99 River Street

"Rips into you like a double-crossing Dame!"

1953 1h 23m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 83

Crime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A former boxer turned taxi driver earns the scorn of his nagging wife and gets mixed up with jewel thieves.

“Rips into you like a double-crossing Dame!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

John Payne
Ernie Driscoll
Evelyn Keyes
Linda James
Brad Dexter
Victor Rawlins
Frank Faylen
Stan Hogan
Peggie Castle
Pauline Driscoll
Jay Adler
Christopher
Jack Lambert
Mickey
Glenn Langan
Lloyd Morgan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Phil Karlson
Writers: Robert Smith, George Zuckerman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

73 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Phil Karlson, shot by Franz Planer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Arthur Lange. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Buddy Small shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Payne and Evelyn Keyes and Brad Dexter carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Rips into you like a double-crossing Dame!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0045465 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Phil Karlson directs. Franz Planer behind the camera. Arthur Lange scores. Buddy Small cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
273 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Phil Karlson, shot by Franz Planer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Arthur Lange. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Buddy Small shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6John Payne and Evelyn Keyes and Brad Dexter carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Rips into you like a double-crossing Dame!".
8IMDB entry: tt0045465 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 83 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Franz Planer
Original score: Arthur Lange
Editing: Buddy Small
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: 99 River Street (1953)

Also by

Phil Karlson

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2013-11-02
★ 8/10
Keep your theatre and the rats in it. 99 River Street is directed by Phil Karlson and adapted to screenplay by Robert Smith from a story by George Zuckerman. It stars John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen, Jay Adler, Eddie Waller and Peggie Castle. Music is by Arthur Lange and Emil Newman and cinematography by Franz Planer. After sustaining a serious eye injury, boxer Ernie Driscoll (Payne) has had to retire from the ring and now drives a cab for a living. Constantly chided by his beautiful wife, Pauline (Castle), for being a failure, Ernie is close to breaking point when he finds that she is having an affair with a charismatic jewel thief. So when Pauline turns up dead in the back of Ernie's cab, he's obviously the chief suspect. But along with actress friend Linda James (Keyes), he attempts to unravel the mystery that is threatening to destroy his life. Tough as old boots, 99 River Street is the kind of unsung film noir crying out to be discovered by more like minded cinephiles. Though short of expressionistic verve, which was never Karlson's thing anyway, all the elements for a nitty-gritty noir are in place. New York forms the backdrop as a city of broken dreams, shattered illusions, a place frequented by unfaithful spouses, shifty fences, violent thieves and theatrical luvvies so far removed from the real post war world it would be funny were it no so sad! Smack bang in the middle of this tainted Americana is Ernie Driscoll, basically a good guy, but when pushed into a corner emotionally or physically, he strikes out in the only way he knows how, with his fists. As Karlson blurs the lines between the theatrical world and that of the real one, deftly essayed by Ernie and Linda, the director is clearly enjoying having such colourful characters to work with. Payne's tough guy anti-hero, Keyes' savvy heroine, Adler's unerringly menacing fence, Dexter's oily villain and Castle's disgustingly selfish wife. Throw in some thugs, persistent coppers and humane counterpoints portrayed by Faylen and Waller, and it's a nicely simmering broth of bad news, sexual suggestion and off-kilter redemptions. Violence is rife, and it's not the sort of staged violence that reeks of fake scents, this stuff hits hard, something which Karlson was always very adept at. The director also introduces some striking filming techniques to pump the picture with an edgy frankness. The opening sequence featuring Ernie's last fight is wonderfully staged, low angles and close ups put the sweat and pain front and centre, it's a smart set-up for when the story comes full circle at film's punchy finale. Another sequence features a panic stricken Linda begging Ernie for his help with something, the camera sticks rigidly to her, this also is a delightful set-up that has a sting in the tail. There's mirror images dropped in, scene echoes that mean something of note, one of which sees Karlson film a shot dead centre through the spread legs of Castle. So cheeky, and what a pair of legs as well! An unsung noir full of unsung actors (Payne is excellent) and directed with cunning absorption, 99 River Street is a must see. 8/10
CinemaSerf2022-06-23
★ 7/10
Like so many boxers before him, "Ernie" (John Payne) discovers that wealth and fame are fickle things. He loses an heavyweight fight and is soon driving a taxi to make ends meet. This does not sit well with his selfish and pretty nasty wife "Pauline" (Peggie Castle) who strays into the affections of the unsavoury "Rawlins" (Brad Dexter) with ultimately fatal results. "Ernie" finds himself suspect number one, and so must now try to piece together just what did happen and to stay one step ahead of the pursuing police just long enough to apprehend the real perpetrator. In my view, this is easily the best effort from Payne. He and Dexter work well to generate a sense of menace and desperation whilst a strong supporting cast with Evelyn Keyes ("Linda") and Eddy Waller ("Pop") do their level best to look out for the rather decent, frequently out of his depth boxer. The story develops slowly, but thoroughly, with a well paced dialogue and a score that helps Phil Karlson keep the tension building tautly towards the end that isn't quite as you might expect.