This is as good an example as any of how you can get a cast to die for, a first-rate screenwriter adapting a best-selling novel and a first-rank director and still wind up with something that's ho hum at best. Lt's talk about that cast; James Mason in his fourth Hollywood movie following a rise to the top in England, Barbara Stanwyck, at the peak of her game, Van Heflin rapidly establishing himself as a leading man after making his name on Broadway in The Philadelphia Story, Ava Gardner, showing she could turn in a half- decent acting job despite being drop-dead gorgeous, Cyd Charisse, not yet the great dancer but a more than competent ingenue, Gale Sondegaard, in a rare sympathetic role but unconvincing only as someone old enough to be Stanwyck's mother and William Conrad still fluctuating between heavy and hero. Put all these against a lush New York background and decide whether we're talking melodrama or crime thriller. That, unfortunately, is a choice ducked by all hands but it's still worth watching for that standout cast.

It's hard to know whether one should feel envy or pity for Brandon Bourne, the character that James Mason portrays so effectively in 1949's "East Side, West Side." Married to wealthy socialite Jessie (Barbara Stanwyck, giving her all here, as she always did), living in a posh duplex apartment overlooking the East River, and the copartner in an upscale investment firm, "Bran" certainly does seem to have it all. Unfortunately for him, however, he also suffers from a peculiar sickness, and her name is Isabel Lorrison. A year before the events depicted in the film, Bran's affair with Isabel had almost caused his marriage to unravel. But now, Isabel has returned to New York again, and Bran is starting to experience...well, let's just call them "symptoms"; understandable enough, seeing that Isabel is played by Ava Gardner, who at the time was at the very peak of her sex goddess phase! Ava would soon be dubbed the "world's sexiest animal," and seeing her effortlessly seduce Bran in this film, one is not inclined to dispute that appellation! Indeed, with the possible exception of her performance in "The Killers" (1946), I have never seen Ava give such a blatantly sexual performance; almost worth the price of admission alone!Besides those three wonderful actors, "East Side, West Side" gives us Van Heflin, extremely ingratiating here as Jessie's new friend, Mark Dwyer; Cyd Charisse, playing another new friend of Jessie's and doing what might be thought of as the Joan Leslie "nice girl" role (sadly, Cyd's surpreme dancing skills are not on display in this picture); the great Gale Sondergaard as Jessie's shrewder-than-expected society mother; Nancy Davis (Reagan) as one of Jessie's older gal pals (she's actually pretty darn good in her two scenes with Babs); William "Cannon" Conrad as a police detective; and William "Fred Mertz" Frawley as a bartender. They make for a terrific cast, and director Mervyn LeRoy elicits excellent performances from each and every one of them. This, of course, should not come as too great a surprise, one when considers the performances that LeRoy had previously obtained for films such as "Little Caesar," "I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang" (one of my personal favorites), "Gold Diggers of 1933," "Waterloo Bridge" and "Random Harvest." To this film's credit, all the performers are so very good that no one can be said to "steal" the show; they are all uniformly fine, resulting in a surprisingly effective, handsome-looking picture.The film also features a sparkling script and any number of wonderfully dramatic scenes, the ones in which Isabel seduces Bran in her apartment, Jessie confronts Isabel about her affair with Bran, and Mark gets into a fistfight with a blond Amazon being especial standouts. And then, right around the 3/4 mark, comes the startling homicide of one of the main characters, pushing "East Side, West Side" into even darker, more sinister waters. But perhaps I've already said too much. This film is a fairly serious drama, for all its soap opera trimmings, and those viewers expecting a standard Hollywood-type happy ending for all characters concerned might be a tad surprised at how things ultimately unreel. And, oh: Manhattan residents should see the film at their own risk. I guarantee that no matter how nice their apartment might be, it will surely pall besides the one that the Bournes reside in....

Whoever said this "isn't a great film" doesn't enjoy film noir and romance nearly as much as I do. And I can also guess you've never waited up all night worrying about a husband or lover.... pacing the floor, wondering what you are doing wrong, praying he or she is not having an affair --worrying yourself in to a state of illness. I have. And many of my friends have. This movie illustrated so well the multi-dimensional facets of our human characters. I don't think there was a bad guy here --there were people trying to make their relationships work, falling in love, falling out of love, being weak, being strong, having regrets, and having hope....... being very human. I really loved it. I highly recommend it.These actors are four of the finest of their day, and with good reason. Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Ava Gardner, and the ever-underrated Van Heflin --wow! It's set in the heart of NYC AND directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Seriously, what a recipe for success! If you get the chance, watch and enjoy "East Side, West Side". You'll be glad you did.

Lush big-city melodrama from MGM, with what looks surprisingly like some on-location shooting, where highfalutin Barbara Stanwyck and James Mason's marriage is threatened by an impossibly gorgeous, impossibly evil Ava Gardner, while Mason flirts mildly with Cyd Charisse, who's hooked up with Van Heflin, who's increasingly intrigued by Stanwyck. Screenwriter Isobel Lennart was usually good for some smart dialog, and she's reliably industrious here, though there's no truth at the center of these doings: People just don't fall in and out of love as quickly as they do here, and the plotting takes some very improbable turns, such as Charisse's gallant and uncomplaining exit from Heflin's life, Heflin's solving of a murder, and Mason's inability to escape Gardner's clutches. On second thought, that's not that improbable: She's lust incarnate, and there are some intriguing intimations of a sadomasochistic relationship between them. Believable it's not, but it's very entertaining, with smooth Mervyn LeRoy direction, sumptuous gowns, and a swanky sort of pseudo-sophistication that no major-studio movie today would even attempt. I never knew what was going to happen next, and kept right on watching, till 2 a.m.