99 River Street

Keep your theatre and the rats in it.

99 River Street is directed by Phil Karlson and adapted to screenplay by Robert Smith from a story by George Zuckerman. It stars John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen, Jay Adler, Eddie Waller and Peggie Castle. Music is by Arthur Lange and Emil Newman and cinematography by Franz Planer.

After sustaining a serious eye injury, boxer Ernie Driscoll (Payne) has had to retire from the ring and now drives a cab for a living. Constantly chided by his beautiful wife, Pauline (Castle), for being a failure, Ernie is close to breaking point when he finds that she is having an affair with a charismatic jewel thief. So when Pauline turns up dead in the back of Ernie's cab, he's obviously the chie...

Like so many boxers before him, "Ernie" (John Payne) discovers that wealth and fame are fickle things. He loses an heavyweight fight and is soon driving a taxi to make ends meet. This does not sit well with his selfish and pretty nasty wife "Pauline" (Peggie Castle) who strays into the affections of the unsavoury "Rawlins" (Brad Dexter) with ultimately fatal results. "Ernie" finds himself suspect number one, and so must now try to piece together just what did happen and to stay one step ahead of the pursuing police just long enough to apprehend the real perpetrator. In my view, this is easily the best effort from Payne. He and Dexter work well to generate a sense of menace and desperation whilst a strong supporting cast with Evelyn Keyes ("...