Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Alex da Silva Temporary mail-delivery man Farley Granger (Joe) steals some money from a crooked lawyer's office. He does this so that he can provide for his family - he has a baby due any day courtesy of Cathy O'Donnell (Ellen). This money will see them start family life in an affluent manner. However, he comes away with way more money than he anticipated and panics as to what to do with it. I'm afraid that he makes some ludicrous decisions and gets into a mess that puts his life in danger.When I say ludicrous decisions, here are a few examples - if you have a large some of money, do you keep it or give it to someone else to keep for you? Well, Farley takes the ludicrous option. Here's another, if you thought about returning the money you had stolen, what would you do? Once again, Farley goes ludicrous on the viewer. He does this a lot. Pair this with the extremely soppy O'Donnell who seems to over-emote at every opportunity and I'm afraid you have two pretty dumb lead characters who elicit no sympathy. These two also starred in "They Live By Night" (1948) which is about as good as this film, ie, not very good.So, to summarize we have a thieving temporary postman - still a stereotype for today's postal workers - who has no steady job but thinks this is a good position to be in to start a family- a role model for today's families who thrive on being on benefits and can't wait to irresponsibly have the next baby. The happy couple are incredibly stupid - O'Donnell is so drippy that I was urging Farley to take the money and just run away from her to start a new life. Watch to see what happens but you have been warned that this is over-rated.

seymourblack-1 "Side Street" begins with some impressive aerial shots of New York City and statistical information about its citizens that together signal an attempt to make this, a production that's as realistic as possible. As it continues, the presence of an authoritative voiceover narration and extensive use of location filming successfully ensure that the desired level of authenticity is achieved in a movie which ultimately displays many of the characteristics of a docu-noir. Its story about a young man who, in a moment of weakness, gives in to temptation and does something wrong which he can't subsequently put right is a typical film noir "downward spiral" plot which, as well as being gripping, exemplifies the futility of trying to struggle against the hand of fate.Joe Norson (Farley Granger) is a young man who's devoted to his pregnant wife Ellen (Cathy O'Donnell) and has ambitions to buy her a mink coat and take her to see some of Europe's great cities. This isn't possible however, because following a failed business venture and his inability to get a full-time job, the couple are actually poverty-stricken and live with his in-laws. One day his job as a part-time letter carrier takes Joe to the office of an attorney called Victor Backett (Edmon Ryan), where he sees $200 which has dropped on the floor and is deterred from following his natural instinct to pick it up. On a later occasion, when he calls to make a delivery to the same office, the opportunity presents itself for him to simply take the money from a filing cabinet and so he goes ahead and steals the cash.Joe immediately finds himself in a state of panic and becomes even more scared when he discovers that the sum he's stolen was actually $30,000. To make matters worse, Backett is no ordinary victim as the stolen money was actually the proceeds of a blackmail scheme that he'd carried out with the help of the beautiful Lucille Colner (Adele Jergens) who'd lured a wealthy businessman called Emil Lorrison (Paul Harvey) into a honey trap. In a state of desperation, Joe puts the stolen cash in a package which he leaves with a local bartender for safekeeping.In order to cover his tracks, Backett arranges for his accomplice George Garsell (James Craig) to kill Lucille and dump her body in the East River and after this is done, NYPD Captain Walter Anderson (Paul Kelly) takes charge of the investigation into the murder.Joe tries to relieve his anguish by visiting Backett at his office and confessing what he'd done. Backett suspects that Joe may be working with the police and so pretends that he doesn't know what Joe's talking about. Subsequently though, Backett sends Garsell and a taxi driver called Larry Giff (Harry Bellaver) to retrieve the money. When Garsell catches up with Joe, he learns that the bartender, Nick Drumman (Edwin Max) has absconded with the money and so both men then go separately in search of the guy who Joe had foolishly trusted. Joe's search for Drumman ends when he discovers his dead body in circumstances that put him in the frame for the dead man's murder. Now being pursued by both the criminals and the police, Joe tries to avoid coming to a sticky end by making his own investigations into how and from whom, Backett had originally acquired the stolen money.In "Side Street" the aerial shots of New York City emphasise how insignificant the struggling young couple are in their surroundings and also how trapped Joe is when he tries to escape the attentions of his pursuers. Similarly, because the indoor action takes place in very small rooms and shadowy staircases etc. the fact that Joe always seems to be physically hemmed-in, reflects perfectly the mental torment that he's experiencing and how impossible it seems for him to escape from his predicament.Reuniting Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell who'd worked together so successfully in "They Live By Night" (1948) must have seemed an irresistible prospect for both commercial and artistic reasons and they both turn in good performances in this movie which is tense, riveting and ends with an exciting car chase. The supporting cast is also above average and contribute some cameos that make a really strong impression.

