These reviews have lots of bad things to say about Carradine in this, but for me, he really made the film.He is called bland here. One person says he acts like he doesn't know what he's doing in this.I believe this is the point. This is a guy who was a rock star and then hit the skids and is a bum. And he doesn't really realize why.And then he becomes embroiled as a witness to a race riot, is suspected of a killing, and is generally tossed about, and he reacts to all of this as a person who doesn't quite understand, and yet is driven by a desire to get revenge on those who are ill-using him.This is the last film by a legendary director who never rose above B movies, but injected a quirkiness of his own. This isn't his best, but it is mesmerizing. It certainly is a violent film, but it isn't mindless. See it when you are in the mood for ridiculous plotting exquisitely directed.

After having watched a few Fullers, I found this DVD. One must admit that it is partly a wonderful movie, with a feeling of film noir or is it a " blue film" since the lightning is always dark and bluish? On the other hand, the music sounds terrible to my hears, and Carradine's character as a rock star looks incoherent, it blocks all possibilities of identification and empathy. Some "adults" bits are quite acceptable esthetically, namely those which actually happen; however, Mikael's ( Carradine's) fantasies and remembrances about his video clip gave me the impression that I had unconsciously changed channels and was watching a bad quality X movie. I think the bum part of Carradine's role is convincing; the stance Fuller takes at riots and racial issues is more complex than in "China Gate". Ideological issues are difficult to assess since there is theatrical edge to the film, at some point it resembles a musical, which soothes a little the otherwise unbearable violence.

An unkempt bum (Keith Carradine) after witnessing a riot and getting hit in the process, wonders through the streets where he thinks back to his life when he was somebody. When he was a successful singer and bedded Celia (Valentina Vargas, who didn't need to speak to make her part in "The Name of the Rose" to make it highly memorable), a nightclub dancer with a mobster boyfriend. Samuel Fuller's swansong, is interesting, despite Carradine's horrid songs.Not the best Fuller film by a long shot, but still watchable.My Grade: C- DVD Extras: commentary with Keith Carridine; a 32 minute Behind the scenes featurette; Text interview; and Theatrical TrailerEye Candy: Valentina Vargas shows it all

OK, I've seen a few of Sam Fuller's films now, but I'm still not sure whether he's a veritable genius or just a complete crackpot. Street of No Return does little to clarify things. As others have pointed out, it's not a particularly good film, but it is classic Fuller, in that it attempts to deal with salient social issues with bombastic acting, lurid violence, and some seriously ham-fisted dialogue. But that's why people (myself included) can't get enough of Fuller's work: it's so preposterous yet sincere you can't help but love it. After forty years of directing, Fuller obstinately sticks to his thematic and stylistic guns, for better or worse. In particular the dialogue seems incredibly anachronistic, as though everyone in the film grew up watching Fuller's own Pickup on South Street or Underworld USA. Like Kinji Fukasaku's Triple Cross (92), Street of No Return is the work of an aging maverick director who, despite a complete lack of commercial and critical success, never wavered in his artistic convictions. And for those of us who may stumble upon their work years later, it makes their films all the more endearing. The fantoma DVD release comes with a 'making of' which is really just an excuse to film the bellicose yet lovable Fuller spouting off on (what else?) race, violence, and the good old days of street journalism, and is well worth the price of rental alone.