DOWN THREE DARK STREETS (1954)

Dreary low-budget FBI ‘procedural’ sees Broderick Crawford solve the murder of fellow agent Kenneth Tobey by looking into the three cases he was working on at the time. It's a lot like one of those Louis De Rochemont docu-dramas from the ‘40s, but done on the cheap for indie producer Edward Small. Made the same year Crawford co-starred with Gregory Peck for Nunnally Johnson in NIGHT PEOPLE and against Glenn Ford & Gloria Grahame in Fritz Lang’s HUMAN DESIRE, this was an odd choice, sure to lower this Oscar-winner’s Hollywood standing. Even odder to hear him drop his distinctive rat-a-tat-tat vocal delivery to a normal cadence along with 20 pounds to something near conventional leading man heft. The three cases have decent character actors which helps, and a trio of nicely varied leading ladies in jeopardy: Ruth Roman (threatened with child kidnapping), Marisa Pavan (blind wife with admirable qualities of observation), Martha Hyer (uncooperative moll). Alas, the script neither interweaves nor builds much suspense, narrative counterpoint is beyond director Arnold Laven, and a drab looking print does no favors to Joseph Biroc’s lensing. On the other hand, fans of HIGHWAY PATROL, Crawford’s indie tv series starting the following year, may get a kick watching what amounts to a three-part pilot for that fine show.*

CONTEST: Spot the connection between this film and IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD/’63 to win a MAKSQUIBS Write-Up on the film of your choice.

WATCH THIS, NOT THAT: *As mentioned above, Crawford’s HIGHWAY PATROL (1955-59; 156 episodes). Always a good show, the simple production values, on-location shoots, occasional rising star (Clint Eastwood; Leonard Nimoy) working next to unknown semi-pros and near DOGMA cinema techniques, now make this little show even more invaluable, a time capsule of small town ‘50s California, with Mom & Pop diners, hideaway cabin motels and Pre-Interstate two-lane highways forcing connections with the land & small communities on the way. (Party Game: Have a drink every time they have to backup a vehicle on the show.)