Excellent movie about uncovering crime on the waterfront. Young DA catches a murder case, involving corrupt labor leaders. Richard Egan stars as the young DA, and does an excellent job. The movie has a steady pace, and is not full of the same old cliché's. Their is light comedy, with a lady that is afraid of aliens, the is very effective at keeping the tempo of the film changing. The ending is very exciting, and the musical score is great. All in all, a really fine movie-with good acting all around, an interesting and believable premise, and a well directed pace. If you love old movies, or just a good story, you'll love this one. I highly recommend it.
11 Reviews
On The Waterfront revisited; no masterpiece, but an alert social commentary
bmacv21 April 2002
Eclipsed by the accomplishment and reputation of On The Waterfront three years earlier, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue mines a similar vein: corruption in the longshoremen's unions and the violent struggle for their control. And while the earlier movie remains the heavyweight champ , its younger brother can be considered a worthy contender, too. (Its title, by the way, comes from an unrelated George Balanchine ballet of two decades earlier, with music by Richard Rogers retained as the film score.)
While On The Waterfront centered on the lives on the dockworkers embroiled in struggles beyond their control, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue focuses on the Suits who try to prosecute the shooting and later death of one of those workers. Richard Egan plays the young turk in the District Attorney's office who must penetrate the operative code of silence and win the trust of the men working the piers and their families they're scared, and have no reason to put themselves on the line for what they see as a callous bureaucracy with few teeth.
Egan finally wins over the victim's wife (Jan Sterling) and a few of his cronies, but along the way discovers that wheels turn within wheels. A former prosecutor, now some sort of lobbyist, drags him to meet the slick operator who calls the shots on the waterfront (Walter Matthau, before he became the shambliest of straight men), who tries to buy him off. (Fortunately, the movie entertains no theories about the source Communists? Organized crime? of the corruption.) But Egan soldiers on, finally persuading his superiors to bring an indictment despite unreliable witnesses and holes in his case.
And this is the movie's most interesting aspect: How the connections and history linking the police, the district attorney and the legal system (Dan Duryea, with a moustache, is another former prosecutor who lives high as a defense lawyer) compromise whatever justice may ultimately be meted out.
While influenced heavily by the noir cycle that was coming to an end, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue shades more heavily toward social commentary; its upbeat ending, too, is anathema to the pessimism of hard-core noir. Still, its good to see Charles McGraw as a police detective, even if he is sporting a silvery mane of hair.
While On The Waterfront centered on the lives on the dockworkers embroiled in struggles beyond their control, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue focuses on the Suits who try to prosecute the shooting and later death of one of those workers. Richard Egan plays the young turk in the District Attorney's office who must penetrate the operative code of silence and win the trust of the men working the piers and their families they're scared, and have no reason to put themselves on the line for what they see as a callous bureaucracy with few teeth.
Egan finally wins over the victim's wife (Jan Sterling) and a few of his cronies, but along the way discovers that wheels turn within wheels. A former prosecutor, now some sort of lobbyist, drags him to meet the slick operator who calls the shots on the waterfront (Walter Matthau, before he became the shambliest of straight men), who tries to buy him off. (Fortunately, the movie entertains no theories about the source Communists? Organized crime? of the corruption.) But Egan soldiers on, finally persuading his superiors to bring an indictment despite unreliable witnesses and holes in his case.
And this is the movie's most interesting aspect: How the connections and history linking the police, the district attorney and the legal system (Dan Duryea, with a moustache, is another former prosecutor who lives high as a defense lawyer) compromise whatever justice may ultimately be meted out.
While influenced heavily by the noir cycle that was coming to an end, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue shades more heavily toward social commentary; its upbeat ending, too, is anathema to the pessimism of hard-core noir. Still, its good to see Charles McGraw as a police detective, even if he is sporting a silvery mane of hair.
Dig That Theme Music!
Handlinghandel14 August 2006
Surely no other film noir has had such an illustrious composer responsible for its theme music. I studied "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue," the musical suite, in elementary school! The movie itself is quite good. It is a gritty story about life on the waterfront. The director isn't famous but I notice he also directed one of my favorites, which I haven't seen in many a long year: "Down Three Dark Streets"! And what a cast! Most people watching today will single out Walter Matthau, who is fine in a relatively small role. But Richard Egan is excellent as an ambitious young cop. Jan Sterling, always good in tough roles, is excellent as the wife of the man who falls victim to the title event. Julie Adams is appealing as Egan's wife. And Dan Duryea gives a bravura performance as a smart but not very admirable lawyer.
