''Side Street'' is a 1929 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

film featuring the only screen teaming of all three Moore Brothers ( Tom,

Owen Owen may refer to: People and fictional characters * Owen (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Places United States * Owen, Missouri, a ghost town * Owen, Wisconsin * Owen County, Indiana ...

, and

Matt Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

), each of them major silent film stars.

George Raft George Raft (né Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembe ...

also makes an uncredited appearance as a professional dancer — which Raft was at the time — dancing to the song "Take a Look at Her Now", sung by June Clyde. ''Side Street'' was directed by Malcolm St. Clair with a screenplay by George O'Hara and Jane Murfin, based on a story by St. Clair, which was adapted by John Russell.

Plot

The film chronicles the exploits of three Irish brothers. Jimmy is a cop, John is an emergency room doctor, and Dennis, as far as his family is aware of, is a very wealthy businessman, even having paid for John to go to medical school. Their parents, Nora and Tom, are very proud of all three sons. Jimmy is promoted on the police force, and begins the investigation of a murder involving the infamous Muller gang. As this crime drama unfolds, the viewer is introduced to Dennis's other life. In reality he is a powerful racketeer and bootlegger, but he keeps his two personas separate in order to protect his family from any consequences of his criminal activity. However, eventually Jimmy's fiancé, Kathleen Doyle, attends a party thrown by Muller at one of his houses. During the party, she inadvertently learns that Silk is a killer hired by Muller, who was responsible for the murder her fiancé is investigating. Meanwhile, John goes out on an emergency call to care for a man who has been injured in a drunken brawl. While he is treating the injured man, he accidentally discovers that Muller is none other than his brother, Dennis. When Kathleen meets Jimmy and tells him about her discovery, unbeknownst to them, she is overheard by one of Muller's gang, who then plots with the other gang members to ambush and kill Jimmy. On Thanksgiving, Dennis realizes his cover has been blown, and he realizes his brother, Jimmy, is in danger. He and John rush off to warn Jimmy, but as they arrive at the ambush, Dennis saves his brother, but gets shot by his own men instead. He dies in the arms of both of his brothers, who later tell their parents that he has gone off on another one of his mysterious journeys, perhaps this time for good.Dwyer, 1996 p. 215: Filmography, film synopsis.

Cast

* Tom Moore - Jimmy O'Farrell *

Owen Moore Owen Moore (12 December 1886 – 9 June 1939) was an Irish people, Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937. Early life and career Moore was born in Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland. A ...

- Dennis O'Farrell * Matt Moore - John O'Farrell *

Emma Dunn Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English actress. After starting her acting career on stage in London, she became known for her works in numerous films and Broadway productions. Career Emma Dunn appeared onstage in ...

- Mrs. Nora O'Farrell * Katherine Perry - Kathleen Doyle * Frank Sheridan - Mr. Tom O'Farrell *

Charles Byer Charles Byer (February 28, 1893 – November 28, 1953) was an American film actor of the silent era.Babington & Barr p. 133 He appeared in films for a variety of companies including Fox Film, Fox, Paramount Pictures, Paramount, Tiffany Pictures, T ...

- Maxse Kimball *

Arthur Housman Arthur Housman (October 10, 1889 – April 8, 1942) was an American actor in films during both the silent film era and the Golden Age of Hollywood. Career Arthur Housman was one of the first screen comedians known to the public by name, and on ...

- Henchman Silk Ruffo *

Mildred Harris Mildred Harris (November 29, 1901 – July 20, 1944) was an American stage, film, and vaudeville actress during the early part of the 20th century. She began her career in the film industry as a child actress at age 10. She was also the first w ...

- Bunny * Walter MacNamara - Patrick Doyle *

- Georgie Ames, the dancer (uncredited) * June Clyde - Judy, the singer (uncredited)

Film preservation and other notes

''Side Street'', which survives in its entirety, is George Raft's oldest surviving movie. His first movie, '' Queen of the Night Clubs'', is a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

(only a small excerpt survives); and his second movie, '' Gold Diggers of Broadway'', is also a lost film (only 2 out of 10 reels survive). Mildred Harris had been a silent film star, as well as being the ex-wife of

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

. The film is known as ''The Three Brothers'' in Great Britain, and as ''L'Ultimo Viaggio'' in Italy.

Notes

References

*Dwyer, Ruth Anne. 1996. ''Malcolm St. Clair: His Films, 1915-194''8. '' The Scarecrow Press,'' Lantham, Md., London.

External links