Side Street - Warner Archive Collection

Diehard classic movie fans have surely heard of - and most likely revere - the devastating film noir They Live by Night, starring Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell, but they might not be familiar with the duo's follow-up picture, Side Street. I wasn't until I read Warner Archive's promo blurb prior to the movie's Blu-ray release. Directed by noir master Anthony Mann right before he shifted his focus to westerns, this taut thriller blends elements of noir, police procedurals, and semi-documentaries to create a stylish, engrossing, and affecting tale that hits many marks, but misses the bullseye.

Though the Side Street poster art proclaims "Fate dropped thirty thousand dollars in his lap!," that's a bit of a misnomer. Joe Norson (Granger) isn't some lucky schmuck who just happens to find $30K on the sidewalk; he's a regular, upstanding, hard-working guy who makes a conscious decision to steal some money to ensure his pregnant wife Ellen (O'Donnell) has the best possible health care when she delivers their first child in a matter of days. A part-time mail carrier who's a victim of the post-World War II job crunch, Joe espies $200 lying on the floor of a small-time law firm while making his rounds and watches as someone in the office stuffs the cash into a folder in a filing cabinet. When he delivers the mail the next day, Joe notices the office is empty and impulsively breaks the lock off the cabinet and steals the folder.

Joe thinks he's only swiping $200, so imagine his surprise when he discovers the take is a whopping $30,000! In the blink of an eye, his petty crime becomes a major heist and instantly ensnares Joe in a web of intrigue and danger. What he doesn't know is the $30,000 was a blackmail payout made by a wealthy businessman to the crooked lawyer and his ex-con cohort to cover up his tawdry extramarital affair with a floozie...who soon ends up murdered. Joe's guilty conscience inspires him to return the money, but after the bartender who was holding the cash for him gets iced and the funds disappear, Joe finds himself in the crosshairs of both the blackmailers and the police, who believe Joe is a killer.

The breathless story keeps us engaged, but in addition to the violence, tough talk, and chase scenes, Side Street looks at the plight of a post-war generation struggling to put their lives back together, make ends meet, and pursue the American Dream. Joe would never turn to crime under normal circumstances, but his masculine pride and the pressure of providing for his wife and baby turn him into a desperate man. Though the tightly-knit plot at times strains credulity, screenwriter Sydney Boehm, who's best known for scripting the all-time classic noir The Big Heat, paints a realistic portrait of this turbulent, transitional era.

Granger and O'Donnell may receive top billing, but New York City is the true star of Side Street. Riding the coattails of The Naked City, the first film entirely shot on location in the Big Apple, Side Street thrusts us into the urban jungle, making excellent use of the Financial District, Fulton Fish Market, Bellevue Hospital, and the old Third Avenue el. The aerial shots of the city that accompany both the film's prologue and a climactic car chase through the streets of Lower Manhattan are a marvel and quite unique for the time period. Credit cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg with capturing the city's distinct pulse without sacrificing artistry.

Reportedly, the stubbornness of Howard Hughes, who took over RKO studios in the late 1940s, led to the production of MGM's Side Street. The mercurial Hughes shelved the downbeat They Live by Night, but former RKO exec Dore Schary, who had recently jumped ship to MGM, recognized the chemistry between Granger and O'Donnell and decided to showcase them in Side Street. When Hughes got wind of Schary's interest in the pair, he rushed They Live by Night into theaters. Both films wound up losing (a lot of) money, so it's unlikely Side Street ever would have gotten made had Hughes released They Live by Night on schedule.

Granger dominates the movie and is a magnetic presence, subtly expressing myriad emotions that help hammer home the tale's themes. He and O'Donnell once again make a believable couple and their romantic scenes brim with passion, but O'Donnell's part lacks depth and fails to maximize her talents. The first-rate supporting cast is comprised of countless recognizable faces, including a pre-Singin' in the Rain Jean Hagen, James Craig, Paul Kelly, Charles McGraw, Whit Bissell, Ben Cooper, and Kathryn Givney, and all of them help elevate Side Street.

Side Street pales when compared to They Live by Night and such classic Mann noirs as T-Men, Raw Deal, and Border Incident, but it's still an above-average genre entry that checks all the boxes and provides solid entertainment. Though Mann would go on to direct several classic westerns over the next decade, it's a shame he turned his back on the shadowy, twisted, complex world of noir. Mann was one of the masters and Side Street shows us why.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Side Street arrives on Blu-ray packaged in a standard case. Video codec is 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 and audio is DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. Once the disc is inserted into the player, the static menu without music immediately pops up; no previews or promos precede it.

A brand new 4K scan of the best preservation elements yields a high-quality 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer that beautifully showcases the dynamite noir and location photography of four-time Oscar-winner Joseph Ruttenberg. The film-like presentation features excellent clarity and contrast, superb shadow delineation, and just a hint of grain. Deep blacks, bright and stable whites, and a wide grayscale enhance fine details and highlight wardrobe textures and patterns and sharp close-ups accentuate Granger's facial lacerations, glistening sweat, and babyface complexion. No nicks, scratches, or dirt mar the newly minted print, and though some soft shots that likely came from an inferior source crop up from time to time, they never detract from what is otherwise a stellar transfer. 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track pumps out impressive sound that enhances the New York City atmosphere. Excellent fidelity and tonal depth allow the music score to fill the room with ease, while crisp sonic accents like blaring sirens, facial slaps, screeching tires, and barking dogs heighten the tense mood. All the dialogue is clear and easy to comprehend and just a faint hint of surface noise could be detected during quiet moments. This is a solid track that nicely complements the remastered video.

Warner Archive imports the audio commentary, retrospective featurette, and trailer from the 2007 DVD and adds a vintage short and two classic cartoons to the mix.

• Audio Commentary by film critic and historian Richard Schickel
• Featurette: "Where Temptation Lurks" (SD, 5 minutes) - This brief, breezy 2007 featurette examines the film's themes, the impact of the authentic New York City locations, and the performances and direction. Interviewees include the late film critic Richard Schickel and Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone.
• Vintage Short: The Luckiest Guy in the World (SD, 21 minutes) - A young Barry Nelson stars in this installment of MGM's long-running Crime Does Not Pay series. The noirish two-reeler focuses on an irresponsible, money-grubbing cad who accidentally kills his wife, then tries to get away it. Interestingly, this short also appears on Warner Archive's Ziegfeld Follies Blu-ray release.
• Classic Cartoons: Polka Dot Puss and Google-Fishing Bear (HD, 14 minutes) - Tom and Jerry square off yet again in the first cartoon that strikes a timely note by depicting a measles outbreak. Barney Bear stars in the second, which chronicles Barney's fishing expedition and entanglements with a hungry shark. (Barney's lung capacity under water is impressive indeed!) Both animated shorts have been remastered in HD and look great, although a bit of print damage remains.
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2 minutes) - The film's original preview completes the extras package.

Side Street never rises to the rarefied level of Hollywood's best film noirs, but it's a tidy little thriller distinguished by taut direction, solid performances, and authentic urban atmosphere. Warner Archive resuscitates this long-neglected film with a terrific transfer struck from a new 4K scan of the best preservation elements and remastered audio, both of which put us in the thick of the action. A nice collection of supplements tops off this solid release. Recommended.