The rest of the cast includes such noir staples as Charles McGraw, Sam Levene, and Mickey Shaughnessy.
Initially, I have to admit that I found the music a little distracting. But I got used to it. And the movie hits pretty hard.
The rest of the cast includes such noir staples as Charles McGraw, Sam Levene, and Mickey Shaughnessy.
Initially, I have to admit that I found the music a little distracting. But I got used to it. And the movie hits pretty hard.
The law of silence
jotix1001 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
As the story begins, we watch three men sneaking into a tenement building in Manhattan's West Side. They have come on a mission to kill Solly Pitts, a decent man, who dared to cross the guys that were in charge of the union that ruled the waterfront in those years. It turned out to be a botched attempt because Solly, miraculously survives, and he is able to tell his wife Madge the names of the three paid assassins.
A young Assistant D.A., Bill Keating, is assigned to cover the case because the other lawyers are busy. As Keating arrives in the hospital, he watches Madge approaching Lt. Anthony Vosnick, as she gives him the names of the perpetrators. Eventually, Keating learns about the identity of the criminals that tried to hill her husband. When he tries to bring justice, he meets a wall of opposition because the unwritten law about ratting these scum bags, plus his own department objection for trying a case in court with the flimsy evidence that Keating has found.
Things at the waterfront were ruled by a corrupt man, Al Dahlke, who controlled all the rackets and felt the need to make an example out of Solly Pitts. In fact, a corrupt policeman, Sid Wallace, tries to get Keating to become friendly toward Dahlke, because he can profit by closing his eyes to the illegal activities around the piers.
"Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" was directed by Albert Laven, a man that went to have a long career on television. The film is based on a real incident that Lawrence Roman, the writer of the screenplay took from Bill Keating's tell-all book. This picture pales in comparison with "On the Waterfront", a fictional account that came before and directed by Elia Kazan.
Richard Egan, the star of the film, was an actor that gave straight performances, as he shows in here. Jan Sterling is effective as Madge Pitts, the wife of the wounded man. Walter Matthau appears as the union boss, Al Dahlke, one of the many heavies he played during those years of his career. Dan Duryea has some excellent moments as the defense lawyer at the trial of the three men that attempted to kill Solly Pitts. Mickey Shaughnessy is seen as Solly. Charles McGraw, Sam Levene, Julie Adams and Harry Bellaver, are part of the supporting cast.
The other asset in the film is the fine score by Richard Rodgers and Herschel Burke Gilbert, assisted by the uncredited Henry Mancini. The New York only location was not shot on the avenue that gives its name to the film, as it appears most of the work was done somewhere else.
A young Assistant D.A., Bill Keating, is assigned to cover the case because the other lawyers are busy. As Keating arrives in the hospital, he watches Madge approaching Lt. Anthony Vosnick, as she gives him the names of the perpetrators. Eventually, Keating learns about the identity of the criminals that tried to hill her husband. When he tries to bring justice, he meets a wall of opposition because the unwritten law about ratting these scum bags, plus his own department objection for trying a case in court with the flimsy evidence that Keating has found.
Things at the waterfront were ruled by a corrupt man, Al Dahlke, who controlled all the rackets and felt the need to make an example out of Solly Pitts. In fact, a corrupt policeman, Sid Wallace, tries to get Keating to become friendly toward Dahlke, because he can profit by closing his eyes to the illegal activities around the piers.
"Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" was directed by Albert Laven, a man that went to have a long career on television. The film is based on a real incident that Lawrence Roman, the writer of the screenplay took from Bill Keating's tell-all book. This picture pales in comparison with "On the Waterfront", a fictional account that came before and directed by Elia Kazan.
Richard Egan, the star of the film, was an actor that gave straight performances, as he shows in here. Jan Sterling is effective as Madge Pitts, the wife of the wounded man. Walter Matthau appears as the union boss, Al Dahlke, one of the many heavies he played during those years of his career. Dan Duryea has some excellent moments as the defense lawyer at the trial of the three men that attempted to kill Solly Pitts. Mickey Shaughnessy is seen as Solly. Charles McGraw, Sam Levene, Julie Adams and Harry Bellaver, are part of the supporting cast.
The other asset in the film is the fine score by Richard Rodgers and Herschel Burke Gilbert, assisted by the uncredited Henry Mancini. The New York only location was not shot on the avenue that gives its name to the film, as it appears most of the work was done somewhere else.
On the Waterfront redux
blanche-224 December 2021
We're back on the troubled waterfront in "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" about the corruption and the men who would rather handle it among themselves.
