L'affaire de la 99ème rue

Think Kansas City Confidential - and you'll known where this hot potato is a-comin' from.

Terse, twisty, and more than a bit brutal, with performances from both main and secondary characters that are never short of excellent, 99 River Street is a real treat for hard-boiled Noir fans. This 'B' was an unknown quantity to me and gave me a real pleasant-as-cold-beer-on-a-hot-Sunday surprise. The plot turns and twists like a rattlesnake on ketamine, while the host of slimy villains oozing their way through the deitrus of the Dark City - when not force-feeding puppies! - reflect an ocean of corruption and moral decay. Even Payne is a very flawed hero, wrestling with wife-beating rage, and lashing out even at those who try to care for him. Stand-outs include Brad Dexter as a sleaze-ball crook, even more cunning than the homicidal private eye he played in Asphalt Jungle; and Jack Lambert, brilliantly playing the Dum-Dum psycho as always, as in The Killers, TheEnforcer.

99 River Street - 'B' Movie Hell, Pulp Noir Heaven!

John Payne and Evelyn Keyes head for "99 River Street" in this film noir directed by Phil Karlson, and a very good one it is. Payne plays Ernie Driscoll, a washed up fighter who now drives a cab and has to take insults from his pretty, actress wannabe wife Pauline (Peggy Castle) who coulda been a contender if she hadn't married him. It turns out that she has a crooked boyfriend, Victor Rawlins (Brad Dexter) who is planning to get $50,000 from some diamonds and run away with her. When the fence refuses to deal with Rawlins because there's a woman with him, Rawlins kills Pauline and puts her body in Ernie's cab! Ernie's got to clear himself, and a friend at the cab company (Frank Faylen) and an aspiring actress friend (Evelyn Keyes) are there to help.

There are a very neat twists in this very atmospheric, gritty noir, which doesn't hold back on the violence. John Payne obviously loved this genre, or else he wanted to work against his clean-cut leading man image of the '40s. Here he looks like a fighter who's taken a lot of punches, and he does a great job as a basically good guy who's been dealt some bad cards and is angry about it. You're really pulling for him. Evelyn Keyes is wonderful as his friend, and her seduction act in a bar is one of the best scenes in the film. Frank Faylen, of course, is always likable - this is about six years before he became Dobie Gillis' father. Brad Dexter is excellent as a ruthless gangster.

Recommended, particularly if you like the genre.

99 River Street is directed by Phil Karlson and adapted to screenplay by Robert Smith from a story by George Zuckerman. It stars John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen, Jay Adler, Eddie Waller and Peggie Castle. Music is by Arthur Lange and Emil Newman and cinematography by Franz Planer.

After sustaining a serious eye injury, boxer Ernie Driscoll (Payne) has had to retire from the ring and now drives a cab for a living. Constantly chided by his beautiful wife, Pauline (Castle), for being a failure, Ernie is close to breaking point when he finds that she is having an affair with a charismatic jewel thief. So when Pauline turns up dead in the back of Ernie's cab, he's obviously the chief suspect. But along with actress friend Linda James (Keyes), he attempts to unravel the mystery that is threatening to destroy his life.

Tough as old boots, 99 River Street is the kind of unsung film noir crying out to be discovered by more like minded cinephiles. Though short of expressionistic verve, which was never Karlson's thing anyway, all the elements for a nitty-gritty noir are in place. New York forms the backdrop as a city of broken dreams, shattered illusions, a place frequented by unfaithful spouses, shifty fences, violent thieves and theatrical luvvies so far removed from the real post war world it would be funny were it no so sad! Smack bang in the middle of this tainted Americana is Ernie Driscoll, basically a good guy, but when pushed into a corner emotionally or physically, he strikes out in the only way he knows how, with his fists.

As Karlson blurs the lines between the theatrical world and that of the real one, deftly essayed by Ernie and Linda, the director is clearly enjoying having such colourful characters to work with. Payne's tough guy anti-hero, Keyes' savvy heroine, Adler's unerringly menacing fence, Dexter's oily villain and Castle's disgustingly selfish wife. Throw in some thugs, persistent coppers and humane counterpoints portrayed by Faylen and Waller, and it's a nicely simmering broth of bad news, sexual suggestion and off-kilter redemption's. Violence is rife, and it's not the sort of staged violence that reeks of fake scents, this stuff hits hard, something which Karlson was always very adept at.

The director also introduces some striking filming techniques to pump the picture with an edgy frankness. The opening sequence featuring Ernie's last fight is wonderfully staged, low angles and close ups put the sweat and pain front and centre, it's a smart set-up for when the story comes full circle at film's punchy finale. Another sequence features a panic stricken Linda begging Ernie for his help with something, the camera sticks rigidly to her, this also is a delightful set-up that has a sting in the tail. There's mirror images dropped in, scene echoes that mean something of note, one of which sees Karlson film a shot dead centre through the spread legs of Castle. So cheeky, and what a pair of legs as well!

An unsung noir full of unsung actors (Payne is excellent) and directed with cunning absorption, 99 River Street is a must see. 8/10

The story for '99 River Street' sounded great. Have always liked films with this kind of story and the genre it fits under. Phil Karlson is not one of my favourite directors and there is plenty more of his work to see, but what has been seen has impressed me ('Gunman's Walk' being one of his best). Know John Payne better from much lighter fare and musicals, and he was generally watchable. Did worry though as to whether the role here would suit him and whether he would have enough presence in it.

My worries quickly evaporated very soon into my viewing of '99 River Street'. It may not be lavish in budget, it is not that type of film, but never does it look cheap (quite the opposite) and it is far from modest in how it approached its subject. '99 River Street' does see Payne excelling in tougher roles and shows that he did indeed have the presence needed for his role here. It is to me one of Karlson's best, up there with 'Gunman's Walk'. To me, this was an extremely good film in almost every way.

Let down only, though this is nit-picky and not that distracting, by it ending a little too neatly.

'99 River Street' on the other hand looks pretty darn good for modest budget. Found the photography to be incredibly stylish and full of atmosphere and there was nothing phony-looking about the sets. The lighting is also suitably eerie. Karlson's direction is always confident and tight yet controlled, keeping things moving at a strong pace and not letting the suspense slip. The music didn't come over as over-scored or too low-key and was haunting when necessary.

Furthermore, '99 River Street' benefits further from a lean and intelligent script that doesn't hold back while having some slyness too. The story is gritty, tough and the latter stages are genuinely suspenseful. Some may talk about suspension of disbelief but to me that wasn't a problem (nothing insulted my intelligence or annoyed me), with the story being so absorbing and atmospheric, with memorable scenes such as the climax and in the theatre. The subject is a hard-boiled one executed with edge. The characters did engage me and came over as real.

Payne is a charismatic and thoroughly committed lead and plays a hard-hitting role with edge, charm and intensity without being too dour. Evelyn Keyes is a no-nonsense and lively match for him and Brad Dexter's ruthlessness is quite chilling. Jack Lambert is also memorable, all the acting works.

In short, great film and deserving of more exposure. 9/10

This might be Phil Karlson's tightest, most satisfying film.

John Payne and Evelyn Keyes play it in the best pulp tradition, with Keyes especially enjoyable in a couple of marvelous set-pieces, one in an empty theater and the other a greasy-spoon diner where she really vamps it up with Brad Dexter. Too bad Keyes dropped out of pictures in the mid-50s.