Side Street (1949) Blu-ray Review

In 1948 at RKO Pictures Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell starred in a film noir together. It was entitled "They Live by Night" the film was a Bonnie and Clyde like story. A little less than a year and a half later the two were reunited at MGM for another film noir. The film was directed by Anthony Mann and was entitled Side Street.

Side Street was released mid-December 1949, so the theatrical run was really 1950. This film is actually celebrating its 75th anniversary. So, for that epic of an anniversary, there need to be an epic release. So, Warner Archive have restored and released this film on Blu-ray with some very cool bonus features.

Synopsis: This thrilling crime drama follows a part-time postal clerk who, in a moment of desperation, takes what he thinks is $200 but finds himself wanted by the police and the underworld for stealing a $30,000 intended blackmail payment. New York City postal worker Joe Norson (Farley Granger) wants nothing more than to provide a comfortable life for himself and his wife (Cathy O'Donnell), who is pregnant. Out of frustration he steals $30,000 from the shady lawyer Victor Backett (Edmon Ryan). However, the theft has higher stakes than Joe could have imagined: Backett extorted the money from Emil Lorrison (Paul Harvey), an innocent man whom he framed in a sex scandal and later murdered. Trying to hide the money from his wife, Joe gives it to his friend Nick Drumman (Edwin Max) for safekeeping. When Joe attempts to retrieve the money and return it to Backett, he finds himself caught up in a murderous web. A spectacular car chase brings a climax to the film, which was largely shot at various iconic New York locations, including Central Park, Stuyvesant Town, Battery Park, the Bellevue Hospital morgue, the Polyclinic maternity ward, Wall Street, Bowling Green Park, the Fulton Fish Market, the Queensboro Bridge and a Greenwich Village nightclub.

Director Anthony Mann had an eye for what looked good on film. We saw that in his films Winchester '73 (1950), The Naked Spur (1953), and The Man from Laramie (1955), El Cid (1961), and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). Side Street was a film noir but the cinematic shots gives this film a grandiose scale.

The screenplay was written by Sydney Boehm (When World Collide) and has a really nice pacing to it. Farley Granger put in a nice performance in Side Street, of course not as good as his performance in Strangers on a Train, but that is an unfair comparison. Cathy O'Donnell performance of the loving wife is just great. The entire cast is tremendous. This is a really underrated little drama/film noir.

Warner Archive Collection has transferred Side Street to Blu-ray in 1080p and is presented in 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The audio track is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. There is also the option for English subtitle for the deaf and hard of hearing. 

It is simply amazing to see the pristine quality of this picture when you think this film is over 75 years old. And especially when you think how many of these old films were stored it's a wonder we even have these film let alone them looking as spectacular as they do. Kudos to Warner Archive for their work in making these films look and sound as great as they do.

Now a crisp and clean copy of the film is enough to call this a must buy! But Warner Archive Collection added some really cool bonus features, that take this release to a whole other level.

* Audio Commentary by film historian Richard Schickel
* Where Temptation Lurks: A 2007 five minute featurette talking about Side Street's amazing cinematography and great action scenes. 
* The Luckiest Guy in Town: A 21 minute short from the MGM Series "Crime Does Not Pay". Listen for a radio appearance by the legendary Red Skelton.
* MGM Cartoons
 - Polka Dot Puss (1949) Tom pretends to have a cold in order to trick Mammy into letting him stay inside for the night. Jerry tricks Tom by making him think he really is sick - with the measles.
 - Goggle-Fishing Bear (1949) Barney has a dive mask and swim fins to help him go fishing. But he is not alone, there is an overly helpful little seal. The seal acts like a hunting dog, and leads Barney to a cave with an angry lobster and then an encounter with a shark.
* Theatrical Trailer

I always love it when Warner Archive adds the classic cartoons and the MGM shorts. This makes watching this Blu-ray release like a theatrical experience. With all these bonus features and an exciting film noir there is a lot of 'bang' for your buck here.

So, if you love Farley Granger, film noir or a good ole crime drama Side Street will fit the bill for a fun experience. Head over to Amazon or Physical Media Land and pick up your copy to add to your home video library today!

Out of 4 film reels (4 being the best) The Warner Archive Blu-ray release of Side Street receives......