Richard Egan plays a young prosecutor, William Keating who works with a homicide detective, Lt. Anthony Vosnick (Charles McGraw) in an attempt to build a case against thugs hired by union boss Al Dahlke (Walter Matthau). The men shot Solly Pitts (Mickey Shaugnessy) on his apartment stairway. Pitts manages to croak out the names of his killers to his wife Madge (Jan Sterling). Pitts' friend, Harry Bellaver (Benjy Karp) saw the killers leave.
It should be easy to round up the killers, but the dockworkers aren't talking. Adding to the problem, Keating will be facing off in court with a mob lawyer (Dan Duryea).
Pretty good film, but nowhere near as powerful of On the Waterfront, and I'm sure the filmmakers didn't try for that. The last half hour or so takes place in court, and the end is similar to On the Waterfront.
Good performances.
Richard Egan plays a young prosecutor, William Keating who works with a homicide detective, Lt. Anthony Vosnick (Charles McGraw) in an attempt to build a case against thugs hired by union boss Al Dahlke (Walter Matthau). The men shot Solly Pitts (Mickey Shaugnessy) on his apartment stairway. Pitts manages to croak out the names of his killers to his wife Madge (Jan Sterling). Pitts' friend, Harry Bellaver (Benjy Karp) saw the killers leave.
It should be easy to round up the killers, but the dockworkers aren't talking. Adding to the problem, Keating will be facing off in court with a mob lawyer (Dan Duryea).
Pretty good film, but nowhere near as powerful of On the Waterfront, and I'm sure the filmmakers didn't try for that. The last half hour or so takes place in court, and the end is similar to On the Waterfront.
Good performances.
Trouble still on the waterfront
bkoganbing3 May 2013
Richard Rodgers famous ballet number from On Your Toes serves as the title and the background music for Slaughter On Tenth Avenue, a tale of the New York waterfronts. The twin paradigm about the waterfront is observed in this film as in On The Waterfront, that it is systemically corrupt and the men there settle their own problems.
That's what young prosecutor Richard Egan and homicide cop Charles McGraw face when they try to build a case against three of union boss Walter Matthau's hired thugs. They shot honest pier boss Mickey Shaughnessy in the hallway of his Tenth Avenue apartment building and Shaughnessy's friend Harry Bellaver saw them leave. And while dying, Shaughnessy names his killers to his wife Jan Sterling.
The dockworkers have a Code of Silence, toughest there is and it isn't easy for Egan and McGraw. In fact DA Sam Levene is not sure there's enough to go on. Especially since neophyte prosecutor Egan will be facing top mob lawyer Dan Duryea. And Egan is also planning to get married to Julie Adams.
Slaughter On Tenth Avneue is a competently made and well paced noir film. The comparisons between this and On The Waterfront are too obvious to be ignored. Egan is no Marlon Brando, but I think he would have been the first to admit that. To the dockworkers he comes across as a white shoe lawyer, but Egan worked his way up from the Pennsylvania coal mines where his people were all unionized mine workers.
One thing that distinguishes this from other noir films is that our protagonist Egan is in fact an unambiguous hero unusual for a noir film. There's no real blending of the good and bad, the cast which is well made and gives good performances across the board falls one way or the other as well.
The scene shifts from the court to the docks in the last 20 minutes or so and the climax is really taken right out of On The Waterfront. Slaughter On Tenth Avenue is still a fine bit film making that does credit to the cast and those behind the camera.
That's what young prosecutor Richard Egan and homicide cop Charles McGraw face when they try to build a case against three of union boss Walter Matthau's hired thugs. They shot honest pier boss Mickey Shaughnessy in the hallway of his Tenth Avenue apartment building and Shaughnessy's friend Harry Bellaver saw them leave. And while dying, Shaughnessy names his killers to his wife Jan Sterling.
The dockworkers have a Code of Silence, toughest there is and it isn't easy for Egan and McGraw. In fact DA Sam Levene is not sure there's enough to go on. Especially since neophyte prosecutor Egan will be facing top mob lawyer Dan Duryea. And Egan is also planning to get married to Julie Adams.
Slaughter On Tenth Avneue is a competently made and well paced noir film. The comparisons between this and On The Waterfront are too obvious to be ignored. Egan is no Marlon Brando, but I think he would have been the first to admit that. To the dockworkers he comes across as a white shoe lawyer, but Egan worked his way up from the Pennsylvania coal mines where his people were all unionized mine workers.
One thing that distinguishes this from other noir films is that our protagonist Egan is in fact an unambiguous hero unusual for a noir film. There's no real blending of the good and bad, the cast which is well made and gives good performances across the board falls one way or the other as well.
