''Sidewalk Stories'' is a 1989 American low-budget, nearly silent movie directed by and starring Charles Lane. The black-and-white film tells the story of a young African American man raising a small child after her father is murdered. The film is somewhat reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's 1921 feature '' The Kid''. The film was televised by PBS as well as saw limited exposure on VHS and cable television in the 1990s. In October 2014, ''Sidewalk Stories'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Plot summary

Cast

* Charles Lane - The Artist * Tom Alpern - Bookseller *

Darnell Williams Darnell Williams (born 3 March 1955) is a British-born soap opera actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Jesse Hubbard on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children'' from 1981 to 1988, and from 2008 to 2011, a role which has earned him two D ...

- The Father * Nicole Alysia - Child * Edwin Anthony - Penny Pincher 1 * Michael Baskin - Doorman/Cop * Jeff Bates - Police Officer 2 * Angel Cappellino - Bully's Mother * Jeffrey Carpentier - Homeless Native American * John Carr - S.O.B. Man * Vince Castelano - Child Customer 3 * Jimmy Clohessy - Precinct Cop 2 *

Robert Clohessy Robert Clohessy (born June 10, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Correctional Officer Sean Murphy on the HBO prison drama '' Oz'' from seasons 3–6, in addition to playing Officer Patrick Flaherty on the NBC police pro ...

- Alley Tough 1 * Sandye Wilson- Girlfriend * Deena Engle - Park Mother 1 *

Ellia English Ellia English is an American singer, dancer, stage and film actress. She is best known for her role as Aunt Helen King on the comedy sitcom '' The Jamie Foxx Show'' which originally ran from 1996 to 2001, where she was featured in a central role ...

- Bag Lady *

Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), and Nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime series '' Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015). She also ...

- Woman in Carriage * Trula Hoosier - Mother

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gives the film a rating of 79% from 42 reviews. The consensus summarizes: "''Sidewalk Stories'' sweetness is somewhat undermined by the movie's broad approach, but it remains a comedy with heart -- and something to say."

References

External links

* * * * *
''Los Angeles Times'' review of ''Sidewalk Stories''

''New York Times'' review of ''Sidewalk Stories''

''Sidewalk Stories'' soundtrack (with audio samples) at Soundtrack.net
American silent feature films Films based on short fiction 1989 directorial debut films American black-and-white films Films directed by Charles Lane (filmmaker) 1980s American films {{1980s-drama-film-stub