Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

robertguttman John Payne was better known for playing nice guys rather than Film- Noir characters, but he certainly comes through in this one. He plays a washed-up boxer turned cab driver whose wife no longer cares for him and has taken up with a gangster. When the gangster commits a robbery her presence complicates matters, so he kills her and frames her husband for her murder. Aided by a actress-acquaintance he struggles to catch up with the real murderer before the police catch up with him, simultaneously competing against a fence whom the gangster robbed, and who now wants the gangster dead. This is classic Film-Noir, abetted by such familiar Film-Noir standbys as Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Jay Adler, Frank Faylen and Jack Lambert. Each of these characters seems perfectly at home in a night-world in which virtually everybody is up to no good. Movies like this were never taken very seriously at the time. They were known simply as "Crime Melodramas" and most of them, including this one, were produced as low-budget B-Pictures. It was only later that French film critics hung the label "Film-Noir" on the genre and made them respectable. See "99 River Street" and find out for yourself if the French knew what they were talking about.

Spikeopath 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 redemption's. 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

Michael O'Keefe This action, crime drama finds John Payne playing Ernie Driscoll, a former hard luck boxer turned cab driver. Ernie's wife Pauline(Peggie Castle)is disappointed in her four year marriage and begins a relationship with a jewel thief, Vic Rawlins(Brad Dexter). Pauline is planning to run away with Vic; but a botched heist changes plans. The pretty feed-up wife ends up killed and you know who gets the blame; right, her hot tempered husband Ernie. The former boxer ends up with the help of a friend, a struggling stage actress played by Evelyn Keyes. The two are racing the clock trying to find Vic in order to clear Ernie's name. Phil Karlson directs and the story line is interesting in spite of the brief boxing scenes that lack realism. Frank Faylen plays the dispatcher for the cab company that Ernie works for; and turns in a fine performance. Other players include: Jay Adler, Jack Lambert, Ian Wolf and Glenn Langan.

rpvanderlinden Wow! Here's a nifty little noir that doesn't pull its punches. Frank, nasty and brutal, it's the story of an ex-boxer with a bad temper who's still boiling over the defeat that ended his career four years earlier. Now he's driving cab and dreaming of better times ahead when he finds out his wife is fooling around on him. He does another dishy dame a favour only to be played for a sucker. And it's still early in the evening. By the middle of the night he's mixed up with murder and a nest of scumbags. I've had bad days - and nights - but nothing like this.This movie has energy to spare, and conviction, and characters who get under your skin one way or another. The hero, Ernie (John Payne), is a seething cauldron, and that's okay because he's up for a good fight, not so okay for his wife (Peggie Castle) who wants out. You'd want him on your side, though - even if he's down for the count he'll always get up to fight another round. The dish (Evelyn Keyes) turns out to have what it takes, and her acting and seducing skills make for a dynamite scene near the end. For once the writers know what to do with a back story, with the boxing theme skillfully played throughout the movie and orchestrated into a white-knuckle climax and satisfying conclusion. As for Keyes and that scene - the movie could have been called "Cashmere Becomes Her" - it's hot, hot, hot! When she lights her cigarette from sleazoid Brad Dexter's smoldering fag tip, the tendrils of smoke caressing both their faces, I had to pinch myself to see if I was having a wet dream. Sex and violence are the key ingredients here - and cinematic exuberance. You couldn't ask for more. Just have your Nicorettes handy.