Southside 1-1000
| Southside 1-1000 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Boris Ingster |
| Produced by |
Frank King Maurice King |
| Screenplay by |
Boris Ingster Leo Townsend |
| Story by |
Bert C. Brown Milton M. Raison |
| Narrated by | Gerald Mohr |
| Starring |
Don DeFore Andrea King George Tobias |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell |
| Cinematography | Russell Harlan |
| Editing by | Christian Nyby |
| Studio | King Bros. Productions |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures |
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 73 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Southside 1-1000 is a 1950 semidocumentary-style film noir directed by Boris Ingster and featuring Don DeFore, Andrea King, George Tobias and Gerald Mohr as the off-screen narrator.[1]
Plot
Based on a true story, the US secret service goes after a gang of counterfeiters, whose engraver (Morris Ankrum) has secretly constructed his plates while in prison. A federal agent (Don DeFore) poses as the counterfeiters' contact man in order to purchase enough bills to incriminate the gang.
Cast
- Don DeFore as John Riggs/Nick Starnes
- Andrea King as Nora Craig
- George Tobias as Reggie
- Barry Kelley as Bill Evans
- Morris Ankrum as Eugene Deane
- Robert Osterloh as Albert
- Charles Cane as Harris
- Kippee Valez as Singer
- Joe Turkel as Frankie
- John Harmon as Nimble Willie
- G. Pat Collins as Hugh B. Pringle - Treasury Agent
- Douglas Spencer as Prison Chaplain
- Joan Miller as Mrs. Clara Evans
- William Forrest as Prison Warden
Background
Filming locations
The final fight-to-the-death scene was filmed aboard Los Angeles' "Angels Flight", a cable-car service hanging 40 feet above the ground.[2]
Reception
Critical response
Film critic Craig Butler was disappointed in the film. He wrote, "Southside 1-1000 is a good pseudo-noir film told in pseudodocumentary fashion, but it also must register as a bit of a disappointment. It's functional and all the parts fit together smoothly, making it run like a fairly well-oiled machine -- but it lacks real spark. Given director Boris Ingster's impressive work on the seminal Stranger on the Third Floor, one expects something a bit more unusual or off the beaten path -- or at least distinctive. Instead, Southside looks like it could have been the work of any competent director."[3]
Film critic Dennis Schwartz discussed the propaganda aspects of the film and Inger's direction in his film review. He wrote, "This B&W pseudo-documentary-styled noir film comes with a patriotic message supporting the U.S. war effort in Korea and offering a scathing commentary on counterfeiters. It compares them to saboteurs. The film states the most powerful weapon in America's arsenal against communism -- is money. Southside acts like it's a public relation movie for the Treasury Department. Southside is directed and written by Boris Ingster, who directed the first reputedly made American noir film, Stranger on the Third Floor (1940). In this film Ingster never brings about any tension or real shock, as he did in his first noir work ... The movie reminds me of the 1950s TV series Dragnet."[4]
References
- ↑ Southside 1-1000 at the American Film Institute Catalog.
- ↑ Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, December 6, 1999. Accessed: August 19, 2013.
- ↑ Butler, Craig. Allmovie by Rovi, film/DVD review, no date. Accessed: August 19, 2013.
- ↑ Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, ibid. Accessed: August 19, 2013.
External links
- Southside 1-1000 at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Southside 1-1000 at the Internet Movie Database
- Southside 1-1000 at allmovie
- Southside 1-1000 at the TCM Movie Database
- Southside 1-1000 information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images)
- Southside 1-1000 film scene at YouTube