Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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.

Scott LeBrun You know you're in for a good time when the opening shots of this noir thriller are amazing helicopter shots high above NYC, showing you the city in all of its glory. And "Side Street" can go down in history books as a very fine NYC movie. Director Anthony Mann and story author / screenwriter Sydney Boehm make the city just as much of a character as any of the human actors in this gripping and believable tale.It's a tale with which many ordinary people can identify. Farley Granger plays Joe Norson, married to the lovely Ellen (Cathy O'Donnell) who has a baby on the way. Joe doesn't have many prospects, and works as a part time postman while they live with her parents. So it's understandable when, one day, he gives in to temptation and steals money from the office of shady lawyer Victor Backett (Edmon Ryan). The trouble is, he only wants a few hundred dollars, but makes off with $30,000 instead, and the money is tied to recently committed crimes. While the conscience-stricken Joe tries to return the money, and the criminals represented by Backett threaten him, an NYC police detective (Paul Kelly) works the case."Side Street" has the beautiful, moody lighting required of this genre (cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg), while telling this entertaining story in fine fashion and refraining from being completely predictable. The pacing is effective, too, as there are no digressions distracting from the central theme. There's time for both poignancy and humor, and we get a right on the money assessment of human nature at the end. Joe is no hero, but he's certainly no career criminal, and it's entirely possible to sympathize with him and root for him.Granger is appealing as our protagonist, and O'Donnell is absolutely adorable as his wife. Great character players such as Ryan and Kelly are supplemented by other solid actors: a stunning Jean Hagen, as a singer, Paul Harvey, Charles McGraw, Edwin Max, Harry Bellaver, and Whit Bissell (always nice to see him in anything) as a bank teller.Recommended viewing for any fan of film noir.Eight out of 10.

AaronCapenBanner Anthony Mann directed this film noir that stars Farley Granger as a struggling letter carrier with a pregnant wife(played by Cathy O'Donnell) who is worried about how he will support them on his salary. Fate intervenes when he is tempted to steal money from ruthless racketeers. He thinks its only a few hundred dollars, but turns out to be several thousands. Now guilt-stricken, he is also being pursued by the racketeers who want their money back, and will gladly kill him in the process. Well-directed and acted film effectively portrays the pitfalls of giving in to temptation and theft, which results in near-fatal consequences for Granger, who wishes he had never taken the money.

DKosty123 Anthony Mann who directed El Cid and The Glenn Miller Story guides us through a taunt crime drama here. It is his skilled direction that makes this one watchable. Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell are the main characters here with Granger carrying most of the load.Granger (Joe Norsen) steals $200 dollars and gets the opportunity to steal more. While thinking he will get one a few hundred dollars he is surprised to find he has $30,000 stolen. The stolen loot has to do with a murder.O'Donnell(Ellen Norsen) is going to have Joe's child but since he is not working she is making plans to support herself after the baby is born and save money. There are a lot of sub plots going on as the police know about the money and the murder and are hot on the trail of trying to find out about the murder.There is a Bank Teller in this one who looks very much like Richard Basehart though Richard is not credited in the film.