United
Artists, 83m 30s
Though
not a true boxing film, the gripping 99
RIVER STREET is a brisk film noir
with a retired boxer as its scrappy featured protagonist. The opening sequence
sets the tone well with the bruising action of a championship heavyweight
prizefight. Challenger Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) accounts for himself
admirably versus the reigning champ until an eye injury inhibits his fighting
ability. As it turns out, Driscoll is watching his failed bid for the
heavyweight crown on television, as part of a series called "Great Fights
of Yesterday." Like so many other noir
examples, 99 RIVER STREET revolves
around a significant past event that defines the present for the main
character, who in this case psychologically remains confined to the savagery of
the squared circle despite having been barred from it for medical reasons.
 |
| A career on the ropes |
 |
| "I could've been the champ." |
An
easily riled man to begin with, Driscoll encounters plenty of reasons to
embrace his violent pugilistic past. The post-boxing world has not been
terribly accommodating to Driscoll, who finds himself stuck with a compromised
optic nerve, a dull cabbie job, and perhaps worst of all, vitriolic criticism
from his ex-showgirl wife Pauline (Peggie Castle). Not content with the
couple's current financial position and unimpressed with her husband’s dream of
one day owning a gas station, Pauline has taken up with Victor Rawlins (Brad
Dexter), a "reckless" jewel thief with a plan to take Pauline to
France after settling his 400-carat score. The plot gains momentum when fence
Christopher (Jay Adler) attempts to distance himself from the caper that,
naturally, did not quite go as outlined. The situation is not helped by the
unwelcome presence of Pauline, who ignites tensions within the jewel thief
network. Pauline personifies the alluring but no-good noir femme fatale, and director Phil Karlson emphasizes her
physicality on multiple occasions, with her tempting body and attractive face
framed as her only redeeming qualities.
Transpiring
mostly over the course of one night, 99
RIVER STREET exploits the dark side of human nature at every turn, as
people cast others aside in pursuit of their own wants. That sort of reflection
on human nature is not limited to arch criminals like Rawlins and Christopher.
Even ostensibly benign personalities are capable of deception and impulsive
self-interest. Aspiring stage actress Linda James (Evelyn Keyes), a basically
nice city gal, plays an exceptionally cruel trick on her friend Driscoll for
the chance to play the lead in a Broadway production. Quite understandably, he
becomes upset and roughs up some of the condescending theater producers who
collectively wronged him. If that were not enough, the production team then
seeks free publicity by sending the police after Driscoll, thus wronging him
twice in one evening! "Any time you get hooked up with a dame you're bound
to end up in trouble," Driscoll later grumbles.
Recurring
low camera angles create unease within interior shots, where people are as
likely to turn on each other as not. On these Manhattan streets, disputes are
resolved mostly through some type of violence. The pace is relentless as characters
are grabbed, pushed, slapped, punched, strangled, and shot. One unfortunate
receives the full force of a heavy chain over his cranium. The final
confrontation between Driscoll and Rawlins serves as a reenactment of the
boxing match that opens the film, and in fact the entire narrative makes the
same point: life never stopped hitting
Driscoll after his boxing career ended. The former contender bears resemblance
to the returning soldier who finds himself without a clear place in civilian
life in many a film noir. For those
who take part in combat of any form, perhaps there is no easy exit strategy.
Like
other film noirs that conclude on an
optimistic note, there is a seemingly false ring here, yet something
authentically noir at the same time.
A man who almost became heavyweight champion of the world and a once-promising
stage actress find service-station bliss in each other's loving arms, as the
repression of great aspirations leads to a happy if humble partnership. It is
an easy enough lesson to relate to since most of us, like it or not, learn to
appreciate successes that may fall a bit short of our original hopes.
Acclaimed
director Karlson helmed several other film
noirs, the most vital of which was probably KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (1952, also featuring Payne). 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE (1955) was a lesser
noir entry, notable mostly for the
presence of hot-tempered war vet Brick (Brian Keith). THE PHENIX CITY STORY (1955) is one of the more convincing
docudrama noirs of its time, and THE BROTHERS RICO (1957) plays quite
well, thanks in part to the presence of dependable noir man Richard Conte. I think 99 RIVER STREET is Karlson's best-realized effort of the bunch,
with Payne superbly cast as the down-but-not-out ex-prizefighter. The film is
distinguished by its excellent supporting team as well, especially Frank Faylen
as cab dispatcher Stan Hogan, who was also Driscoll's former trainer. Jack
Lambert offers a fine performance as the impatient thug Mickey, and Jay Adler
is probably the best supporting player of all since it does not seem a stretch
that his fence character would also run a pet shop. The screenplay is by Robert
Smith, who also wrote the screenplay for QUICKSAND
(1950) and co-wrote the script for SUDDEN
FEAR (1952), two of my favorite underappreciated film noirs. Cinematographer Franz Planer captured additional
classics of the genre, including THE
CHASE (1946), CRISS CROSS (1949)
and 711 OCEAN DRIVE (1950).
Newly
re-mastered in HD and framed at the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1,
this single-layered Blu-ray edition available through Kino Lorber provides a
very clean B&W presentation. Though not without a few mild imperfections,
this 1080P version is an obvious improvement over the made-on-demand MGM DVD,
which was cropped to 1.33:1.
 |
| Kino Lorber Blu-ray |
 |
| MGM DVD |
When
it comes to audio commentary tracks, you know you are in for an education with film noir expert Eddie Muller on the
mic. Like any great teacher, Muller makes it fun to learn. His analysis of
Karlson's directorial preferences is spot-on, especially in terms of recurring
compositions that suggest one character’s dominance over another, or when
actors walk into close-ups. Karlson was an appropriate match for producer
Edward Small, who preferred directors skilled enough to work creatively within
modest budgets. Small was fully aware of the direction commercial filmmaking
was headed, with studios functioning more as distribution facilitators than
creators of original content. As one might expect, Muller offers in-depth
biographical information on the actors, Evelyn Keyes in particular, who was a
good friend of his. His commentary even touches accurately on actual boxing,
with Muller demonstrating acumen for the sweet science (his father was a
longtime boxing writer for the San Francisco EXAMINER).
The
only other supplemental material consists of a trailer gallery. Besides the
trailer for the film under review, trailers for other titles available from
Kino Lorber include HIDDEN FEAR
(1957), SHIELD FOR MURDER (1954) and
HE RAN ALL THE WAY (1951).
 |
| Publicity Photo |
 |
| Karlson cribs from his own playbook in 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE |
