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The semidocumentary crimefighting/spybusting thrillers of the late '40s are fascinating for their blend of institutionalized rectitude (the FBI is totally trustworthy and awesomely competent), authentic locations ("filmed where it happened"), and noir poetics. Once Inspector George Briggs (Lloyd Nolan repeating his House on 92nd Street role) sends agent Gene Cordell (Mark Stevens) to work undercover on Center City's skid row, the movie has settled into an evocative meditation on the underside of Middle American town life c. 1948: the never-empty arcades and diners; a seedy drifters' hotel you can almost smell; cars parked slantwise along a commercial street that retains a memory of countryside; and an upstairs gym--Stiles's place--where even in daytime a surprising number of men congregate in hopes of seeing someone take a beating. And there's one sequence of skulking in a ferry terminal, so beautifully observed by director William Keighley and ace cinematographer Joe MacDonald, you'll wish you could shake their hands. Harry Kleiner's screenplay was reworked seven years later for Samuel Fuller's House of Bamboo. --Richard T. Jameson
| ACTORS: | Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark |
| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | William Keighley |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 14 July, 1948 |
| MANUFACTURER: | Fox Home Entertainme |
| MPAA RATING: | NR (Not Rated) |
| FEATURES: | Black & White, Closed-captioned |
| TYPE: | Feature Film-drama |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 024543173199 |
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Customer Reviews of The Street with No Name
Another great role for Richard Widmark This film begins with a pseudo-documentary style as a narrator recounts various methods in which the FBI solves crime, and this is a lead-in to the meat of the story of "The Street With No Name." FBI agent, Gene Cordell (Mark Stevens), goes undercover as criminal George Manley in order to infiltrate a gang headed by the explosive yet calculating Alec Stiles (Richard Widmark). The film seems a little campy at first, as, of course, the methods of 1940s crime detection seem archaic at this point. But once the story gets underway, suspense mounts until the film's exciting conclusion.
Richard Widmark excels in playing the role of the brutal, heartless baddie, and as Stiles, he certainly is credible and threatening as the clever gang leader who has developed a unique method for screening potential new gang members. This classic film noir illustrates how crime is deeply entrenched in society, and also shows the lengths to which the FBI is prepared to go to identify and remove the rotten roots at the base of some seemingly unconnected murders. Widmark dominates the film, but he's so evil, you have to support the brave undercover FBI agent who risks his life. The sets are ominously dark and moody--lots of use of shadow and fog. Fans of film noir should add this title to a list of 'must-see' films--displacedhuman
The Forgotten Noir Classic
There have been many films that have attempted to dramatize gangsterism and its existence within urban America. Works such as The Godfather, Goodfellas, Once Upon A Time In America, and Angels With Dirty Faces have been critically acclaimed for achieving realistic glimpses inside the realm of crime. The Street With No Name should rightfully take its place alongside the aforementioned masterpieces as a pivotal film that absorbs the viewer into a criminal landscape etched with- corruption, unconscious alienation, and violent power. Aptly titled, no actual street or city is identified by name, since the gritty texture of this film implies that any of the growing metropolises that dot America can claim "Center City" as its home. Pool halls, seedy motels, late night arcades, and dank diners blend into an atmospheric montage of criminal haze. Interior shots are brilliantly framed in noir style lighting. Rooms themselves seem sinister as tables, chairs, windows, and walls, become parts to an ignominious whole. Director William Keighley taking a cue from the documentary style success of House on 92nd Street (best screenplay 1945) incorporates a similar narrative touch. As in House on 92nd Street, J Edgar Hoover allows Keighley full access to film scenes at FBI headquarters and at the Bureau's training center. The scenes are authenticated by actual FBI personnel operating the latest equipment used in criminal investigations. The dialogue and acting is sharp. Martin Scorcese would be impressed with the seemingly off the cuff lines and mannerisms that the racketeering characters demonstrate. Mark Stevens is believable as the undercover FBI agent who penetrates the inner circle of an organized street gang. Lloyd Nolan is again cast as the straitlaced FBI inspector who symbolizes Hoover's insistence on vigilance and patriotism. But it is Richard Widmark who steals this picture with a riveting performance as a paranoid gang leader with a vindictive mean streak. Critics claim that Widmark's screen debut as gangster Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death (1947) was his most memorable performance but I disagree. Even though Widmark was nominated for an Oscar in Kiss of Death, his performance is marked by scripted toughness. When watching Widmark's Udo character today he seems unconvincing and severly concocted. In The Street With No Name, Widmark's character Alec Stiles is notoriously genuine. Stile's dress, talk, mannerisms, and insecurities are subtle and readily acceptable as part of a gangster's profile. Cagney, Raft, and Bogart may have garnered the eternal gangster spotlight, but Widmark's hood Alec Stiles stands as the most memorable.
Stylish noir classic
Perhaps the best of the semi-documentary FBI tales that 20th Century Fox cranked out in the late 40s and early 50s (e.g. "The House on 92nd Street,"). A very stylish, moodily photographed, frequently unheralded noir classic in which federal agent Mark Stevens infiltrates the gang of crime boss Richard Widmark. Widmark, in the follow-up to his star making portrayal of psychotic Tommy Udo in "Kiss of Death," is superb: as cold and calculating as Udo was hot-tempered and impulsive, but every bit as deadly.