99 River Street (1953) User Reviews

"You're a reckless man, Rawlins. And I don't like reckless men."

[abooboo-2 · 8/10 · 16 August 2001]

I had really only been familiar with John Payne from his role in the Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street" and perhaps a forgettable musical or two. Naturally I was amazed at how effective he is in this dazzling, violent noir as a basically decent but brooding and extremely volatile former prize fighter reduced to driving a cab to support his beautiful, cheating wife. His acting is unflinching, unsentimental and completely authentic. He creates nearly as vivid and memorable a hard luck character as Marlon Brando did in "On The Waterfront".

The big city of this film (as presented by the marvelous and criminally under-appreciated director Phil Karlson) is a simultaneous vision of heaven and hell. Frank Faylen, Evelyn Keyes and Eddy Waller are angels, willing to do anything to protect vulnerable Payne (even mislead the police), their faith in his inherent goodness unshakeable despite his tirades and self-destructive tendencies. Brad Dexter, Peggie Castle, Jay Adler and Jack Lambert are devils; selfish, ruthless and evil to the core (although there are shadings to Castle's portrayal of the cheating wife which suggest she does feel some remorse). At one point Payne gets caught in the web of the villainous Adler, who has bigger fish to fry, and explains that he needs to be let go so he can find the man who framed him for murder. "Well, isn't that unfortunate?" Adler coldly responds before having one of his henchman conk Payne on the back of the head.

You'll have a hard time finding a better supporting cast than the one here. One of those rare movies where everyone nails their parts and comes through with a fresh, inspired take. A sly, sturdy, thrilling, consistently surprising picture.

A gritty John Payne...that's quite an improvement over his old persona.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 21 March 2011]

In the 1930s and 40s, John Payne played a handsome but relatively bland guy in many top films. He was eye candy and mostly played supporting characters. However, in 1950's Payne was no longer the handsome matinée idol and instead often took parts in tough westerns or film noir (such as "Kansas City Confidential"--as well as "99 River Street".

Payne plays a washed up boxer who is married to a cheating no-good tramp. She loved him well enough when he was on top in the fight game but now that he's no longer able to box, she is stepping out on him with a crook. He offers more excitement and all the fancy stuff that Payne cannot afford. Payne discovers them and storms off. In the meantime, the boyfriend and Payne's wife walk into a bad deal and Payne is set up with a very, very unfunny practical joke. Considering that following these events Payne is very publicly angry, he is the most likely suspect when his wife is killed--especially since the killer made sure to make it look like Payne's doing. So, it's up to Payne and a lady friend to clear himself and find the real killer before the cops find him. The only problem is that there are some REALLY dangerous characters out to kill the killer--and anyone else that gets in their way.

This is a very tough film--and one that is perfect for Payne's new image. The boxing scenes were brutal(with lots of atypical 1950s blood), the dialog snappy and the plot quite engaging. I also appreciated the wonderful vamp scene that Evelyn Keyes did near the end--you gotta see this one! An excellent noir thriller--and highly recommended.

very good noir

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 16 January 2011]

John Payne and Evelyn Keyes head for "99 River Street" in this film noir directed by Phil Karlson, and a very good one it is. Payne plays Ernie Driscoll, a washed up fighter who now drives a cab and has to take insults from his pretty, actress wannabe wife Pauline (Peggy Castle) who coulda been a contender if she hadn't married him. It turns out that she has a crooked boyfriend, Victor Rawlins (Brad Dexter) who is planning to get $50,000 from some diamonds and run away with her. When the fence refuses to deal with Rawlins because there's a woman with him, Rawlins kills Pauline and puts her body in Ernie's cab! Ernie's got to clear himself, and a friend at the cab company (Frank Faylen) and an aspiring actress friend (Evelyn Keyes) are there to help.

There are a very neat twists in this very atmospheric, gritty noir, which doesn't hold back on the violence. John Payne obviously loved this genre, or else he wanted to work against his clean-cut leading man image of the '40s. Here he looks like a fighter who's taken a lot of punches, and he does a great job as a basically good guy who's been dealt some bad cards and is angry about it. You're really pulling for him. Evelyn Keyes is wonderful as his friend, and her seduction act in a bar is one of the best scenes in the film. Frank Faylen, of course, is always likable - this is about six years before he became Dobie Gillis' father. Brad Dexter is excellent as a ruthless gangster.

