The House Across the Street

I do not know if this would be considered a classic, but it is a nice little film starring Wayne Morris, who by the late 1940's was not seen in too many starring roles in Hollywood. Morris gives a good performance as a newspaper man trying to expose criminal kingpin Bruce Bennett as a murderer. Good pacing, simple script with some fine witty dialogue. I saw this movie during a cold and blustery snowstorm. This is the kind of film that used to grace our late late movies. I sure could use more of this kind of entertainment on tv in the wee hours of morning instead of so many infomercials. Check this one out if it is ever on. It's worth a watch.

MM

A police detective bungles a stakeout, resulting in the murder of a key witness against a crime boss (Bruce Bennett). Against the advice of his skittish publisher, a managing editor (blond bruiser Wayne Morris) launches a hard-hitting campaign against police incompetence. When Bennett, escorted by mouthpiece and torpedo, rattles his sabres, the publisher puts Morris on the Bewildered Hearts column as punishment. And lo and behold, that's where the case gets solved.

A problem brought by a lovelorn gal, about an incident involving her drunken boyfriend in a mob-owned nightclub, raises red flags. Morris and his sob-sister girlfriend (Janis Paige) start pursuing the story, despite kicks in the shins, threats from guns and almost being run down by a careening black sedan. It turns out that a snapshot taken by the club's roving photographer conceals incriminating evidence....

The House Across the Street stays a fairly generic crime programmer, even down to its attempts at comic and romantic relief. Luckily, the story stays reasonably tight, centering on why and where the boyfriend vanished that dimly remembered night. Its biggest puzzle is its title: The House Across the Street refers to the residence being staked out at the movie's beginning; it's no more than the wick that kindles the plot.

A routine B level remake of the Paul Muni film "Hi, Nellie", "The House Across the Street" offers adequate entertainment for people addicted to vintage crime dramas. Wayne Morris plays Dave Joslin, the crusading managing editor of a newspaper. He's printed one too many stories criticizing the police force and vilifying crime kingpin Matthew Keever (Bruce Bennett), so his boss (Alan Hale Sr.) demotes him to working the advice column section. A dejected Dave quickly sees a way in which doing this thankless job can lead to a real break in terms of actually proving Keever of any wrongdoing - in a roundabout way, of course.

Some folks might consider this "noir", but it's more of a straightforward crime picture with a heavy accent on comedy. Not that the comedy isn't pretty funny, as Dave is a rather obnoxious, sexist guy who constantly spars with would-be girlfriend Kit Williams (an adorable Janis Paige), who was previously toiling on the advice column. Kit would much rather be covering stories of substance, and is often there following leads when Dave is otherwise busy.

You won't get a lot of stark atmosphere, or much physical violence, or much gunplay here, but the story is reasonably entertaining, and as I said, some of the humor works fairly well. The strong supporting cast also includes James Mitchell as a henchman, Barbara Bates as a "bad girl", James Holden as a hard-luck young working stiff, Phyllis Coates as a camera girl, and Billy Gray, Charles Lane, Lila Leeds, Doreen McCann, and Ray Walker as well.

Overall the picture is unmemorable, but it's fast-paced & quick and rather snappy: in other words, a decent B movie from this era.

Six out of 10.

Managing Editor Wayne Morris is trying to get the goods on gangster Bruce Bennett, but it's all speculation, and Bennett's lawyer is getting nasty about it. Morris won't lay off, and Morris can't be fired, so publisher Alan Hale demotes him to the paper's Miss Lonelyhearts, bumping Janis Paige back to features. Morris doesn't give up, and finds a lead, putting him and Miss Paige into danger.

Morris gives one of those performances that seems all declaratory, but Miss Paige is cute as a button. But her roles were unsatisfactory, so she gave up the movies a couple of years later and became a Broadway star. She's still around as I write this at the age of 101.

A police detective is watching a house across the street. A postman comes upon the house. After awhile, the real postman shows up. The man across the street is a witness against racketeer Matthew Keever and has been murdered by the fake postman. Manager editor Dave Joslin (Wayne Morris) writes several editorials criticizing the police. Keever threatens the paper and Joslin gets demoted to an advice column. Assisted by Kit Williams (Janis Paige), Joslin continues his investigation.

A stuntwoman has a nice stunt. This is the lesser genre of comedy-noir. It's a B-movie. The comedy is lame. I don't think comedy is a natural fit for this genre. That goes for the lead character as well. He's a bit of a Bubba which doesn't fit the role of a hardnosed newspaper man. I'm not laughing. Kit is a good girl Friday and her character has the nice stunt. It's not more than seventy minutes which is part of the B-movie production. It does mean that this movie doesn't spend the money on an action thriller ending and it rushes the wrap-up. It's a B-movie.