the money. Joe looks for Drumman, but Garsell finds the bartender first, strangles him, and recovers the money. Joe confesses the original theft to Ellen, who urges him to turn himself in, but he finds himself a suspect in Drumman's murder. He tries to track down the source of the money to clear himself, even as Captain Anderson methodically pursues both men as suspects—Garsell for Lucille and Joe for Drumman. Joe locates Garsell's girlfriend, singer Harriet Sinton (

Jean Hagen Jean Hagen (born Jean Shirley Verhagen; August 3, 1923 – August 29, 1977) was an American actress best known for her role as Lina Lamont in ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting ...

), but she betrays him to Garsell. Garsell plans to murder Joe and strangles Harriet to eliminate her as a witness. Captain Anderson is hot on their heels and a chase ensues through the early morning streets of New York. Garsell's partner, the taxi driver, tries to surrender to the police, so Garsell shoots him and forces Joe to drive. Joe deliberately crashes the taxi to end the nightmare. Garsell climbs out of the wreckage and dies in an exchange of gunfire with the police. Ellen arrives, and finds Joe seriously but not mortally injured; she embraces him before the police load him into an ambulance.

Cast

as Joe Norson *

as Ellen Norson * James Craig as Georgie Garsell * Paul Kelly as Captain Walter Anderson *

as Harriet Sinton *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

as Emil Lorrison *

Edmon Ryan Edmon Ryan Mossbarger (June 5, 1905 — August 4, 1984), known professionally as Edmon Ryan, was an American theater, film, and television actor. A native of Cecilia, Kentucky, he was the son of Isham Edward Mossbarger (1864–1936) and Pearl Sh ...

as Victor Backett *

Charles McGraw Charles McGraw (born Charles Crisp Butters; May 10, 1914 – July 29, 1980) was an American stage, film and television actor whose career spanned more than three decades. Early life McGraw was born to Beatrice (née Crisp) and Francis P. B ...

as Stanley Simon, detective * Edwin Max as Nick Drumman *

Adele Jergens Adele Jergens (November 26, 1917 – November 22, 2002) was an American actress. Early life and career Born in Brooklyn, New York, as Adele Louisa Jurgens (some sources say Jurgenson), she rose to prominence in the late 1930s when she was named ...

as Lucille "Lucky" Colner *

Harry Bellaver Harry Bellaver (born Enricho Bellaver; February 12, 1905 – August 8, 1993) was an American stage, film and television actor who appeared in many roles from the 1930s through the 1980s. Early years Bellaver was born in Hillsboro, Illinois, the ...

as Larry Giff, cab driver *

Whit Bissell Whitner Nutting Bissell (October 25, 1909 – March 5, 1996) was an American character actor. Early life Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell and Helen Nutting Bissell. He was educated at the Allen-S ...

as Harold Simpsen, chief teller * John Gallaudet as Gus Heldon, bar owner * Esther Somers as Mrs. Malby, Ellen's mother *

Harry Antrim Harry Antrim (August 27, 1884 – January 18, 1967) was an American stage, film and television actor. Biography Antrim was born on August 27, 1884, in Chicago, Illinois. By 1906, he was working in vaudeville. During the early 1930s, he moved to ...

as Mr. Malby, Ellen's father *

Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in ''Life With Father'' (1939). He debuted in th ...

as the young man at the dry cleaner *

King Donovan King Donovan (January 25, 1918 – June 30, 1987) was an American film, stage, and television actor, as well as a film and television director. Early years Francis King Donovan was born in Manhattan on January 25, 1918. His parents were vaudev ...

as Detective Gottschalk * David Bauer as Smitty, the cab driver *

Anthony Dexter Anthony John Dexter (born Walter Reinhold Alfred Fleischmann, January 19, 1913 – March 27, 2001) was an American actor known for his striking resemblance to silent film hero Rudolph Valentino, whom he portrayed in the 1951 biographic '' Valent ...

as Radio Clerk (uncredited) *

Herb Vigran Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances. Early years Vigran was a native of Cin ...

as Photographer (uncredited)

Reception

According to MGM records, the film made $448,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $323,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss to the studio of $467,000.

Critical response

When the film was screened in New York City in 2006 as part of

Film Forum Film Forum is a nonprofit movie theater at 209 West Houston Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. It began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for independent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a $19,000 annual budget. Ka ...

's festival devoted to the "B Noir" films of the 1940s and 1950s, film critic Ed Gonzalez for ''Slant'' magazine, reviewed the film and found he liked the picture's '' mise en scène'' and screenplay, writing "''Side Street'' is a triumph of visual savvy and moral exactitude—-a scurrying spectacle of dog-cat-and-mouse throughout the veiny streets of New York City.

The Big Apple "The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sportswriter for the '' New York Morning Telegraph''. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by th ...

comes alive via a nervy mix of photojournalistic shots of people on the move and hieratic

ormal In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional univ ...

compositions that give the squeeze to Farley Granger's Joe Norson..." Critic Nathan Gelgud wrote in 2007 "Because it's an Anthony Mann movie, ''Side Street'' is similarly interested in detail, as well as great action sequences and even greater locations. The best stuff is inside a bar where Farley Granger leaves a bundle of stolen money. The scenes in the bar are the ones that come immediately to mind when you think of ''Side Street'' because the details are spot-on, and Mann constructs the place with the depth of the academy frame he’s so good at utilizing."Gelgud, Nathan
''New York Film Review'', "Scenes from a Bar", August 21, 2007. Accessed: August 2, 2013.

References

External links

* * * *

information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images) * {{Anthony Mann 1940s crime thriller films American crime thriller films American black-and-white films Film noir Films directed by Anthony Mann Films scored by Lennie Hayton Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films