Recommended, particularly if you like the genre.

John Payne/Phil Karlson combo makes for potent punch

[bmacv · 9/10 · 21 August 2001]

The underrated John Payne -- an ideal Everyman -- teamed with director Phil Karlson in a number of 50s thrillers. All bear viewing, but maybe the pick of the crop is 99 River Street. Payne plays a washed-up boxer now driving a hack, and the movie opens in a frame-within-a-frame of his watching himself in an old bout on TV. Trying to win back the affections of his couldn't-care-less wife (Peggie Castle), he discovers that she's two-timing him. Meanwhile an old gal-pal with theatrical yearnings (Evelyn Keyes, and maybe her finest hour) tries to enlist him in a scheme of her own, which backfires. Next, his wife turns up dead....Karlson keeps the tension high but well-modulated while managing to strike most of the images and motifs on the noir keyboard (including some evocative night footage of the Jersey waterfront). Overall, this installment in the cycle (which has never appeared on commercial videotape) remains one of the most satisfying and characteristic examples of noir in the early Eisenhower era -- slightly less spooky than its 40s predecessors, but a bit more brutal, too.

Payne Against the World

[telegonus · 9/10 · 28 August 2002]

As in the the previous year's Kansas City Confidential, John Payne is a most put-upon protagonist. Directed by KC Confidential's Phil Karlson, and photographed in gorgeous black and white, alternately harsh and painterly, by Franz Planer, this one has Payne as a washed up prizefighter who must avenge his worthless wife's murder, not because he cared particularly for her but because he is (falsely) implicated in it. Payne has to take on a good number of unsavory characters, and proves himself if nothing else still a most able man with his fists. There's a nice feeling for fifties urban night life in this one, of a less than high class style. Karlson shows an almost Fritz Langian feeling for the traps people fall into, personal and criminal, and like Lang doesn't go much for self-pity. In the Karlson scheme of things guys get framed for things they didn't do every day, affluent crooks wear expensive overcoats and take cruises fairly regularly, while working stiffs get the wrong end of the stick every time. It takes a tough man to survive in this universe. Payne is not only tough he's so resolute and bad tempered as to make the real bad guys look like the respectable businessmen they claim to be. It's Payne Against the World in this one. Or Pain Against the World, as the character Payne plays seems to suffer as much from internal anguish as anything the villains of the piece cook up for him.

Terse example of rough & tumble 50s noir

[Eddie-102 · 13 July 1999]

This might be Phil Karlson's tightest, most satisfying film.

John Payne and Evelyn Keyes play it in the best pulp tradition, with Keyes especially enjoyable in a couple of marvelous set-pieces, one in an empty theater and the other a greasy-spoon diner where she really vamps it up with Brad Dexter. Too bad Keyes dropped out of pictures in the mid-50s.

Very gripping, brutal film noir with John Payne as bad-tempered ex-boxer...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 14 January 2011]

This is definitive film noir where the hero must prove he isn't guilty of a crime and has to deal with the thugs out to frame him and a woman who gets him into more trouble than he ever expected.

JOHN PAYNE excels as the scowling fighter who has a couple of really well-staged fight scenes with JACK LAMBERT and BRAD DEXTER, outside the ring and in the dark underworld of crime and passion.

The surprise of this low-budget thriller is EVELYN KEYES as an ambitious actress who gets Payne unknowingly involved in her attempt to land a Broadway role wherein she plays a nasty trick on him. Then, to make up for her rash behavior and poor judgment, she sticks by him when he needs a witness to prove he didn't murder his wife, played with relish by PEGGY CASTLE.

Under Phil Karlson's direction, it's all wildly unpredictable with enough sub-plots and twists to make it engrossing from start to finish. Payne was after meatier roles after leaving Fox in all of those pretty boy roles and musicals, establishing a new persona as a tough film noir hero, rugged and ready for the fight. He's excellent and so are the other players.

Keyes reveals raw acting talent of astonishing intensity, especially in the key scene where she plays a theatrical trick on him--and the viewer.

As usual, an actor who once played leading roles at Fox, GLENN LANGAN, is wasted in a minor role. FRANK FAYLEN gives his usual reliable performance as Payne's taxi driver friend.

Well worth watching if you're a film noir fan and don't mind a gritty tale that doesn't pull its punches.

