O Segredo da Casa 248

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 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.

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

From a literal standpoint the title for this film seems somewhat irrelevant, since the house across the street only involves the opening sequence. But from a figurative viewpoint, the title is apt, indicating that most urban Americans don't really know much about what is going on across the street from where they live, crime, murder, shakedowns, and such. Across the street could be across the nation.

Dave Joslin (Wayne Morris) is the managing editor for the local newspaper, involved in attacking a crime syndicate running the city headed by boss Keever (Bruce Bennett). When a key witnessed is murdered by Keever's hit-man right in front of a stakeout, Joslin writes a scathing editorial about the ineffectiveness of the police department in handling the mob. Joslin's boss, J.B. Grennell (Alan Hale, Sr.), running scared, orders Joslin to back off. When Joslin refuses, J.B. reassigns him to the Bewildered Hearts office replacing Joslin's lady love, Kit Williams (Janis Paige), who is much obliged to be reassigned. (One wonders if this flick wasn't the basis for the early television sitcom starring Peter Lawford and Marcia Henderson, "Dear Phoebe," where the advice columnist is a man.) While doing his duties as advice to the lovelorn columnist, Joslin stumbles onto a situation that is connected to the mob hit. He and Kit begin a merry chase that leads them into dark corners, near-death escapes, and lots of other fun and mayhem before pulling all the loose ends together.

Wayne Morris is always a joy to watch. Janis Paige doesn't get to sing and dance, but does get to turn in a good performance as assistant sleuth. The rest of the cast is great, especially James Mitchell as Marty Bremer. "The House Across the Street" is basically a comedy-thriller, giving the audience a fair run for its money.