Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell, upon the success of They Live by Night, were paired together again in this quick and taut film noir. Postman Farley delivers mail to a office building and, when delivering to one office in particular, sees money lying around and getting accidentally dropped on the floor (more money than he's seen in one place.) On his modest income and with dreams to fulfill and his wife and future baby to support, he gets it in his head to break in later and steal the money. Little does he realize, until he gets it home, that the hundreds of dollars he thought it was, was really $30,000.00. Due to his conscience bothering him and thinking it wise not to have it in the apartment, he asks a friend, who's a bartender, to hold it for him. Then, things get sticky.
Farley Granger is an adequate actor and nice to look at, and his character is very likable. So the viewer is interested in what happens to him. His kissing scenes with Cathy are appropriately passionate for the newlyweds. Character and 'b' picture actor Charles McGraw is a minor villain, but James Craig is on hand as the "main bad guy," who plays it somewhat convincingly. But somehow I get the feeling he was too nice a guy in real life, to really project nastiness, as what may be called for in such a role. By the way, he too is incredibly easy on the eyes.
Director Anthony Mann effectively sweeps the viewer into Farley's world by creating the mood and heating up the intensity, and you'll walk away from this very satisfied and very entertained. But, a lot of that comes from a character introduced about an hour into it. A good actor, a professional actor with some acting chops, you can spot from the moment you set eyes on them, because they know how to walk, how to say their lines in such a way to make them their own, and is in control of everything at all times. I say actor to include all people, but the subject in question is Jean Hagen, who plays James Craig's girlfriend. The moment you see her she captures you. You know she knows what she's doing. She's got it all in control. This movie may not have a reputation as an essential to film noir. I don't know. But it should. If for no other reason, than director Mann's way of telling a story and Jean Hagen's performance, which has to be one of her best in films. "Side Street" tells a story of a path taken in life, may be right, may be wrong, but it's a detour that leads to one of life's lessons.
Farley Granger is an adequate actor and nice to look at, and his character is very likable. So the viewer is interested in what happens to him. His kissing scenes with Cathy are appropriately passionate for the newlyweds. Character and 'b' picture actor Charles McGraw is a minor villain, but James Craig is on hand as the "main bad guy," who plays it somewhat convincingly. But somehow I get the feeling he was too nice a guy in real life, to really project nastiness, as what may be called for in such a role. By the way, he too is incredibly easy on the eyes.
Director Anthony Mann effectively sweeps the viewer into Farley's world by creating the mood and heating up the intensity, and you'll walk away from this very satisfied and very entertained. But, a lot of that comes from a character introduced about an hour into it. A good actor, a professional actor with some acting chops, you can spot from the moment you set eyes on them, because they know how to walk, how to say their lines in such a way to make them their own, and is in control of everything at all times. I say actor to include all people, but the subject in question is Jean Hagen, who plays James Craig's girlfriend. The moment you see her she captures you. You know she knows what she's doing. She's got it all in control. This movie may not have a reputation as an essential to film noir. I don't know. But it should. If for no other reason, than director Mann's way of telling a story and Jean Hagen's performance, which has to be one of her best in films. "Side Street" tells a story of a path taken in life, may be right, may be wrong, but it's a detour that leads to one of life's lessons.