A Must-See For Noir Fans

[jimmccool · 10/10 · 27 June 2007]

Think Kansas City Confidential - and you'll known where this hot potato is a-comin' from.

Terse, twisty, and more than a bit brutal, with performances from both main and secondary characters that are never short of excellent, 99 River Street is a real treat for hard-boiled Noir fans. This 'B' was an unknown quantity to me and gave me a real pleasant-as-cold-beer-on-a-hot-Sunday surprise. The plot turns and twists like a rattlesnake on ketamine, while the host of slimy villains oozing their way through the deitrus of the Dark City - when not force-feeding puppies! - reflect an ocean of corruption and moral decay. Even Payne is a very flawed hero, wrestling with wife-beating rage, and lashing out even at those who try to care for him. Stand-outs include Brad Dexter as a sleaze-ball crook, even more cunning than the homicidal private eye he played in Asphalt Jungle; and Jack Lambert, brilliantly playing the Dum-Dum psycho as always, as in The Killers, TheEnforcer.

99 River Street - 'B' Movie Hell, Pulp Noir Heaven!

Cab Driver On A Mission

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 14 January 2011]

99 River Street finds John Payne cast as a former heavyweight boxer now driving a cab having lost his chance at the title due to an eye injury in the same bout. His wife Peggie Castle who married him in his glamor days is running around with professional thief Brad Dexter behind Payne's back. Of course he's quite a bit put out when he discovers this.

But Castle's bought into a lot more than she could chew. Dexter killed a man on a robbery in which Castle had earlier cased the joint. As a result fence Jay Adler doesn't want to know from him or the jewels he robbed. And Castle's ready to come apart. Adler makes it clear he doesn't like dealing with women as a general rule in any case.

What to do, but murder Castle and frame Payne for it. But fortunately Payne has Evelyn Keyes along who witnesses the shock when Payne finds Castle's body dumped in his cab. She's already involved Payne in her own little scheme for Broadway stardom that didn't quite work out. But she initially comes off as an airhead, but in reality proves to be good when the going gets tough.

Phil Karlson who directed Payne in one of my favorite noir films Kansas City Confidential has Payne's character revved up to a white hot fury. This is not a man to get in the way of when he's on a mission.

Sad to say though he is a bit of fathead when it comes to picking women and they seem to run rings around him. It does kind of detract from him as a hero.

Producer Edward Small and director Karlson got a great group of supporting players like Eddy Waller, Jack Lambert, and most of all Frank Faylen as his former trainer now his cab dispatcher to support his stars besides the ones I already mention. Payne's final scene with Brad Dexter is reminiscent of his championship fight.

99 River Street while not up to Kansas City Confidential's standards is still pretty good and will keep your attention to John Payne and his mission.

On the line

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 7 August 2020]

The story for '99 River Street' sounded great. Have always liked films with this kind of story and the genre it fits under. Phil Karlson is not one of my favourite directors and there is plenty more of his work to see, but what has been seen has impressed me ('Gunman's Walk' being one of his best). Know John Payne better from much lighter fare and musicals, and he was generally watchable. Did worry though as to whether the role here would suit him and whether he would have enough presence in it.

My worries quickly evaporated very soon into my viewing of '99 River Street'. It may not be lavish in budget, it is not that type of film, but never does it look cheap (quite the opposite) and it is far from modest in how it approached its subject. '99 River Street' does see Payne excelling in tougher roles and shows that he did indeed have the presence needed for his role here. It is to me one of Karlson's best, up there with 'Gunman's Walk'. To me, this was an extremely good film in almost every way.

Let down only, though this is nit-picky and not that distracting, by it ending a little too neatly.

'99 River Street' on the other hand looks pretty darn good for modest budget. Found the photography to be incredibly stylish and full of atmosphere and there was nothing phony-looking about the sets. The lighting is also suitably eerie. Karlson's direction is always confident and tight yet controlled, keeping things moving at a strong pace and not letting the suspense slip. The music didn't come over as over-scored or too low-key and was haunting when necessary.

Furthermore, '99 River Street' benefits further from a lean and intelligent script that doesn't hold back while having some slyness too. The story is gritty, tough and the latter stages are genuinely suspenseful. Some may talk about suspension of disbelief but to me that wasn't a problem (nothing insulted my intelligence or annoyed me), with the story being so absorbing and atmospheric, with memorable scenes such as the climax and in the theatre. The subject is a hard-boiled one executed with edge. The characters did engage me and came over as real.

