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The Naked Street (1955)

*** (out of 4)

Gangster Phil Regal (Anthony Quinn) finds out that his younger sister Rosalie (Anne Bancroft) is pregnant by criminal Nicky Bradna (Farley Granger) who just happens to be at Sing Sing and on death row. Regal manages to scare the witnesses who change their testimony and Nicky is released but soon the gangster regrets what he did. THE NAKED STREET seems to have mostly negative reviews and while I can admit that the film has some major flaws, the cast is simply so great that it's impossible not to get caught up in everything going on and in the end I really enjoyed the picture. There's no question that the story itself is pretty far-fetched in the way the gangster is able to pull a man off death row and it's even more far-fetched when you come to the climax of everything. I won't spoil what happens but the logic behind it is set at a zero. Another problem is that the sister character was really poorly written and her dumbness really gets annoying after a while. I mean, her brother is a big time gangster yet she never realized how he gave her everything with having a "real" job? The morals of her character also goes back and forth as the film moves along, which is another problem. Outside of those things I thought the film was entertaining. Quinn is wonderful as the tough gangster who isn't afraid to push people around to get what he wants. For 1955 his performance is pretty raw and rough and it really reminded me of the stuff we used to see from the pre-code Warner gangster pics of the early 1930s. Granger is also very believable as the lover boy who simply got caught up in a bad crime. Even though her character is weak, Bancroft at least delivers a fine performance as does Peter Graves who plays a reporter. I also really liked how the Quinn character worries about his sister being pregnant, unmarried and what this would make her look like. The moral worries of a gangster was an interesting touch and it's handled in a rather raw fashion, which certainly wasn't normal for this era. THE NAKED STREET has some issues but for the most part it's worth watching.

For such a low-budget, unknown film, "The Naked Street" has an abundance of riches in the casting department. Ok, so maybe Anne Bancroft wasn't well known, but Farley Granger certainly was. And Anthony Quinn had already won an Oscar, for pete's sake!

Quinn is the best thing about this movie, playing a gangster who manipulates the system to spring a death-row inmate out of prison. Why? Because he knocked up Quinn's sister (that would be Bancroft) and Quinn doesn't want his nephew being born out of wedlock. Whew, racy stuff for 1955. So Granger and Bancroft marry, he makes a lousy husband (no surprise there), and the baby dies in childbirth. Now there's no conceivable reason for Granger and Bancroft to stay married, so Quinn frames Granger for murder so that he'll be put back on death row, since he never liked the punk in the first place.

This is pretty hilarious on paper, and could have made for a juicy movie. But it mostly falls flat. It's mildly diverting, but it doesn't come near its potential given the out-there premise.

Peter Graves also stars as a journalist who has it in for Quinn and the hots for Bancroft.

Grade: B.

This film is a film noir wannabe and just doesn't quite make it. The plot, a mobster (Quinn) who holds his family as a icon of decency, discovers his sister (Bancroft) is "jammed up" by a local neighborhood playboy (Granger) who is on death row for murder. Bringing his influence to bear, the gangster gets the playboy a new trail and his freedom so he can marry his sister. But, the playboy can't stand it and gets caught by the hood stepping out on his wife. So, the gangster sets his roving brother-in-law up to be framed for murder. But, as his playboy son-in-law tells him, "I didn't kill this guy but I did kill the first one..." and the cops use him to chase the hood to his death while his mother is bringing him a bottle of seltzer water to have with his weekly dinner with her.

Film buffs will enjoy seeing the younger Quinn in scowling action as well as Granger and Bancroft in their younger days. The acting is solid, the storyline somewhat pedestrian and there's no video or DVD. You'll have to catch on the late show.

Anthony Quinn stars in "The Naked Street," a 1955 film with Farley Granger, Anne Bancroft, and Peter Graves.

Quinn plays a gangster, Phil Regal, whose sister Rosalie (Bancroft) is pregnant and unmarried. Nowadays, this would be a cause for celebration. Back then, it was a scandal. The father is Nicky Bradna (Granger) who is at the moment on death row for killing a liquor store owner while he was stealing his money.

Regal is a wonderful son to his mother (Else Baeck) and a protective brother, but he's basically involved in lots of illegal activities.

Phil wants Nicky to marry Rosalie, so he drops bundles of cash in the right places. Suddenly the witnesses have second thoughts about what they saw and the DA is willing to give him another trial. Soon he's out, married to Rosalie, and driving a truck, which is not what he wanted to do. But big brother insisted.

It doesn't take Nicky long to start acting up - he and Rosalie suffer a tragedy, he doesn't like his job, and Regal wants him out of the way.

Pretty good noir, and Anthony Quinn does a wonderful job showing us the human being beneath the tough gangster. Anne Bancroft is very young, but excellent in her part, and Farley Granger does well as the loser husband.

"The Naked Street" is a derivative story, so it's not particularly special, but it is worth a look.

There are some Fight Scenes that Lend a bit of Roughness to the Proceedings and a few Scenes that have an Edge, but this is another Example of just how the Fifties Filtered and Weakened Film-Noir.

Elements Remain from the Golden Age of the Genre but its Decline is Evident as Things became Glossy, Obvious, and Preachy. One Thing this one does Bring to the Table is the Out of Wedlock Pregnancy that is Dealt with Head-On.

However, the Voice Over Narration No Longer is Ominous or Layered with Defeatism. Now it is just Matter of Fact Police Procedural or in this Film a Journalist just Stating the Facts.

Some Strong Acting is Evident from Anthony Quinn and Anne Bancroft with some Good Turns by Supporting Players, but Peter Graves and Farley Granger seem Miscast. Overall, Worth a Watch to See the Decline of Film-Noir and for an Interesting but mostly Implausible Story about the Underworld.