The scene shifts from the court to the docks in the last 20 minutes or so and the climax is really taken right out of On The Waterfront. Slaughter On Tenth Avenue is still a fine bit film making that does credit to the cast and those behind the camera.
On the Waterfront, it's mob rule.....or war!
mark.waltz13 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
When a hard working longshoreman (Mickey Shaugnessy) is shot in cold blood on his way to work on the Brooklyn waterfront, it becomes up to idealistic young district attorney Richard Egan to put all the pieces together and pin it on mob activity. Witnesses are too scared to come forward, even Shaugnessy's own wife (Jan Sterling), and the case has an impact on Egan's personal life with beautiful fiancee Julie Adams who understands his need to find justice but understandably wishes that this case had come about at a different time in their lives. Egan becomes a man obsessed, meeting with local mob boss Walter Matthau (in an early, very intense performance) and finds him going up against an ingenious defense attorney (Dan Duryea) who twists the facts that Egan has presented to his multiple client's own defense. Even the victim, recovering in the hospital with only a small chance of survival, has his own fears, and perhaps as the audience witnessed in the gritty confrontation scene in the beginning, he knows that he is a doomed man irregardless of the outcome.
Aided by the famous Richard Rodgers score from the ballet which climaxed the 1936 musical "On Your Toes", that music is played throughout (also brilliantly recreated for the 1948 Rodgers/Hart bio musical "Words and Music") in a haunting, sinister manner. This film features gritty location photography that focuses on the Brooklyn waterfront with Manhattan seen from beyond and the editing is equally outstanding. It's nice to see Egan and Adams together here, reunited years later on the daytime soap "Capitol" where Adams played the scheming friend of his character's wife. Sterling, unforgettable in "Ace in the Hole" (aka "The Big Carnival") as a floozy femme fatale, underplays her performance, and Adams adds underlying support to a character who could have seemed self serving and inconsequential to the main plot. However, the great performances by Egan and especially Matthau are the spark that keeps this East River set melodrama flowing, and a conclusion with a minor dock worker character witnessing the culminating confrontation and walking off slowly puts a mark on it that will leave you haunted.
Aided by the famous Richard Rodgers score from the ballet which climaxed the 1936 musical "On Your Toes", that music is played throughout (also brilliantly recreated for the 1948 Rodgers/Hart bio musical "Words and Music") in a haunting, sinister manner. This film features gritty location photography that focuses on the Brooklyn waterfront with Manhattan seen from beyond and the editing is equally outstanding. It's nice to see Egan and Adams together here, reunited years later on the daytime soap "Capitol" where Adams played the scheming friend of his character's wife. Sterling, unforgettable in "Ace in the Hole" (aka "The Big Carnival") as a floozy femme fatale, underplays her performance, and Adams adds underlying support to a character who could have seemed self serving and inconsequential to the main plot. However, the great performances by Egan and especially Matthau are the spark that keeps this East River set melodrama flowing, and a conclusion with a minor dock worker character witnessing the culminating confrontation and walking off slowly puts a mark on it that will leave you haunted.
Realistic rackets-busting drama
luciferjohnson7 February 2000
Based on fact, and hewing closely to a book co-authored by the central character Keating, this movie is based on more or less the real people portrayed in On the Waterfront -- there's even a priest-- only without Brando and without the romance. Egan as Keating is a bit of a stiff. I think the real Keating was more of a rebel. Great title music, an old Rodgers & Hart tune first used in "On Your Toes" for a comic dance number. Still, not much Slaughter and not much Tenth Avenue either. (The real life incident at the beginning took place on Grove Street in Greenwich Village, but "Slaughter on Grove Street" wouldn't sound right, I guess.)
feel of reality
SnoopyStyle2 December 2020
Two thugs shoot Solly Pitts, an honest man at the docks, outside his apartment under order from union boss Al Dahlke (Walter Matthau). ADA Bill Keating (Richard Egan) leads the investigation. He faces fear, corruption, and intransigence.
This crime police drama has the feel of substance. There is a visceral reality to the material. The cops are a little too buttoned up but that's the characterization back in the day. He's a statue except for the last act. Matthau is a great sleaze ball. Heck he's great at anything. This is great whenever Matthau is on the screen.
This crime police drama has the feel of substance. There is a visceral reality to the material. The cops are a little too buttoned up but that's the characterization back in the day. He's a statue except for the last act. Matthau is a great sleaze ball. Heck he's great at anything. This is great whenever Matthau is on the screen.
