Anthony Mann's Side Street, another Farley Granger noir, is about a young man who steals money with the best of intentions, only to see his one transgression turn into an avalanche of ever-constricting situations.
Granger is Joe Norson, a part-time letter carrier in New York with a pregnant wife at home. Delivering to a law office, Joe sees a couple of hundred-dollar bills fall to the floor. The dropper gives young Joe a glare and tells him to beat it. A day or so later, Joe notices that the office is temporarily vacant. He busts open a nearby file cabinet and retrieves wads of cash. It's more than the $200 he thought he was going to snag - it's more than $30,000. Only it's not exactly clean money.
Returning to the scene to give back the money doesn't work (the bad guys think he may be trying to lure them to the cops). And when people connected with the law office start getting themselves strangled, Joe finds himself neck deep in some serious problems. Can he get out of New York? What will become of his wife Ellen (Cathy O'Donnell) and their newborn? Why are the cops involved, anyway? A solid supporting cast helps: James Craig, Paul Harvey, Jean Hagen (as a sultry lounge singer), Adele Jurgens (as a blackmailer). Not people on whom you'd want to turn your back, even if they were holding an infant and a puppy. They'd probably throw both at you, anyway, then shoot all three of you.
The best comes last, a harrowing car chase around New York; a cab pursued by the cops. That the cab is also carrying a newly dead person, right there in the back seat, makes the ride all the more terrifying. And because this is a noir film, chances are pretty good it won't end well for most of the characters. Side Street is an excellent example of a film noir, with the usual stark photography, dismal tone, sense of hopelessness, and not-exactly-benign characters.
Granger is Joe Norson, a part-time letter carrier in New York with a pregnant wife at home. Delivering to a law office, Joe sees a couple of hundred-dollar bills fall to the floor. The dropper gives young Joe a glare and tells him to beat it. A day or so later, Joe notices that the office is temporarily vacant. He busts open a nearby file cabinet and retrieves wads of cash. It's more than the $200 he thought he was going to snag - it's more than $30,000. Only it's not exactly clean money.
Returning to the scene to give back the money doesn't work (the bad guys think he may be trying to lure them to the cops). And when people connected with the law office start getting themselves strangled, Joe finds himself neck deep in some serious problems. Can he get out of New York? What will become of his wife Ellen (Cathy O'Donnell) and their newborn? Why are the cops involved, anyway? A solid supporting cast helps: James Craig, Paul Harvey, Jean Hagen (as a sultry lounge singer), Adele Jurgens (as a blackmailer). Not people on whom you'd want to turn your back, even if they were holding an infant and a puppy. They'd probably throw both at you, anyway, then shoot all three of you.
The best comes last, a harrowing car chase around New York; a cab pursued by the cops. That the cab is also carrying a newly dead person, right there in the back seat, makes the ride all the more terrifying. And because this is a noir film, chances are pretty good it won't end well for most of the characters. Side Street is an excellent example of a film noir, with the usual stark photography, dismal tone, sense of hopelessness, and not-exactly-benign characters.