Side Street (1950)

A young mailman (Farley Granger) with a pregnant wife (Cathy O'Donnell) is in dire financial straits. On impulse, he breaks into the filing cabinet of a lawyer (Edmon Ryan) on his route taking a pouch he believes contains $200 but actually contains $33,000. When the police find the body of a high class call girl (Adele Jergens) in the river, it will eventuall tie in to the $33,000. Directed by Anthony Mann, this is a taut little piece of noir that never quite becomes something special. Usually in the best of noir, the hero finds himself in circumstances beyond his control and not of his making and we sympathize with his situation as he attempts to escape the mire. Here, the hero's troubles are not only entirely of his own making but with each stupid action, he just digs himself into a deeper hole. Instead of empathizing with him, we think, "What an idiot!". Two performers stand out. James Craig as a brutal cold blooded killer and Jean Hagen as a lush lounge singer. Still, it's nice to see the lovers of THEY LIVE BY NIGHT reunited even if the material isn't up to their previous teaming. Others in the cast: Charles McGraw, Paul Kelly, Kathryn Givney, Ben Cooper, Whit Bissell and Harry Bellaver.