The Street With No Name

The Street With No Name (1948, Fox) Directed by William Keighley and shot by Joe MacDonald and starring Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark and Lloyd Nolan. This flick crackles from it's opening mob rub out to it's federally finessed finale. This one is done in the semi-documentary style that a lot of law enforcement noirs employed. It gives an excuse for voice over, and lends a sense of truthfulness to an audience eager to believe in such a hip world. The dp was Joe MacDonald, who seems to have been under contract to Fox during the meat of the noir cycle. Though he didn't move around with the freedom of a John Alston or an Ernest Lazslo, he stands atop the same mountain. The enforcement of the law in this one falls to the FBI, and here, Keighley takes pleasure in showing us seemingly authentic training sequences. (A note about training sequences: whether they are taking place in a semi documentary noir, or on Spectre Island, or being taught to three crippled initiates by a Kung Fu Master, training sequences are always, always cool). Anyway, by observing agents training, Lloyd Nolan is able to pick just the right cat to go undercover in the mob who operate out of an old school boxing joint. Storylines just don't come much cooler. Street With No Name is definitely something you should see.