Payne is a charismatic and thoroughly committed lead and plays a hard-hitting role with edge, charm and intensity without being too dour. Evelyn Keyes is a no-nonsense and lively match for him and Brad Dexter's ruthlessness is quite chilling. Jack Lambert is also memorable, all the acting works.

In short, great film and deserving of more exposure. 9/10

RIGHT DOWN THE BLOCK FROM ME...MAYBE...!

[masonfisk · 7/10 · 9 April 2019]

A film noir which takes place during the course of one night from 1953. A former boxer now taxi driver is having the night of all nights when he begins his evening getting into a spat w/his high strung wife only for that to be the low ebb of an incident filled shift. His wife has hooked up w/a crook, played by Brad Dexter (one of the Magnificent Seven) to fence some jewelry he's pilfered but when the sale goes south, he offs her & tries to frame the husband. The husband gets help from his old boxing buddy/dispatcher & an up and coming actress he's befriended to clear his name in a finale that ends up at the docks in Jersey City (I kid you not). Starring John Payne & Evelyn Keyes, this busy noir is full of incident & activity which successfully deflects from the contrivance of the entire set up but at under 90 minutes, I rather spend time here then somewhere else.

Unpredictable, clever, engaging fast-paced noir.

[CatTales · 10/10 · 17 March 2001]

I've seen many film noirs and this one still had some wild, unexpected plot twists. Plot was clever but never too confusing(in spite of the wonderful twists), and employed believable film noir ambience (sexy betraying blonde, hard-up disillusioned hero, & good girl sidekick, heist, etc). Film doesn't emote too much sentiment with the characters, you sympathize alittle with the "hero" and a gangster. VERY FUN to watch. Definitely underrated, esp. compared with ANYTHING made after 1970. My only problem with it: did they really make closet doors with bolt locks in the 1950's?(our hero locks a bad guy in a closet).

Not quite down for the count.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 2 September 2012]

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.

I Don't Do Business With No Dames.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 14 January 2011]

John Payne, smart guy, not much of an actor, made a series of inexpensive studio-bound semi-noirs in the early 50s in which he was often the victim of a frame. In this one, he's an amiable ex boxer -- nice, masculine occupation -- who now drives a cab because of an eye injury. When he discovers that his gorgeous, sexy wife (Castle) is schtupping some thief, he becomes bitter and easily angered.

It's even worse because her boyfriend is Brad Dexter, the sleazy private eye who had shot Sterling Hayden in "The Asphalt Jungle." Peggy Castle simply has no taste, you know? Dexter is mixed up with a gang of armed robbers, fences, money launderers, and shoe fetishists or something. It's not clear exactly what such established heavies as the pop-eyed Jay Adler and the Neanderthal Jack Lambert actually do, besides double cross each other.

Adler has agreed to buy some stolen diamonds from Dexter but when Dexter show up with Payne's runaway wife in tow, Adler demurs. He don't do business with no dames because they can't be trusted. The solution to Dexter's conundrum is simple. He takes the luscious Peggy Castle up to his apartment, strangles her, and dumps the body in the back of Payne's cab.

Dexter finagles the fifty large from Adler but Adler wants the money back and pursues Dexter as he tries to make a getaway from a pier behind the River Cafe or whatever it is, in Jersey City. Payne is in pursuit of Dexter because, by this time, he's discovered that Dexter is the killer of his wife. Well -- not exactly. Actually that conclusion requires a leap of faith on Payne's part.

But let's not get into holes in the plot or, more generally, its weaknesses because then we'd have to figure out why so much emphasis is place on Payne's determination to return to boxing, a narrative thread abruptly dropped, like a corpse in the back seat of a taxi. We'd have to start wondering why Jay Adler has such a problem doing business with women around, even as mere witnesses. What did Adler's mother ever do to him? Speaking as a psychologist, I'd begin with deficient potty training. And then, too, we'd need to ponder Dexter's motives in dragging Peggy Castle along and insisting she witness the exchange of money and diamonds. We psychologists call this "separation anxiety." It's why children cry when they have to leave home for their first day of school. I have other questions too. To whom do I send this bill?

