La via della morte

This is a pretty good film noir that, happily, was released recently on DVD, giving us fans of this genre another movie to enjoy. It had one of the best noir directors, too: Anthony Mann, who always makes sure we get some great visuals. This is no exception, with good angles, shadows and light and a great big-city feel of New York.

Along the way, we get a not-untypical noirish tale of an basically-good guy who makes a dumb move and pays for his sins even after his conscience gets the best of him and he tries to atone. This winds up to be a story of a man chasing the real crooks, while the crooks and the police chase him! They still make films with these kind of plots and they are almost always interesting.

Farley Granger does a fine job in the lead as the dupe, "Joe Norson," who is too weak to pass up easy money and pays for it. Cathy O'Donnell is his wife and gets second billing but she really doesn't have that big a role. A bunch of other actors really share "supporting cast" status as Granger rules the roost here, lines-wise. For me, it was strange seeing James Craig as the "heavy." I mainly know him from totally opposite, All-American characters in films like "The Human Comedy" and "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes." Here, he's a viscous thug.

The city of New York might be the real second star of this film. There are many shots of it and its skyscrapers, from above and street level looking up. I love those old cars, too!

"Side Street" is a stylish, if convoluted murder mystery about a failed small-time business man (Joe Norson) who is tempted into committing a robbery. Unfortunately the money he takes belongs to a couple of ruthless blackmailers, who aren't impressed when Joe offers to return it - mainly because the "friend" he left it with for safe-keeping helped himself to it. From then on, everything Joe tries gets him deeper into trouble.

Over-long and over-complicated, but competently made and in best film noir style makes good use of light and shade. Conveys well the general seediness and desperation of small-timers trying to make the big time in New York.

Very watchable, not least for Jean Hagen as the vamp who sets the guys up.

Farley Granger dominates this urban crime drama about a man named Joe Norson, a down-on-his-luck mailman who happens on to a wad of cash, and impulsively steals it, not knowing that the money is connected to the murder of a well-known woman. Sensing his mistake, Joe tries to straighten out the situation, but does all the wrong things. In the process, he gets mixed up with thugs. It's Joe's choices that propel the plot.

More than anything else, "Side Street" is a character study of Joe, described by the film's narrator as: "no hero, no criminal, just human like all of us, weak like some of us, foolish like most of us". He's basically a good guy. But he gets tempted. When he yields to the temptation to steal, his whole world unravels.

As with 1940s noir crime dramas, all the characters in "Side Street" seem desperate, frightened, and unhappy. They're like rats in a maze. And the film's setting in lower Manhattan really accentuates that boxed in, trapped, claustrophobic feeling.

The B&W cinematography is excellent. From wide shots to close-ups, from low-angle to very high-angle, the variety of camera shots keeps the visuals interesting. Overhead shots of Manhattan at the beginning are among the best I have seen for such an old movie. Lighting is noir-based, consistent with crime films of that era.

My only complaint is that some of the secondary characters are a tad difficult to keep track of, a fault of the script. But a second viewing clears things up.

Beautifully photographed on location in lower Manhattan with its maze of narrow side streets, "Side Street" is a well-made film with an interesting story about a regular guy, trapped in a literal maze between tall buildings and a thematic maze of difficult choices. Farley Granger gives a fine performance, as does Cathy O'Donnell, his long-suffering wife.

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.

**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.