Crime in the Streets main backdrop
Crime in the Streets main poster

Crime in the Streets

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6.0/10 • 24

1956-06-101h 31m

CrimeDramaThriller

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.

Directors
Don Siegel
Editors
Richard C. Meyer

Top Billed Cast

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  1. James Whitmore

    James Whitmore

    Ben Wagner

  2. Sal Mineo

    Sal Mineo

    Angelo 'Baby' Gioia

  3. John Cassavetes

    John Cassavetes

    Frankie Dane

  4. Mark Rydell

    Mark Rydell

    Lou Macklin

  5. Virginia Gregg

    Virginia Gregg

    Mrs. Dane

  6. Peter J. Votrian

    Peter J. Votrian

    Richie Dane (as Peter Votrian)

  7. Will Kuluva

    Will Kuluva

    Mr. Gioia

  8. Malcolm Atterbury

    Malcolm Atterbury

    Mr. McAllister

  9. Denise Alexander

    Denise Alexander

    Maria Gioia

Reviews1

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Mar 29, 2020

6/10

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

Media

  • Crime in the Streets poster
  • Crime in the Streets poster
  • Crime in the Streets poster
  • Crime in the Streets poster
  • Crime in the Streets poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
street gangjuvenile delinquent