Evening star., 1948-07-02


tigation and it has been worked up
into q screenplay that is exciting
and foreboding. This has happened
before in such pictures as House on
92d Street" and Kiss of Death" and
1t only goes to show that Hollywood
and the F'BI can be happy together
William Keighley. director, his
writer's, and co-stars Mark Stevens
and Richard Widmark, actually have
bettered past FBI-Hollywood COLA
borations in certain qualities OF the
new picture. One of these Is that
the current film is more light
hearted without being any OF the less
basically grim. 1t accomplishes this
by displaying modern gang killers as
being a more intelligent lot, young
lively and dangerous but also able
to appreciate the sardonic humor OF
their public and intra-gang rela-
tions.
The Street With No Name Is an
other semi documentary production
Keiphley's cameras poke their lenses
into reality which ranges from sor-
did Skid Row poolrooms and night
training gyms to the dignified mar
b]ed corridors OF the FBI. In the
course of this roaming, they make a
suspenseful package OF enough 1as-
cinating and factual information Tor
six ordinary cinema thrillers.
Several Federal crime cases have
been blended to explain the new
sanesterism as practiced by Alec
stiles (Widmark) in The Street
with No Name" Stiles has the gen.
uine master mind gift. He Is intel
lipent, imaginative, young. war-wise,
a discipiinarian and an organizer.
He thinks of his set-up as military
operation. He screens" recruits,
plants intelligence operatives In the
highest official places, and programs
Jobs as If they were problems IN log
istics.
CAPTURE of this fox-faced, fox
minded criminal in "The Street With
No Name" is the assignment handed
to Actor Stevens.
He is a young Federal agent, fresh
from the FBI training school IN VIZ
ginia. His specific and highly
dangerous lob is to pass Stiles tough
screening" tests, get admitted to
rang membership, collect evidence
against it and get back to base be-
fore getting his clever brain beaten
out.
This is Job calling for imagina-
ton and a nervous system that can
survive for months in state OF deep
freeze.
Principal setting Of THE Street
With No Name" is the prize fight
gym which Stiles maintains as a
front for his operations, night club,
hank and aristocratic home hold-ups
and burglaries. Here Agent Stevens
attracts the mob master-mind's at
tention by a wiSe-guy act which
might have back-fired but instead
convinces stiles that here Is a man
of mettle.
revelations of postwar gang meth
ods come slick and fast In lhe
street With No Name" once Agent
Stevens gets on the inside. ne
learns that through a high police
department official, Stiles has ac-
cess not only to details OF Center
Citv's war on crime, but also 10 Inc
files of the FBI. Less important
hut not without interest, Is the TACT
that the gang has two sets OF uni
forms so to speak. When not on duty
thew dress modishly but change 10
work clothes that are contrastingly
shabby when the boss has a JOB 1or
them to do There is military ef1ci-
encv in Stiles system for spring
ing" a suspect by phony bond proVi-
sion when, from Stiles viewpoint
the suspect is better of dead than as
a potential witness.
These disclosures are made in the
course of an exciting story which
keens audiences edgy with zeal
that the crafty gang leader will flno
out about Stevens before the lattel
gets evidence that will electrocute
Stiles. III WOulu llou oo AoA-'
to dive into detail of who wins, anc
how. The picture does its own ex'
cellent Job of relating this as it LEADS
10 a climax which is dramatically re-
vealing of the keenness with whicf
todays young criminal mind op'
crates. =,
Harry Kleinert's story makes II
clear that while he Is not quite q
match for the FBI in the instance
narrated, he is close enough 1oi
sharp discomfort.
49, *
Director Keighley and his cas'
have an obvious enthusiasm for thell
creative functions in the THE Stree'
With No Name" The picture l.
acted to the hilt not only by the two
principal males, but by half dozen
lesser fry. Widmark's cold-souiee
eanester represents the best bit OF
plaving but Stevens as the hero L
not far behind.
On Keighley's part the picture rep
resents a superb job OF construction
a mounting excitement made from
mass of detail which Is dramati'
cally Illuminating. AS a production
a, A.. hast nf unItUUnnd'S