Side Street (1949)

Anthony Mann: Side Street (US 1949) with Farley Granger (Joe Norson) and Cathy O'Donnell (Ellen Norson).

La Rue de la mort / Farlig väg.

Anthony Mann

États-Unis / 1949 / 82 min / 35 mm / VOSTF

d'après une histoire de Sydney Boehm

Avec Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, James Craig.

Not released in Finland.

Sous-titres français on print by Mme ... Unat.

Rétrospective Anthony Mann

Viewed at La Cinémathèque française, Salle Georges Franju, 51 Rue de Bercy, 75012 Paris, M° Bercy Lignes 14, 6, le 10 avril 2024

La Cinémathèque française : " Un futur père dérobe de l'argent dans le bureau d'un avocat véreux et se retrouve coincé entre la police et les truands. Une intrigue serrée, un suspense soutenu et des prises de vue des rues de Manhattan à couper le souffle, pour une course-poursuite finale sensationnelle. "

AA: The last in Anthony Mann's series of contemporary crime films before turning mostly to Westerns for the next decade.

Clearly inspired by Nicholas Ray's They Live by Night, not only by the casting of Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell, the film it resembles most in Mann's earlier work is Desperate because of the balancing of the crime story with scenes of married happiness. 

Scenes of young love are more memorable than scenes of crime. Photographed by Joseph Ruttenberg, the close-ups and two-shots of the young lovers are warm and tender, and Side Street is Mann's most passionate love story so far. 

Granger and O'Donnell have great chemistry, and they provide the finest performances in Mann's 1940s movies. Starting with this movie, Mann's films would have great casts and engaging performances. Side Street was Granger's only role for Mann. O'Donnell returned to accept the female lead in Mann's last film with James Stewart, The Man from Laramie. 

Among the cast I'm also happy to discover two stars as hard-boiled underworld women. There is an early performance by Jean Hagen as Harriet Sinton who sings Cole Porter's "Easy To Love". Lucille Corner whose "love diary" is crucial to the plot is played by Adele Jergens. The gangsters murder both women, to be disposed to East River.

Having just seen He Walked by Night tonight, the two films strike me as opposites. He Walked by Night is a tale of a super professional criminal, a lone master burglar. Side Street is a story of a complete amateur, blundering every which way. Only opportunity makes him a thief. 

Joe Norson (Granger) is a poor postman who think he is stealing 300 dollars but instead gets a catch of 30.000, and instantly gangsters are on his trail. The police cannot help realizing that Joe is no career criminal. Joe will be guided back to the narrow trail by the police, his wife Ellen (O'Donnell) and their commitment to their newborn baby.

As a crime film, Side Street is a police procedural and a city film, with fascinating semi-documentary passages shot on location from a wide variety of angles, including aerial and other high angle shots. Also from this viewpoint He Walked by Night (a Los Angeles film) and Side Street (a New York film) provide a rewarding double bill.

Like He Walked by Night, Side Street has hallmarks of film noir. It is a great chase story and an engrossing thriller, but there is no existential dread nor revelation of unspeakable evil. For me, Side Street is relevant to film noir but not actual noir.

The visual quality is excellent in this print that looks like it has been struck from a source close to the negative.