After two gang-related killings in "Center City," a suspect (who was framed) is arrested, released on bail...and murdered. Inspector Briggs of the FBI recruits a young agent, Gene Cordell, to go undercover in the shadowy Skid Row area (alias George Manly) as a potential victim of the same racket. Soon, Gene meets Alec Stiles, neurotic mastermind who's "building an organization along scientific lines." Stiles recruits Cordell, whose job becomes a lot more dangerous.
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How sad is this?
Best movie ever!
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
A definite taut thriller where both the good guys and the bad guys have infiltrated each other's group.Lloyd Nolan takes a similar role as an FBI agent, this is what he did in "The House on 92nd Street." Wasn't he Inspector Briggs there as well? The music, especially at the beginning of the film, sounded like it came from '92nd Street' too.As always, Richard Widmark was terrific as the villain. While he lacks the total insanity in other gangster films, he is as sharp, cunning and miserable as ever. He always sustained that low key villain trademark voice in these sort of films.Interesting to see that Mark Stevens got top billing in the film over Widmark. I guess that has to always show that good triumphs over evil.The picture expertly shows technology that existed in crime work after World War 11.
Man, where do they dig up these golden moldies? A 1948 pre-television era programmer, STREET is the story of the FBI infiltrating a gang of robbers who have graduated to murder. It is told In semi-documentary fashion and uses a voice-over, which today makes it look absolutely hilarious, as if we were watching one of those 1950s duck-and-cover Cold War shorts. But when this baby finally gets going, it really gets going thanks to Richard Widmark as the incredibly nasty and nefarious head of the gang. Mark Stevens, an Alan Ladd lookalike without the acting talent, plays the FBI agent who infiltrates the gang. There are some very silly shots of Stevens running here and there, while being tailed by the bad guys the whole time, as he makes contact with his boss (who else but Lloyd Nolan) and other FBI agents. Widmark, who is superb as the chief bad guy, has put together a gang that acts like the East Side Kids in suits and ties. They're about as menacing and scary as -- well, they're not menacing or scary at all. Some decent location photography for the time. An historic curiosity.
Oh, alright. After much deliberation I rated this picture a 7, but I almost gave it a 6. Hard to tell 60-odd years later if it was an 'A' or was a second-billed 'B'. It had some 'A' moments but not really enough of them, and the cast was a 'B' cast, with Lloyd Nolan, Richard Widmark and Mark Stevens. Speaking for myself, I never could warm up to Stevens and always found him pleasant but colorless. He lacked charisma, and here he is the lead character which I felt dragged the picture down to a 6.No other complaints. It moves along fairly well but could have been punched up with a little more action. An interesting little movie, all in all, particularly some FBI techniques (which are probably outdated by now), and I always enjoy watching guys in suits and fedoras.Before closing, can I share a secret with you? Richard Widmark plays the baddie but I never found him particularly threatening. Small and fair-haired, he was still living off his psychotic role in "Kiss of Death" which at this point was two pictures ago. Always thought he looked too much like a good guy. Now, take Raymond Burr - THERE was a bad guy.
"The House on 92nd Street" was a terrific no-frills tale of the FBI investigation of a Nazi spy ring in America during the war. Because of the success of the film, Lloyd Nolan returns as the same FBI investigator but this time he's out to smash organized crime. And, once again, the film capitalizes on what made the first one so good--realism. While there certainly are some film noir-like touches (especially the lighting, but also the dialog and type of plot), the movie emphasizes realism over style--much like some of the best of the genre, such as "Naked City".The film begins with a series of brutal robberies in which some of the victims are killed. As a result, Nolan becomes involved. However, he needs a man on the inside to investigate the mob, so he finds a very proficient young G-man to infiltrate. Mark Stevens is this agent and goes to "Skid Row" to be seen by the local riff-raff--hoping to find some mob contacts. I loved how the film used words like "Skid Row" and set one of the crimes in the generic-sounding "Center City"--a cute use of film noir style names and in effort to make a film that could be placed in any big city in America.Eventually, Stevens is able to impress the local mob bit-shot (played by Richard Widmark) when he boxes in a mob-controlled joint. The local favorite, though a strong guy, is an undisciplined boxer and Stevens acquits himself very well in the ring against him. Widmark is impressed and approaches Stevens to feel him out--will this guy be able to make the grade in the mob? Watch it yourself and see! Overall, excellent on all levels. A must-see for lovers of noir and good crime dramas.