The director was Phil Karlson, who had a curious career. His work might be called clumsy by some but I think "primitive" is a more apt description. He does a headlong job, kind of like Samuel Fuller but without any irony or social comment. He rams the fast-paced plot down your throat whether you're ready or not. He made some clunkers but also some more disturbing things like "The Phoenix City Story" and "Five Against the House" and "Walking Tall."

Clearly Karlson's best film

[muddlyjames · 8/10 · 21 January 2002]

• Not the meandering KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL. This one has all his best elements: terse, supremely functional scenes, casual brutality, a visual style emphasizing the coarse, glaring surface of things, a view of the world as one big "con" (with actors (!) featured as moral shysters in this case), and a plot that barrels along like a freight train. It also features a surprisingly sympathetic lead character (great job of low-key acting from Payne)and believable interchanges between him and the good and bad women in the film. The ending is a marvel of staging, lighting, and camera movement. This film is the main basis of Karlson's genuine (if minor) film legacy.

A bit different and worth watching.

[KEITH-LANCASTER · 8/10 · 13 June 2002]

Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) loses his heavyweight boxing crown and

has to endure the nagging tirades of his wife. She realizes that Ernie`s defeat and his deteriorating fighting abilities will mean no more big paychecks. She gets involved with Brad Dexter ( a

small time hood) hoping that Dexter`s big time ambitions will help to elevate her social and financial status. However when Dexter does hit it big, her demands and threats incur his ire and he kills her. Driscoll is blamed and now has to find out who did kill his wife. From here on in the action is fast and furious. Evelyn Keyes and

Frank Faylen are his allies (Keyes, a budding actress and Faylen a

buddy working with Driscoll as a cab driver) who ably assist in

the dangerous quest to find the killer. Earlier in the film Keyes had tricked Payne (Driscoll) into believing that she had killed a

man during an argument. Payne follows her to the scene of the "crime" which appears to have occurred on the stage of an empty theatre. She becomes hysterical as she looks at the body, Payne comforts her and tries to calm her. The murder is a hoax. Keyes is on trial to display her acting skills. The lights go on and

several people appear, all applauding the performance given by Keyes. Driscoll is furious and attacks them knocking the nearest man down. His anger is short lived and he befriends her realizing that his

violent attack had probably lost her the role for which she was

auditioning. A series of encounters with other hoods (also looking for Dexter and whatever he has) eventually leads to the location of Dexter. The final scene takes place on the deck of a ship where Dexter is planning to make his escape. A fight between him and Payne results in a confession and the subsequent exoneration of

Payne. One thing I find very realistic in movies starring John Payne, and that is that his fights all seem to underline his obvious skill at being able to throw punches that any boxer would be proud of. Watch his fistic display during a fight he has with Jack Lambert. This happens midway through the film when Payne corners Lambert in a sleazy hotel room and "persuades" him to reveal the whereabouts of Dexter. A film full of action and tension, see it I think you`ll agree.

Payne is in a lot of Pain

[dougdoepke · 20 January 2013]

Poor Ernie. He takes a beating in the boxing ring, and then even a bigger one from two heartless women. You can just feel his smoldering emotion about to explode like a hand grenade on that theatre stage. All those theatre types rushing around patting themselves on the back, while he stands there, the disbelieving dupe.

As the luckless boxer turned cabbie turned fall guy, Payne's great. The anguish all over his cracked face. So how's he going to get back his self-respect when he keeps getting the short end of the stick. Now he's up for a murder rap unless he can track down the slippery Rawlins (Dexter), which doesn't get any easier especially after the cagey slickster puts a bullet hole in him. Rarely have I seen a movie where the lead takes such a beating.

But what can he expect when he's got that silken tramp Peggie Castle (Pauline) for a wife. Who could trust her around any man. Too bad actress Castle died so young; she was so good in these heartless roles. Then there's Eveline Keyes as Linda who can't seem to decide which side of the fence she's on. At least as an actress Keyes could give a graduate course in how to over-act, judging from the movie's first half.

This is a typical Phil Karlson film—you can feel the characters' pain even if it is up there on the movie screen. At times, Karlson's close-ups are a stunning portrait of agony. It's noir, for sure, even if the focus is more on character than shadowy atmosphere, though there's still a lot of the latter. At times the plot gets a little confusing, but that's okay since Ernie's supposed to be up against dark forces he can barely distinguish. Anyway, it's first-rate thick- ear, showing why Karlson's considered a master of crime drama that makes us not just see but feel as well.

