Os Dois Lados da Vida

Italian or American, I really don't care. Sidney Salkow seemed to have been involved in this co production, and thrillers or crime dramas were not his speciality at all. Here, anyway, this is a James Cain or James Hadley Chase like exciting drama, with many twists, a riveting and taut, sharp as a knife story. I know, this is not that new in terms of story but nearly every character here is more or less nasty, I mean no one is really a good one. I have always craved for such plots. And, I repeat, for once Sidney Salkow directs a thriller, it is a must see. But in his career, he will provide many adventure yarns and westerns too.

"La strada buia" is a rare italian and american coproduction in typical noir movie with an incredible number of flashbacks, when you watch the movie, you think it's endless. And for this coproduction, there are two directors, Girolami maybe for the italian team and Salkow maybe for directing the beautiful but not too wellknown Janis Paige who had played 2 noirs directed by Richard L Bare, "This side of the law" and "The house across the street". Janis Paige had a wonderful and hypnotizing face in these noirs, pity she didn't became a noir icon female. And she still has a wonderful face these last years, 97 in a few days.