Powerful Movie
holidayhill-3296831 March 2023
This was a well written and very well acted movie. The story kept me interested and it was realistic. Richard Egan was at the top of his acting game. Dan Dureyea was excellent as the lawyer opposing Egan. Jan Sterling as the suffering wife gave an award winning performance. And as always Walter Matthau the most wonderful character actor was great as the thug union boss. The music score was good. This was a solid movie that I am surprised didn't get nominated for awards. I know when a movie is really good when it can hold my attention, I can't see any holes in the story and I don't want it to end.
I Ain't No Canary!
rmax3048234 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
In order to enjoy this movie, you have to adopt a certain perspective. You have to look at it close up, so that you ignore the fact that it's a variation on the theme of "On The Waterfront" (1954). The points of similarity are myriad. The one that's missing is any poetry whatever in "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue", while there is an abundance of it in "On The Waterfront." I'll give just one example. Marlon Brando, as longshoreman Terry Malloy, is standing in the middle of a dozen other workers on one of the piers. Two members of "the waterfront commission" push their way towards him, calling, "Mr. Malloy? Terry Malloy?" Instead of turning to his left and facing the lawmen, Brando feigns puzzlement and turns the other way, completely around, until he's facing them again. Every dock worker knows that the crime commission is nosing around but longshoremen proudly solve their own problems. Brando's slow shuffling in a circle is a perfect non-verbal expression of his contempt.
But you must forget scenes like that. You have to forget Brando and Eva Marie Saint strolling through a smoky little park and getting to know one another. You have to forget all of that and think of "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" as a thing unto itself. Yes, it's a pale imitation, but it's not ineffective in its own terms.
Richard Egan is an Assistant District Attorney who's assigned a homicide case. The victim, Mickey Shaughnessy, is only one of many 1950s iconic faces. They include Harry Belaver, Dan Duryea, Charles McGraw, Walter Matthau, Mickey Hargity, and Sam Levene. The names may or may not mean anything but you'll probably recognize most of the faces.
The two actresses are well cast. Jan Sterling, as Shaugnessy's wife and, later, widow is fine as the spitfire of a working-class woman. "Madge Pitts." Could anyone think of a better name for her rough, uneducated character? Julie Adams is Egan's girl friend and, as usual, she exudes an air of elegance in addition to her dark and striking beauty. She SOUNDS like the kind of babe who could marry an ambitious lawyer on his way up the bureaucratic ladder, while "Madge Pitts" belongs in a dump with an oilcloth covering the table in the tiny kitchen.
The central role is Richard Egan's district attorney. He's handsome enough, I suppose, and has a slightly nasal but resonant baritone. I like him. But if this is a display of his acting chops, then one must admit that he's not as well cast as Madge Pitts. Walter Matthau has the "Johnny Friendly" role -- all good will and bad grammar. I prefer him as a good guy.
The plot gets too complicated to describe, and I'm not at all sure why Matthau and his goons wind up in the paddy wagon, but okay. I get the fact that it's a happy ending.
But you must forget scenes like that. You have to forget Brando and Eva Marie Saint strolling through a smoky little park and getting to know one another. You have to forget all of that and think of "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" as a thing unto itself. Yes, it's a pale imitation, but it's not ineffective in its own terms.
Richard Egan is an Assistant District Attorney who's assigned a homicide case. The victim, Mickey Shaughnessy, is only one of many 1950s iconic faces. They include Harry Belaver, Dan Duryea, Charles McGraw, Walter Matthau, Mickey Hargity, and Sam Levene. The names may or may not mean anything but you'll probably recognize most of the faces.
The two actresses are well cast. Jan Sterling, as Shaugnessy's wife and, later, widow is fine as the spitfire of a working-class woman. "Madge Pitts." Could anyone think of a better name for her rough, uneducated character? Julie Adams is Egan's girl friend and, as usual, she exudes an air of elegance in addition to her dark and striking beauty. She SOUNDS like the kind of babe who could marry an ambitious lawyer on his way up the bureaucratic ladder, while "Madge Pitts" belongs in a dump with an oilcloth covering the table in the tiny kitchen.
The central role is Richard Egan's district attorney. He's handsome enough, I suppose, and has a slightly nasal but resonant baritone. I like him. But if this is a display of his acting chops, then one must admit that he's not as well cast as Madge Pitts. Walter Matthau has the "Johnny Friendly" role -- all good will and bad grammar. I prefer him as a good guy.
The plot gets too complicated to describe, and I'm not at all sure why Matthau and his goons wind up in the paddy wagon, but okay. I get the fact that it's a happy ending.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
