"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.
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.