La Rue de la mort

**SPOILERS** Film that shows that even the most honest of us can get a little crazy when financial conditions warrant.

Part-time letter carrier Joe Norson, Farley Granger, has dreams about him and his wife living the life of luxury and traveling the world over in style. In reality Joe is down on his luck barely able to support himself with his job, as a part-time flexible, in the Post office much less his wife Ellen, Cathy O'Donnell, and a little one on the way. Delivering mail to attorney Victor Backett, Edmon Ryan, one morning Joe notices two $100.00 bills fall out of a folder from Backett's filing cabinet; all of a sudden a bell rang in Joe's head.

The next day Joe again delivering mail to Backett notices the office door opened and the place empty. Joe sees his chance to take the two hundred dollars in Backetts file cabinet and use it to pay for his wife and soon to be born child's medical expenses. Finding the cabinet locked Joe goes outside and see an ax, for the use if there's a fire, in the hallway and uses it to break into it and take the folder that he saw the money in the day before.

On an empty roof-top Joe, to his utter surprise, sees that the folder doesn't contain just the $200.00 that he thought was in it but $30,000.00 in cold hard cash. What Joe is soon to find out is that the money is a blackmail payment from Emil Lorrison, Paul Harvey, that Backett and his co-blackmailer "Big George" Garsell, James Craig, took from the other blackmailer working with them party girl "Lucky" Lucille Colner, Adele Jergens. It was "Lucky" Lucille who's body was found floating in the East River that morning.

Joe guilt-ridden at what he did tries to return the stolen cash but doesn't know quite just how without ending up behind bars for grand larceny. It's then that Joe gives the secretly wrapped-up cash to bar owner Gus Heldon, John Gallaudet, for safe keeping telling him that it's a gift for is wife Ellen. Joe later goes to see Backett to somehow get him to take his money back but Backett tells Joe he has no idea what he's talking about! The 30 grand is hot and unknowing to Joe can lead whoever has it straight to the electric chair for the murder of "Lucky" Lucille.

The move "Side Street" then takes on the form of a man on the run from both the hoods after him to not only get their money back but rub Joe out to keep him from talking to the police with the cop also looking for Joe as a suspect in the murder of barkeeper Gus who "Big George" tracked down and strangled in order to get the blackmail money back.

Joe needing proof that he had nothing to do with Gus' murder finds a photo of "Big George's" former girlfriend Harriette Sinton, Jean Hagen, in the stolen folder. Tracking Hrriette down to the Les Artisets nightclub, where she's working as a singer, Joe does his best to get her to open up about the "Big" man telling Harriette that he's a old friend of "Big George" and would like to know where he lives. Noticing Joe going through her purse as she went backstage to change Harriett, smelling a rat, calls "Big George" thus setting Joe up to be ambushed.

Exciting final as Joe is knocked out kidnapped and about to be deep-sixth in the East River by "Big George" and his partner taxi driver Larry Giff, Harry Belaver. There's a hair-raising ride through the Wall Street as well as the Washington Park section, that was later demolished to make way for the tragic World Trade Center complex, in downtown Manhattan with the cops hot on "Big George" and Larry's tail.

Joe who's sense of honesty almost cost him his life, and his young wife Ellen the loss of a sweet and caring husband and breadwinner, in the end not only becomes a father and future role model to his new born son but also a hero in the eyes of the people of New York City as well.

So who does impulsive thief and part-time mail carrier Joe Norson (Granger) entrust with the $30,000 he's just stolen? Why that well-known paragon of virtue, the friendly neighborhood barkeep, of course. Then, when the latter disappears, a lot richer, guess what-- Joe is surprised! Let's hope the baby his wife just delivered got her genes instead of his. Now Joe gets to chase after the money before either the cops or the crooks get him first. Frankly, my money's on the crooks who certainly know how to surprise us with a broken-down lounge singer (Hagen). But then this is Production Code 1950 with the sweetfaced Granger, so better bet on the kid.

This is Dore Schary's MGM playing catch-up with post-war noir, and they've hired the best— director Anthony Mann. That means the New York street scene never looked grittier, nor the great stone canyons more threatening. And that car chase down empty city corridors looks downright science-fiction eerie. Too bad they've saddled Mann with boring cops and a bad guy (Craig) about as scary as a TV salesman. And was there ever an actress whose sheer sweetness could melt the screen faster than O'Donnell. Together with the artless Granger, Mann's tough-guy cynicism never stood a chance. The visuals tell one story; the characters another. This is hard-shell noir with the softest of cores, but will still keep you stapled to the screen.

Plot holes aside and not having to mind watching Farley Granger floundering rather pathetically, this is one heck of a noir. Worth it just for the location shooting. Tremendous shots of 50s New York City, probably as good as any archive material and if the plot verges on the silliness, everybody gives it their all. Great performances from the leads to the lowliest support. Much of that must be down to Mann and whether it was decided to use so much location shooting because of the budget or not it is truly awe inspiring from those opening aerial shots, the fantastic market area and the amazing chase through the streets at the end. So, not the most attention grabbing plot but still great viewing.

It's always fun to watch Farley Granger sweat bullets over a screw-up. This time the part-time letter carrier stumbles upon a quick way to pick up a couple of hundred bucks so that his pregnant wife can have all the good things in life, namely a private room at the hospital. When he ends up with a bit more cash than he bargains for, he begins to behave every bit as stupidly and nonsensically as you would expect him to. Anthony Mann skillfully keeps the usual suspect noir elements in the mix. Jean Hagen plays the saloon singer who prefers to drink her meals at the improbable club Les Artistes. James Craig plays the big lug with a shady past and the police detectives including the frog throated Charles McGraw have plenty of colorful characters to question. But it's Farley Granger who keeps the ball rolling. You never know what dumb move he'll make next.

Tight plot, good acting, sustained suspense, but above all, terrific shots of NYC. We were given a tour of lower Manhattan, including Wall Street (where the movie ends), the City Hall area, Greenwich Village, and the Lower East Side. The photography was dark, gritty, and realistic, and we current and former New Yorkers are given a visual treat by Anthony Mann.