BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

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.

sdave7596 "Side Street" released in 1950, is an excellent thriller from director Anthony Mann. Farley Granger plays an average working guy who hauls around a mail-bag to make a living. While delivering mail one day, he picks up some money lying around in an office -- well, actually be breaks into the file drawer to get it. Thinking he has only taken a small amount of money, it turns out to be several hundred thousand. This sets off a wild chain of events, with Granger conflicted about what to do. The money is tempting, as his wife (Cathy O'Donnell) is in the hospital having a baby. However, Granger doesn't realize who the money belongs to. The film gets quite complicated and edgy, with murder and a spectacular car chase thrown in at the end. The New York City locations are great fun to watch, and the wonderful black and white cinematography has Anthony Mann's stamp all over it. There are some fine supporting performances, notably from James Craig, playing a ruthless thug, and Jean Hagen has a great part as a boozy bar singer. Cathy O'Donnell isn't given much to do here except look worried. However, this is Farley Granger's show, and he does not disappoint. It's a shame Granger never got the recognition he deserved. Perhaps he just wasn't offered more great parts or maybe he was too good-looking to be taken seriously. Either way, this is a fine film, a true example of the noir films coming out of Hollywood in the late 1940's and early 1950's.

GManfred Can't tell you how much I enjoy Film Noir movies. And just when I think I've seen all the good ones, I find a sleeper like "Side Street". I almost passed on it because Farley Granger was not one of my favorites - I always found him too wishy-washy and sappy, that whatever fate befell him in his films served him right.And so, I was not expecting the taut script and character development that ensued, although I should have; the Director was Anthony Mann and 4 time Academy Award winner Joseph Ruttenberg was his cameraman. The picture moves at breakneck speed as average schlep Granger gets in over his head with the odds stacked against him and nobody on his side except his devoted schlep-wife, played by (who else) Kathy O'Donnell.I didn't even pause it to go the bathroom - it wouldn't let me, so frenetic was the films' pace. Along the way many noir character actors appeared; Edmon Ryan, Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, to name a few. I am breaking precedent here, as there are too many long-winded reviews already. Just do yourself a favor and watch this B-almost-A picture from MGM, Farley Granger notwithstanding.

dougdoepke So who does impulsive thief and part-time mail carrier Joe Norson (Granger) entrust with the $30,000 he's just stolen? Why that well-known paragon of virtue, the friendly neighborhood barkeep, of course. Then, when the latter disappears, a lot richer, guess what-- Joe is surprised! Let's hope the baby his wife just delivered got her genes instead of his. Now Joe gets to chase after the money before either the cops or the crooks get him first. Frankly, my money's on the crooks who certainly know how to surprise us with a broken-down lounge singer (Hagen). But then this is Production Code 1950 with the sweetfaced Granger, so better bet on the kid.This is Dore Schary's MGM playing catch-up with post-war noir, and they've hired the best— director Anthony Mann. That means the New York street scene never looked grittier, nor the great stone canyons more threatening. And that car chase down empty city corridors looks downright science-fiction eerie. Too bad they've saddled Mann with boring cops and a bad guy (Craig) about as scary as a TV salesman. And was there ever an actress whose sheer sweetness could melt the screen faster than O'Donnell. Together with the artless Granger, Mann's tough-guy cynicism never stood a chance. The visuals tell one story; the characters another. This is hard-shell noir with the softest of cores, but will still keep you stapled to the screen.