La nuit désespérée

George Raft and director Edwin Marin made several films together: JOHNNY ANGEL, INTERIGUE; NOCTURNE and this very one, which is for me the best of them all, also showing William Bendix in an unusual cop character. Bendix should have made more films like this one, he had the face and charisma for it. This crime noir is excellent for me, a pretty exciting RKO feature which I watch regularely with great pleasure. Fast paced, not too long, the ending is also in the line of the story and far better than other movies from this era; Good directing and camera work emphasize the power of this story. I recommend it;

George Raft plays Gannin, a bookie who is, despite this, basically an honest guy. His pal, Hal (Harry Morgan) approaches him to say that some mobsters want in on his own bookmaking business. Well, these creeps turn out to mean business and when Hal refuses to cooperate, they murder him in a very vivid and brutal scene (one of the best in the film). Naturally, Gannin isn't happy but things are about to get rough for him as well, as the mobsters soon approach him as well. Now he could work with the detective (William Bendix) to expose these rats but, naturally, Gannin only likes to handle things alone. Does he possibly stand a chance?! Well, since it's George Raft, you certainly assume so!

This film turned out to be a lot better than I expected. No, George Raft was just as stiff and unbelievable as he usually was in films. However, the plot offered some nice twists and kept me guessing. Plus the ending came as a HUGE surprise to me! Well worth seeing...almost deserving an 8...but not quite making it due to Raft's very ordinary sort of performance.

Ironically, later Harry Morgan would play Bill Gannon on "Dragnet"...the show that helped make him a household name.

George Raft is said to have turned down more than one role that ended up making someone else's career. Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon," for example. Yet the movies he did choose are for the most part flat and predictable.

I like him as a tough guy. He does it well. "Race Street" is strictly routine. He won't pay protection money, with predictable results.

Harry Morgan is excellent in a fairly small role. William Bendix, who always turned in a fine performance, is very good as a cop. And Marilyn Maxwell is the femme fatale.

She's OK. But her performance is unexciting. We neither hate her nor feel sorry for her. Maxwell essentially executes a plot contrivance.

In San Francisco, bookie Dan Gannin (George Raft) quits the racket and opens a nightclub. He offers his pal Hal Towers (Harry Morgan) a piece of the club to get out as well but Hal turns him down. Then thugs murder Hal by throwing him down a flight of stairs. Dan goes searching for the killers.

The stairs may be the best part of the movie especially when the thugs take Dan back to the place where they killed his friend. It's the best scene. I hoped for more San Francisco street scenes. Those street scenes have a vibrancy that is missing from much of the movie. Raft does a workmanlike job but he doesn't shine like a movie star. The story doesn't pop with the exception of certain scenes. All in all, it's a functional crime noir thriller.

From 1948, Race Street, starring George Raft and directed by Edwin L. Marin.

Slower moving than an iceberg with two tuneless musical numbers to boot.

Raft plays bookie Dan Gannin, who is leaving the racket and has opened his own nightclub featuring his sister (Gale Robbins). When his buddy (Harry Morgan) is killed after refusing mob protection, Dan goes after the killers. This doesn't sit well with Runson (William Bendix) a cop and friend, who feels Dan is putting himself in danger.

Race Street has no zip, no pace, and the plot just meanders along. It seemed as if the same scenes were repeated over and over - Runson asking Dan if he had any info, Gannin's friends discussing the problem, Gannin being threatened.

Marilyn Maxwell as a brunette is Gannin's girlfriend. Charles Lane, who died at 102, is a switchboard operator - his last credit was in 1995 after a 65-year career. Jason Robards Sr. Is uncredited as a hotel clerk. Frank Faylen plays a bad guy.

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