From the B-Movie Hive: The Naked Street

The Naked Street buzzes with the atmosphere of film noir from the B-movie hive, but it doesn't really qualify. Oh sure, there are shadows to be found here and the moral underpinnings are as difficult to parse as one of my paragraph-length sentences that many readers say they don't like, but just as many readers say they appreciate with a knowing smile as they read them just like many filmgoers enjoy film noir movies that really aren't film noir movies like, for instance, The Naked Street.

Farley Granger is not generally recognized as one of the icons of great film acting, but he turned in three memorable performances in his career--four if you count his appearance in the New Year's Eve episode of Jim Hutton's Ellery Queen series. Granger's most notable performances occur in They Drive by Night and Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Strangers on a Train. In the latter movie he is, of course, overshadowed by the monumental performance of Robert Walker. He also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's experiment with filming continuously without cuts as Leopold or Loeb--I always forget which--in Rope. Hard to tell whether his hysteria in that movie is the result of great acting or being under pressure to shoot 10 minute scenes without screwing up.

Farley Granger's third great performance is in The Naked Street.

He plays a bounder and ne'er-do-well who has knocked up an impossibly young Anne Bancroft and knocked over a liquor store. In the process of the latter, he accidentally shoots and kills the proprietor. To jail he goes, but in jail he will not stay. Because you see, Anne Bancroft is the sister of Anthony Quinn--did he ever give a bad performance?--and Quinn is a baaaaad man. Quinn plays Phil Regal who changed his name from Phil Regalzyk and is not necessarily a member of the Mafia, but is certainly a vital element in the organized crime in the city. Such is the reach of Phil Regal that he can pay off judges and strong-arm eyewitnesses to the extent that Farley Granger's Nicky Bradna gets out of jail about 15 minutes before he is to be executed. I kid, of course, but it is definitely a last minute reprieve. Naturally, a man like Quinn's Phil Regal expects something in return and he gets what he wants: Nicky marries Anne Bancroft and even puts up with not being taken into the family bidness.

If you are sensing a surefire case of deja vu here, don't be alarmed. The Naked Street was released in 1955. Less than 20 years later a much more famous movie would feature a subplot that is startlingly similar to the entire plot of this movie. Remember that scene in The Godfather when Sonny beats up Carlo on the sidewalk? Sonny carries out Mafia justice on his brother-in-law for going all Gingrich on his sister by stepping out with other women and carrying a grudge for not being given the golden ticket he thinks he deserves.

Anthony Quinn plays the James Caan part to Farley Granger's, well, whoever the actor was that played Carlo. I can't remember. One of the few Godfather cast members to disappear into obscurity.

So, yes, there is certainly a more than passing resemblance between an infamous subplot of The Godfather and the plot of The Naked Street. (Not to be confused with Sam Fuller's The Naked Kiss; one of the most bizarre movies ever made by someone not named Warhol or Waters.) This is a tough little B-movie with an A-movie cast that flies along at a clip that makes The Godfather seem like any of the Lord of the Rings movies. The only flaw in an otherwise perfect little crime thriller/suspense/family noir movie is that you can see the end walking right up 5th Avenue naked and with hoop earrings hanging from its manly nipples. The ending is given away during an awkwardly written scene about midway through the movie.

Stick with The Naked Street to the end and forgive the obvious ending and you will be pleasantly entertained for a good 90 minutes.