He's not about to be messed with.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 6 May 2014]

Neither a trampy wife or a press hungry Broadway producer can fool with beaten prize fighter John Payne. He's struggling to make ends meet to keep the social climbing wife happy, driving a cab and trying to save money in order to buy a gas station. But it isn't bad enough that his wife nags him to try and make something better of himself, it's watching the fight that destroyed his career on T.V. as well. Nothing can please this bleached blonde harpy (Peggie Castle) who, as it turns out, has been stepping out on him with a jewel thief (Brad Dexter) who wants to sell off his goods so they can get out of the country. Once Payne spots the two together, he is angry enough to kill, and she is terrified. But when things go awry with the fence who refuses to buy the goods, someone is about to get knocked off, and it is Payne who must clear himself of that murder.

Not only does Payne have his lascivious wife and her ruthless lover to deal with (not to mention the fence), a struggling actress (Evelyn Keyes) utilizes him in a scheme which gets him more into trouble. But in spite of what she did, Keyes is an o.k. broad, and she finds herself tossed in to helping him clear his name. The race is set and the film noir is off and running. Payne is as brooding an anti-hero as you can find, definitely beaten up by life, and definitely the victim of not only one dame, but two. That makes for film noir at its finest, and in this one, the waterfront streets of New York are utilized in helping the storyline move into a dark and lonely place you can only hope the hero will be able to get himself out of.

Well written and acted, excellently photographed, and gripping, this is a sleeper of the mid noir years that is in many ways just as tense as some of the first great films of that genre. Everything is in place to get you hooked, and the twists and turns are as difficult to find your way out of as a quick exit out of Alphabet City. Keyes gets to shine as the promising actress who utilizes her talents to aide Payne, especially in trying to get close to the film's villain. When she puts on her easy broad facade, it's like watching a different character than the nice lady who approached Payne just hours before to pay off her car fare. Finding a rare gem like this is like finding a brand new friend, and in this case, you may find yourself wanting to add it to your film noir collection.

Keep your theatre and the rats in it.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 25 September 2013]

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

Gritty B Noir

[kenjha · 7/10 · 14 January 2011]

Things go from bad to worse for an ex-boxer struggling to make ends meet when he's framed for his wife's murder. The script has some loose ends, but it is well paced, with most of the action taking place over the course of a few hours as the hero searches for the killer while encountering some shady characters. Karlson was one of the best directors of low-budget film noir, and here he makes up for some of the shortcomings of the script by creating a gritty atmosphere. Karlson is reunited with Payne, the star of his best-known film, the previous year's "Kansas City Confidential." As the rugged hero, Payne is effective if over-emotive at times. Keyes is the plucky heroine.

Underrated, Fast-Paced and Violent

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 16 September 2017]

During the dispute of the box championship, the boxer Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) loses the fight and the champion damages his optic nerve. Ernie is forced to quit his career and becomes a taxi driver in New York. His wife Pauline Driscoll (Peggie Castle) blames him for their simple life and their relationship is not good. The quick-tempered Ernie usually meets his friend, the aspirant actress Linda James (Evelyn Keyes), at the bar where he drinks coffee late night. Pauline has a love affair with the elegant thief Victor Rawlins (Brad Dexter) and she helps him to steal a fortune in diamonds from a man called Dutch. Meanwhile Linda lures Ernie to be cast in a play but when she learns that the producer has accused Ernie to the police to promote his play, she regrets and decides to help him. Meanwhile Victor kills Pauline to sell the jewels to a powerful fence and frames Ernie so that he can travel abroad. Now Ernie and Linda need to track Victor down to prove his innocence, but the fence and his gang are also chasing Victor to kill him.

"99 River Street" is a different, underrated, fast-paced and violent film-noir. The story and the screenplay are engaging and the direction and performances are top-notch. The conclusion with a happy-ending is also unusual in this genre but works very well in this film. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "A Morte Ronda o Cais" (""Death Prowls the Habour")

Boxer & Actress on the Loose

[jcappy · 7/10 · 13 August 2022]

"99 River Street" has all the momentum of classic noir--that is, in spite of the acting. It's not that there's not much good acting but rather that it's the featured actors who fail to deliver. Yup, overacting, which is bad enough in any movie, is worse in film noir. In fact, in this instance, if not for the supporting cast, "99" might fall into the category of middling noir.

