Asesinato en el muelle

The story for '99 River Street' sounded great. Have always liked films with this kind of story and the genre it fits under. Phil Karlson is not one of my favourite directors and there is plenty more of his work to see, but what has been seen has impressed me ('Gunman's Walk' being one of his best). Know John Payne better from much lighter fare and musicals, and he was generally watchable. Did worry though as to whether the role here would suit him and whether he would have enough presence in it.

My worries quickly evaporated very soon into my viewing of '99 River Street'. It may not be lavish in budget, it is not that type of film, but never does it look cheap (quite the opposite) and it is far from modest in how it approached its subject. '99 River Street' does see Payne excelling in tougher roles and shows that he did indeed have the presence needed for his role here. It is to me one of Karlson's best, up there with 'Gunman's Walk'. To me, this was an extremely good film in almost every way.

Let down only, though this is nit-picky and not that distracting, by it ending a little too neatly.

'99 River Street' on the other hand looks pretty darn good for modest budget. Found the photography to be incredibly stylish and full of atmosphere and there was nothing phony-looking about the sets. The lighting is also suitably eerie. Karlson's direction is always confident and tight yet controlled, keeping things moving at a strong pace and not letting the suspense slip. The music didn't come over as over-scored or too low-key and was haunting when necessary.

Furthermore, '99 River Street' benefits further from a lean and intelligent script that doesn't hold back while having some slyness too. The story is gritty, tough and the latter stages are genuinely suspenseful. Some may talk about suspension of disbelief but to me that wasn't a problem (nothing insulted my intelligence or annoyed me), with the story being so absorbing and atmospheric, with memorable scenes such as the climax and in the theatre. The subject is a hard-boiled one executed with edge. The characters did engage me and came over as real.

Payne is a charismatic and thoroughly committed lead and plays a hard-hitting role with edge, charm and intensity without being too dour. Evelyn Keyes is a no-nonsense and lively match for him and Brad Dexter's ruthlessness is quite chilling. Jack Lambert is also memorable, all the acting works.

In short, great film and deserving of more exposure. 9/10

As in the the previous year's Kansas City Confidential, John Payne is a most put-upon protagonist. Directed by KC Confidential's Phil Karlson, and photographed in gorgeous black and white, alternately harsh and painterly, by Franz Planer, this one has Payne as a washed up prizefighter who must avenge his worthless wife's murder, not because he cared particularly for her but because he is (falsely) implicated in it. Payne has to take on a good number of unsavory characters, and proves himself if nothing else still a most able man with his fists. There's a nice feeling for fifties urban night life in this one, of a less than high class style. Karlson shows an almost Fritz Langian feeling for the traps people fall into, personal and criminal, and like Lang doesn't go much for self-pity. In the Karlson scheme of things guys get framed for things they didn't do every day, affluent crooks wear expensive overcoats and take cruises fairly regularly, while working stiffs get the wrong end of the stick every time. It takes a tough man to survive in this universe. Payne is not only tough he's so resolute and bad tempered as to make the real bad guys look like the respectable businessmen they claim to be. It's Payne Against the World in this one. Or Pain Against the World, as the character Payne plays seems to suffer as much from internal anguish as anything the villains of the piece cook up for him.

This is definitive film noir where the hero must prove he isn't guilty of a crime and has to deal with the thugs out to frame him and a woman who gets him into more trouble than he ever expected.

JOHN PAYNE excels as the scowling fighter who has a couple of really well-staged fight scenes with JACK LAMBERT and BRAD DEXTER, outside the ring and in the dark underworld of crime and passion.

The surprise of this low-budget thriller is EVELYN KEYES as an ambitious actress who gets Payne unknowingly involved in her attempt to land a Broadway role wherein she plays a nasty trick on him. Then, to make up for her rash behavior and poor judgment, she sticks by him when he needs a witness to prove he didn't murder his wife, played with relish by PEGGY CASTLE.

Under Phil Karlson's direction, it's all wildly unpredictable with enough sub-plots and twists to make it engrossing from start to finish. Payne was after meatier roles after leaving Fox in all of those pretty boy roles and musicals, establishing a new persona as a tough film noir hero, rugged and ready for the fight. He's excellent and so are the other players.

Keyes reveals raw acting talent of astonishing intensity, especially in the key scene where she plays a theatrical trick on him--and the viewer.

As usual, an actor who once played leading roles at Fox, GLENN LANGAN, is wasted in a minor role. FRANK FAYLEN gives his usual reliable performance as Payne's taxi driver friend.

Well worth watching if you're a film noir fan and don't mind a gritty tale that doesn't pull its punches.

Poor Ernie. He takes a beating in the boxing ring, and then even a bigger one from two heartless women. You can just feel his smoldering emotion about to explode like a hand grenade on that theatre stage. All those theatre types rushing around patting themselves on the back, while he stands there, the disbelieving dupe.

As the luckless boxer turned cabbie turned fall guy, Payne's great. The anguish all over his cracked face. So how's he going to get back his self-respect when he keeps getting the short end of the stick. Now he's up for a murder rap unless he can track down the slippery Rawlins (Dexter), which doesn't get any easier especially after the cagey slickster puts a bullet hole in him. Rarely have I seen a movie where the lead takes such a beating.

But what can he expect when he's got that silken tramp Peggie Castle (Pauline) for a wife. Who could trust her around any man. Too bad actress Castle died so young; she was so good in these heartless roles. Then there's Eveline Keyes as Linda who can't seem to decide which side of the fence she's on. At least as an actress Keyes could give a graduate course in how to over-act, judging from the movie's first half.

This is a typical Phil Karlson film—you can feel the characters' pain even if it is up there on the movie screen. At times, Karlson's close-ups are a stunning portrait of agony. It's noir, for sure, even if the focus is more on character than shadowy atmosphere, though there's still a lot of the latter. At times the plot gets a little confusing, but that's okay since Ernie's supposed to be up against dark forces he can barely distinguish. Anyway, it's first-rate thick- ear, showing why Karlson's considered a master of crime drama that makes us not just see but feel as well.