LeonLouisRicci Despite MGM's insistence on a "Happy Ending" this Remains an Excellent Film-Noir because of the Talent Involved. Noir Favorites, Writer Sydney Bohm, Cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg, and Director Anthony Mann are all in Top Form.MGM was Late to the Noir Cycle and most of Their Attempts are Safe and Artificial Copies (but Not this One), mostly Hampered by a Paranoid Studio Worried about Their "Classy" Reputation, the Noir Format was an Antithesis. They Shuffled off the Cynical and Downbeat to a Sub-Group and Pretended Not to Look and only were involved with this Proletariat Stuff because of the Financial Success that WB and RKO had Managed. The Studio also Sensed that in the Post War Years a Harsh Reality were the Style of the Day.This is an Incredibly Intense Noir with Highlighted City Scenes Distorted and Geometrically Garnered by the Genre's Stylistic Display.It is Brutal at times and the there is a Gripping Sense of Doom that in Every Scene, even the Romance is Overwhelmed by the Guilt Driven Farley Granger despite the Reassurance by His Pregnant Wife that all is Well with the Couple's Financial Troubles.There are plenty of Characters of Note including James Craig as a Sadistic Thug that Likes Curtain Cords when available but Uses a Gun, His Fists just for Variety. Jean Hagen Also is Remarkable as a Nightclub Singer that Drinks Her Supper and is Hopelessly In Love with a Monster.Granger at times is a bit too Melodramatic and comes Close to Overacting and Gets on the Nerves, but that's Part of the Edgy "charm" in the Noir World of Claustrophobic Environs and Side Stepping to a "Side Street" of available Loot. He is Literally Caught in a Web of Concrete and Steel and cannot Escape the Venom of these Criminal Spiders.Overall, a Must See for Fans of Film-Noir and Anthony Mann, Crime Buffs, and Lovers of Gritty Realism and Surrealism that Combine to Make the Noirs Always a Notch Above the Standard Crime Movies.

dougdoepke So who does impulsive thief and part-time mail carrier Joe Norson (Granger) entrust with the $30,000 he's just stolen? Why that well-known paragon of virtue, the friendly neighborhood barkeep, of course. Then, when the latter disappears, a lot richer, guess what-- Joe is surprised! Let's hope the baby his wife just delivered got her genes instead of his. Now Joe gets to chase after the money before either the cops or the crooks get him first. Frankly, my money's on the crooks who certainly know how to surprise us with a broken-down lounge singer (Hagen). But then this is Production Code 1950 with the sweetfaced Granger, so better bet on the kid.This is Dore Schary's MGM playing catch-up with post-war noir, and they've hired the best— director Anthony Mann. That means the New York street scene never looked grittier, nor the great stone canyons more threatening. And that car chase down empty city corridors looks downright science-fiction eerie. Too bad they've saddled Mann with boring cops and a bad guy (Craig) about as scary as a TV salesman. And was there ever an actress whose sheer sweetness could melt the screen faster than O'Donnell. Together with the artless Granger, Mann's tough-guy cynicism never stood a chance. The visuals tell one story; the characters another. This is hard-shell noir with the softest of cores, but will still keep you stapled to the screen.