Crime in the Streets

Last updated
Crime in the Streets
Crime in the Streets poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Don Siegel
Written by Reginald Rose
Produced by Vincent M. Fennelly
Starring James Whitmore
John Cassavetes
Sal Mineo
Cinematography Sam Leavitt
Music by Franz Waxman
Distributed by Allied Artists
Release date
  • June 10, 1956 (1956-06-10)
Running time
91 minutes
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$280,000 [1]
Box office$1.2 million (US) [2] [1]
$300,000 (foreign) [1]

Crime in the Streets is a 1956 American crime drama film about juvenile delinquency, directed by Don Siegel and based on a television play written by Reginald Rose. The play first appeared on the Elgin Hour and was directed by Sidney Lumet.

Contents

The film, starring James Whitmore and John Cassavetes, also featured actor Sal Mineo, who had previously appeared in Rebel Without A Cause . From his role in Crime in the Streets, Mineo earned a Hollywood nickname, "The Switchblade Kid." Malcolm Atterbury, Virginia Gregg and future director Mark Rydell had prominent roles.

Siegel adapted the play to a film by expanding some sequences but keeping much of the same cast. His credited dialogue coach on the film was Sam Peckinpah.

Plot

After a rumble between New York City street gangs, the Hornets and Dukes, a youth is taken captive and threatened with a zip gun by Lenny Daniels, one of the Hornets. The act is witnessed by a neighbor, McAllister, who tells the cops.

Lenny is arrested and sentenced to a year in jail. Hornets leader Frankie Dane decides to get even. Seemingly incorrigible, 18-year-old Frankie resists all efforts to get through to him by social worker Ben Wagner or his worried mother, who was abandoned by Frankie's father when he was eight.

Frankie threatens McAllister, who isn't afraid of Frankie. McAllister even slaps him, then walks away. An angry Frankie then enlists friends Lou Macklin and Angelo "Baby" Gioia to assist in killing McAllister, which frightens Frankie's 10-year-old brother Richie, who overhears the plotting.

Baby is slapped by his father who orders, then pleads, with him to stop hanging out with the no-good Frankie. An effort is made by Wagner to understand the boys rather than be angry with them, and Richie tells him of Frankie's plans to commit a murder. Wagner talks to Frankie, seemingly to no avail. The three conspirators go to bed, to later use as their alibi, and wait until the agreed upon time to act. McAllister is trapped in an alley at 1:30 in the morning by the three. Richie stops his brother just-in-time, but ends up with a knife held to his throat by angry Frankie, while McAllister and other two run off, as the intended victim yells for help. Wagner appears due to the commotion, and watches as Frankie finally comes to his senses and lets his brother go. He is then accompanied by Wagner to the approaching police.

Cast

Home media

Warner Bros. released the film on DVD on July 13, 2010, in its Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 5. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Out for Justice</i> 1991 film directed by John Flynn

Out for Justice is a 1991 American neo-noir vigilante action thriller film directed by John Flynn and co-produced by and starring Steven Seagal as Gino Felino, a veteran police detective who sets out to avenge his partner Bobby's murder by killing Richie, the trigger-happy, drug-addicted mafioso culprit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sal Mineo</span> American actor (1939–1976)

Salvatore Mineo Jr. was an American actor. He was best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film Rebel Without a Cause (1955), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at age 17, making him the fifth-youngest nominee in the category.

<i>Kangaroo Jack</i> 2003 film by David McNally

Kangaroo Jack is a 2003 buddy comedy film directed by David McNally from a screenplay by Steve Bing and Scott Rosenberg with a story by Bing and Barry O'Brien. It is also produced by Jerry Bruckheimer with music by Trevor Rabin. The film stars Jerry O'Connell, Anthony Anderson, Estella Warren, Michael Shannon and Christopher Walken, with Adam Garcia as the uncredited voice of the titular character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cassavetes</span> American actor, film director, and screenwriter (1929–1989)

John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor and filmmaker. He began as a television and film actor before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a director and writer, often financing and distributing his films with his own income. AllMovie called him "an iconoclastic maverick", while The New Yorker suggested in 2013 that he "may be the most influential American director of the last half century."

