CrimeDramaThriller

Crime in the Streets

- How can you tell them to be good when their girl friends like them better when they're bad!...

A social worker tries to end juvenile crime by getting involved with a street gang.

Release Date : 1956-06-10

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Lindbrook ProductionsAllied Artists Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Ben Wagner

Original Name : James Whitmore

Gender : Male

Character Name : Angelo 'Baby' Gioia

Original Name : Sal Mineo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Frankie Dane

Original Name : John Cassavetes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lou Macklin

Original Name : Mark Rydell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Dane

Original Name : Virginia Gregg

Gender : Female

Character Name : Richie Dane (as Peter Votrian)

Original Name : Peter J. Votrian

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Gioia

Original Name : Will Kuluva

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. McAllister

Original Name : Malcolm Atterbury

Gender : Male

Character Name : Maria Gioia

Original Name : Denise Alexander

Gender : Female

Character Name : Blockbuster

Original Name : Dan Terranova

Gender : Male

Character Name : Glasses

Original Name : Steve Rowland

Gender : Male

Character Name : Herky

Original Name : Duke Mitchell

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Fighter

Original Name : Peter Miller

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Sucking around is my job. Crime in the Streets is directed by Don Siegel and written by Reginald Rose. It stars John Cassavetes, James Whitmore, Sal Mineo, Mark Rydell, Virginia Gregg, Peter J. Votrian, Will Kuluva and Malcolm Atterbury. Music is scored by Franz Waxman and cinematography by Sam Leavitt. Social worker Ben Wagner (Whitmore) tries to help local slum gang, The Hornets, especially their troubled leader Frankie Dane (Cassavetes). When your body hits that sidewalk nobody will even turn around to look at yah. Decent "juve delinquent" lecture movie, Crime in the Streets boasts some mightily impressive performances and closes on a (expected) piece of dramatic worth, but the screenplay is staid and pic is claustrophobic for all the wrong reasons. There's a cramped cheapness to the production that doesn't suit the narrative and you can feel Siegel straining with every sinew to light a tinderbox with a damp match. However, Cassavetes' intense firecracker performance is worth the time of any classic era film fan, and with Whitmore doing good and controlled earnest and Gregg (sadly underused) tugging away at the maternal heart strings, it still comes out in credit. There's a bonus, too, in the form of Waxman's blending of stabby jazz shards with momentum building percussion, it's quality, even if ultimately it deserves a better movie. 6/10