La Rue des pécheresses

I saw this film in a late night slot many years ago on BBC television and it left a lasting impression. It was obviously made on a very tight budget, with next to no location shooting, but included a very telling performance from George Montgomery, one of his best in my opinion. Reading Ms Lott's account/synopsis, however, has thrown me a bit, as it's not how I remember the film. However, I must stress it was a long time ago when I viewed it! The action was, as I recall, almost all set during the night hours when policeman Montgomery walked his beat, the so called Street Of Sinners. Persoff was the local badman at the heart of the troubled area. George was on friendly terms with the ladies of the night, whilst also striving to reform the local youngsters.I remember one great scene where our hero walked into a bar and slammed his night stick baton on the bar and closed down the joint. Sadly, this underrated little picture has never been shown again on UK television. I shall continue to hope that it will one day be released on DVD.

If you can get past the stereotyping, clichés, cheesy dialogue, and the fiery jazz soundtrack with screeching brass, you will probably enjoy this as a solid B movie. It started out typical, but it progressed into a formidable sociological statement. It is entertaining!

It's clear the entire cast wanted this project to succeed. For that reason, I categorize this as an ensemble. Some actors shine; some do not. But my gut instinct tells me the entire crew was so happy to be working that they decided to give it their all. And it shows.

I rate this film a 7 because of the production, which includes the director. It's typical Hollywood, but that's what makes it fun. Not for those who can't handle dated films.

Novice cop George Montgomery starts his beat on a street uptown. Bar owner Nehemiah Persoff controls the neighborhood of drunks and delinquents. He and Montgomery tangle, and when Geraldine Brooks jumps off the ledge of her apartment while Montgomery and her ex-husband are present, Montgomery is suspended.

It's a fast-paced little programmer, and Persoff is terrific as the guy who came out of the gutter and didn't travel far. It's well produced on a cheap budget, but like most of Montgomery's vehicles in this period, it was designed to make a profit without doing much for anyone's career.

Inner-City Youths Boxed in to a Few Streets with 1 Beat-Cop to Deal With, When the Current "Look-the-Other-Way" Type Retires...

Hard-Nosed, By-the-Rules "Rookie" George Montgomery Takes Over and Things Get Out of Hand Fast.

Gritty Stuff on "Sinner-Street" with Seemingly "No-Way-Out", especially when the Local Bar-Hang-Out is Pushing Drinks on Minors and then Pushing the Girls "Down-Town" for "Modeling" Jobs (yea sure).

Montgomery is a One-Man Reformer Bucking the Locals with the "Old-Man' who runs the Bar, the Girls, and Everything Else with Tentacles Everywhere to Keep Things Running "Above the Law".

Phillip Yordan Adds some Character Development, and these are a Bunch of "Loser" Characters...

One Young Alcoholic Divorcee is so "Out-of-It" She is Cracked Wide-Open, Burns a Steak and Biscuits and Takes a Dive Off Her Tenement Building Ledge.

One Young Lady Goes from a Bar-Fly Flirting with the "Boss" (His Favorite), Sent-Packing "Downtown" in a Heartbeat.

Some Over-Acting and the Confines of the Limitations of "Sinner Street" Hold the Thing Back from any Broad Appeal or Significance,

but the Low-Budget Cast, some Taut Dialog, and Piled on Melodrama Help Make it More than it Should Be, and is...

Worth a Watch.

A cop on the beat, looking after the goings on for a street assigned to him, is a rather quaint notion, but given life by straight-shooter George Montgomery in this dated but entertaining B-movie.

It's loaded with stereotypes and cliche plot twists, but the cast does a fine job making it eminently watchable. Nehemiah Persoff is terrific as a truly good bad guy -in fact, his self-serving statements on how he holds the street together and is worthy of running things is far more convincing than George's bull-in-a-china-shop approach as an unbending, old-hat cop who insists on playing everything by the book.

It's a revelation to see young Geraldine Brooks as a sexy drunk with the proverbial heart of gold. As the young teen lead Marilee Earle is a striking and forceful beautiful brunette -I was surprised to see that her career went nowhere in a hurry.