<i>Grease</i> (film) 1978 musical romantic comedy film by Randal Kleiser

Grease is a 1978 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser from a screenplay by Bronté Woodard and an adaptation by Allan Carr, based on the stage musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The film depicts the lives of greaser Danny Zuko and Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson, who develop an attraction for each other during a summer romance.

<i>Burkes Law</i> (1963 TV series) American television series

Burke's Law is an American detective series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1966. The show starred Gene Barry as millionaire captain of Los Angeles Police homicide division Amos Burke, who is chauffeured around to solve crimes in his 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II complete with an early car phone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denise Alexander</span> American actress

Denise Alexander is an American actress, best known for her role as Lesley Webber on General Hospital, a role she originally played from 1973 to 1984 (contract), 1996 to 2009, and a guest stint in 2013, in honor of the show's 50th anniversary. Alexander returned to General Hospital for two other guest appearances in December 2017 and April 2019, the latter to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the show. She then reappeared in early 2021.

<i>Somebody Up There Likes Me</i> (1956 film) 1956 film by Robert Wise

Somebody Up There Likes Me is a 1956 American drama film directed by Robert Wise and starring Paul Newman and Pier Angeli, based on the life of middleweight boxing legend Rocky Graziano. The supporting cast features Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart, Harold J. Stone, Sal Mineo, and Robert Loggia. Steve McQueen has a brief unbilled speaking role as Fidel.

<i>Alpha Dog</i> 2006 crime drama film by Nick Cassavetes

Alpha Dog is a 2006 American crime drama film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes. It is based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Emile Hirsch, Christopher Marquette, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake, Anton Yelchin, and Bruce Willis.

<i>The Killers</i> (1964 film) 1964 film by Don Siegel

The Killers, released in the UK as Ernest Hemingway's "The Killers", is a 1964 American neo noir crime film. Written by Gene L. Coon and directed by Don Siegel, it is the second Hollywood adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's 1927 short story of the same name, following the 1946 version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Side by Side (1927 song)</span> Popular song by Harry M. Woods

"Side by Side" is a popular song by Harry M. Woods written in 1927, and is now considered a standard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Rydell</span> American actor, director (b. 1929)

Mark Rydell is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has directed several Academy Award-nominated films including The Fox (1967), The Reivers (1969), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Rose (1979), and The River (1984). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for On Golden Pond (1981).

Stephen Jacob Rowland is an American singer, columnist, record producer and actor. He grew up in Beverly Hills and now lives in Palm Springs, California. His father is film director Roy Rowland, his mother Ruth was a writer, Louis B. Mayer was his uncle.

<i>Witness to the Mob</i> American TV series or program

Witness to the Mob is a made-for-TV film which premiered on Sunday, May 10, and concluded on Monday, May 11, 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm Atterbury</span> American actor

Malcolm MacLeod Atterbury was an American stage, film, and television actor, and vaudevillian.

<i>Crazy Joe</i> (film) 1974 film by Carlo Lizzani

Crazy Joe is a 1974 crime film directed by Carlo Lizzani and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. The Italian-American co-production is a fictionalized retelling of the murder of Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo, a mobster who was gunned down on April 7, 1972, at a restaurant in Little Italy. The screenplay by Lewis John Carlino is based on a series of articles by journalist Nicholas Gage. The film stars Peter Boyle in the title role, with Paula Prentiss, Fred Williamson, Rip Torn, Luther Adler, Henry Winkler and Eli Wallach.

<i>The Elgin Hour</i> American anthology TV series (1954–1955)

The Elgin Hour is a 60-minute live American anthology drama that aired from October 5, 1954 to June 14, 1955, on ABC, alternating with The U.S. Steel Hour.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "AA's Derived 'Streets' a $1,500,000 Click on the $280,000 Negative Cost". Variety. 19 September 1956. p. 7.
  2. ↑ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', Variety Weekly, January 2, 1957
  3. ↑ Abrams, Simon. "Film Noir Classic Collection: Volume 5." SlantMagazine.com. July 20, 2010. Accessed 2011-11-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.