I'm assuming that director Phil Karlson directs stars John Payne and Evelyn Keyes to hammer us & emotionally drench us with their roles. It's as if the boxer (Payne) must be verbally boxing at every turn, and that the actress (Keyes) cannot tone down her heightened emotions once offstage. Maybe this is Karlson's idea of staying-in-character (ha)... a boxer is pugilistic, an actress is over-the-top dramatic. Got that.

True, Karlson seems to leave his character actors mainly untouched, which has the effect of muting the bruiting noise & ingratiating over-reach. And so we have Brad Dexter (Rawlins), the vile crook; Jack Lambert (Micky), the underworld diamond expert; and Frank Faylen (Stan), the taxi radio dispatcher, all acting throughout (thankfully) in convincing character. These characters belong to a noir movie, while the stars belong to a stage. Which presents the problem of audience sympathy. Where that lies may differ, but by "99 River Street's" final scenes, I was pulling for the villainous Rawlins character over Payne's. And this was made even more emphatic by the cloying final scene, in which Payne gets his dreamed of gas station, and Keyes, having quit the stage and been humbled enough to make a suitable wife for the hero, gets her man, her chocolates, and his baby.

intensely simple, simply intense; must see

[ccpivo-credit · 9/10 · 14 January 2011]

Adding my simple and direct...Payne's personal individuality sweats off the screen in this top notch noir. This is must see for anyone who loves mystery, noir or film at all. Lack of top rung stars makes all the better and at least four performances couldn't be be improved. Cinematography simple but effective, although some dubious shots at end. Flaws include melodrama at start and finish but they don't affect the core 80 minutes.

Payne is brilliant even when dull or dumb. Evil wifey way sexy in the pantheon of evil chicks, but the 10 second cigarette lighting event at the end burns steals the limited sexy award in the film (still trying to research how many takes it took).

The violence is pretty real for that time and only two short periods of hokum in the film, probably to keep it palatable in theaters at the time. Shockingly unknown, some of the characters from KC Confidential keep the all pieces in place, but 99 River Street is more intense and less surreal than that standard. Enjoy.

Packs a solid punch of a film noir outside the ring.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 15 April 2023]

99 River Street (1953) : Brief Review -

Packs a solid punch of a film noir outside the ring. 99 River Street is underrated for sure if I have to consider the less recognition it has received over the year. But there is nothing extraordinary about it if someone is trying to make it look like a great film. It's got highs and lows, but certainly it's more than watchable. There is drama, there is thrill, there is love, there is betrayal, there is crime, there is murder mystery, there is some chaos, and a smart one, I must say. So overall, it's a nice script. The only thing about it that's not highly intelligent is its climax. I personally don't really fancy those accidental conflicts or twists in the climax because they take away the liberty of writing something smart from you. The film is about a boxer turned cab driver who is trying to make things up with his gold-digging wife. However, she has found a new man for herself who can give her the jewellery and diamonds she wants. Furious to learn about her affair, the cab driver leaves and gets stuck in one of his best female companions' gags. Even more furious after the gag, he is being followed by police for two crimes that he didn't commit at all. Once a champion boxer, but can he still land his punches right on the opponent? That's all that you get to see in 99 River Street. John Payne is fantastic in his role. A Banger! Evelyn Keyes does even better. She has one of the biggest and finest monologues of all time, and what killer expressions she gave there. I just couldn't take my eyes off her in that scene. One more fine scene was the bar dancing and flirting scene. Again, killer work. Brad Dexter makes a terrific antagonist here, and the supporting cast is superb. Phil Karlson ticks all the boxes of the "film noir" term right. Drama, thrill, gripping noir-he gives you three in one.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Dead End

[masterjk2 · 5/10 · 19 January 2013]

The only reason I watched this clunker was it was on Turner Movies and has touted so highly by the guest that night. Yes, the settings are truly good film noir. And the plot had its high moments ... and low ones. The twist in the theatre was imaginative, if not believable. But the idea that this actress (where did they find her??? Was she really sleeping with the producer of THIS movie)would give up her so sought after part to follow the boxer around like puppy dog was ludicrous. As was her "acting." it's no wonder this movie is "unknown." Better it had stayed that way! The lead actor is quite good and the supporting cast is also, for the most part. I wasn't in NYC in the 50's, but I'll bet this is the way it was as for atmosphere.