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.

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.

"Side Street" is a decent example of film noir. It has a VERY tough villain, cool cops and a generally decent plot. The only thing that keeps it from being among the better films of the genre is its main character--played by Farley Granger. The problem is that this guy is too weak and too difficult to like--and it's hard to have a guy like this supporting a gritty film.The film begins with some nasty people blackmailing some rich guy. In the next scene, the lady accomplice is found dead--and it seems that the guy working with her NEVER leaves a living witness. However, a mailman (Granger) just happens upon the loot and he steals it. The villain has no idea who took the money and it's only when Granger tries to return it does he realize who he is--and, as I said, he hates to leave witnesses. Can the dope, Granger, manage to somehow come out of this alive? The best thing about the movie is the villain. He's cold, evil and brutal--and seeing him killing some of his victims is quite shocking--even today. In one scene, he kisses his girlfriend--and you see his hands slip around her throat and she's choked to death! Tough guy, that's for sure. However, the very strong and chilling nature of this guy is a HUGE contrast with Granger--who too often comes off as a bit of a weenie! Still, it's well worth seeing and won't disappoint.

Side Street is directed by Anthony Mann and written by Sydney Boehm. It stars Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, James Craig, Jean Hagen, Paul Kelly, Paul Harvey, Edmon Ryan and Charles McGraw. Music is by Lennie Hayton (original) and Cole Porter (non original), and cinematography is by Joseph Ruttenberg.Joe Norson (Granger) is desperate for a full time job so he can support his pregnant wife Ellen (O'Donnell). Ever since he lost the filling station he invested in, Joe has struggled to get on top of things. Working part time as a mail carrier, Joe is tempted to steal what he thinks is $200 dollars from a lawyers office he delivered to earlier on his rounds. However, when he gets time to examine his plunder he finds there is in fact $30,000. This is merely the start of his problems, for the money is crooked and sure to be sorely missed by some very tough people. As he frets on how to get out of this mess, the police and the bad guys begin to draw ever closer.After the winning chemistry that arose out of Granger and O'Donnell's previous pairing for They Live By Night in 1948 (Nicholas Ray), it was no surprise to see them team up again for another slice of noirish pie. With Anthony Mann in the directing chair, having already established himself with the likes of T-Men and Raw Deal, and a decent budget in place, Side Street was in good hands. While although master cinematographer John Alton wasn't available, 4 time Oscar winner Joseph Ruttenberg was no small fry himself. Shooting in and around real New York locations, Mann and Ruttenberg give the film a real sense of authenticity, yes the plot takes some stretching of the imagination, but visually the picture is most appealing to the film noir fan. Be it aerial shots of the maze like Lower Manhattan setting or the shadowy flecked interiors that cloak the characters, Side Street showcases some strengths of director and photographer alike.Certainly inferior to They Live By Night, and only mid tier of the noir pictures helmed by Mann, Side Street none the less still functions real well as a taut story that features a classic noir protagonist seemingly doomed by his actions. Even though Joe Norson is wimpy, idiotic even, the narrative spins him into a sequence of events that make for some riveting sweaty panic, and sweaty panic is something that Granger does considerably well here. There's no great fleshing out of the romance between husband and wife, because Joe is on the run around mostly, so O'Donnell is more of a secondary character, but we do feel the love and this helps considerably for the last quarter of the film.It does at times feel like a hammer is tapping us on the forehead with its "Crime Doesn't Pay" morality, however, the bursts of violence bite hard and with Mann adroit in his action construction (a high speed car pursuit in the finale is top draw), film manages to rise above its flaws to entertain fully. In support it's Kelly (narrating and head investigative copper), Ryan (cagey lawyer) and Hagen (torch singer who likes a drink) who leave the best marks, while McGraw, arguably miscast as a good guy, is still good value for a gruff voiced presence. It does feel like an illegitimate second cousin to The Naked City, and a touch more claustrophobia wouldn't have gone amiss on the atmospheric front, but Side Street is a comfortable recommendation to the crime/film noir fan. 7/10