Synopsis
An American is on the run in the streets and back alleys of France.
Gunman in the Streets
Cast
Dane Clark Simone Signoret Fernand Gravey Robert Duke Michel André Fernand Rauzéna Pierre Gay Edmond Ardisson Albert Dinan Albert Augier Frédéric Bart Teddy Bilis Jackie Blanchot Cadex Yvonne Dany Manuel Gary Philippe Janvier François Joux Jean-Jacques Lescot Maurice Magalon Dominique Marcas Rodolphe Marcilly Franck Maurice Jean-Paul Moulinot Jean-Marie Robain Maurice Régamey Michel Seldow
Director
Producers
Writers
Editor
Cinematography
Executive Producer
Set Decoration
Composer
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Language
Alternative Titles
Gangster at Bay, Le traqué, Traqué
Genre
Releases by Date
Theatrical
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France
29 May 1952
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USANR
Releases by Country
France
13 Dec 1950
- Theatrical Paris
USA
29 May 1952
- TheatricalNR
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Shot and set in Paris, with an American director and American lead, Gunman in the Streets is a bleak, dismal noir, steeped in the inescapable doom so central to the genre, and charged with a free-floating sexual tension that seems to envelope everyone in its gloomy tendrils.
WWII deserter and escaped criminal Eddy Roback (Dane Clark) thinks the story being told is about him: about his cleverness, and his coldness, and how tough he is. About how he does what he wants, and no one can stop him. About how his destiny was written in the stars, long ago, and he can't be killed until the stars declare it is time.
But it's not about Eddy at all. Instead, it's…
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...Communist in the Sheets.
Frank Tuttle, as so many others, fled the HUAC hatchet-men and ended up in France where he directed this independent effort. Despite its rough edges and occasional technical clunkiness, Gunman in the Streets is a pretty good crossbreeding of American gangster grit and French doomed passion. Simone Signoret, looking absolutely radiant, is torn between nasty bit of rough Dane Clark and solid good guy Robert Duke. Who will she choose over the course of one turbulent night of law enforcement evasion?
Dane is on the run from the gendarmes and is not above beating his babe or gassing a grass. He's also not above driving very fast in a pea-souper fog so he's dumb as well…
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Considering how ruthlessly mean our main character is here you’d think it would be more fun. Thankfully Simone Signoret is here to be the only character with any depth in a sea of caricatures. Dane Clark as the vicious gangster is downright obnoxious, making mistake after mistake and yet still bullying everybody around as if he’s the only one with a brain. It makes sense for his character but you never have any idea of what Signoret still sees in him after we finally get to see them interacting. Robert Duke makes for a nice foil in that way but still skates by on just being not-abusive as his main trait.
I enjoyed the last scene where we see Signoret running from a building with no shoes on, all the way the hell across town, only to see the cops pulling up, causing her to run way the hell back (still shoeless) to warn them again.
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The American noir style had reached maturity and its greatest explosion of variety by the start of the 50's - the synthesis of pure pulp, moody Expressionism and a street-level docu - realism catalyzed by the brutality of WWII. Previously generic tales of criminality were now invested with a topicality and interest in psychology, and a growing level of violence that added a real bite and harshness to the best of the genre.
Yet, even the harshest American noirs could still feel curtailed by the Production Code - the knife's edge was still blunted. It is often instructive to see the flowering of the style in other nations, also galvanized by the international conflict that seemed to chain everyone in…
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A young, elegant Simone Signoret as a Parisienne gangster's moll--well, that's the highlight, and a bright one it is, in this faithfully nasty piece of killer on-the-lam. Good dialogue, Paris locations, well-utilized supporting cast, but standard fare from the story department. Although I felt Dane Clark would have been miscast in the brutal tough guy role, he was better than my expectations. It's good, if not exceptional, noir--and did I mention SIMONE SIGNORET in her twenties? She steals the show, and director Frank Tuttle (This Gun for Hire) wisely played it that way. Her psychological profile is pivotal. Noir lovers should stay till the end for a treat.
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En un contexto realmente lugubre, una pareja lugubre pero individualmente encantadora: Simone Signoret, en su mejor momento de encanto incomparable y Dane Clark, el protagonista masculino de aspecto atemporal, tan lejano a los galanes engolados que eran sus contemporaneos. El es el condenado Eddie Robback, que en las primeras escenas se lo ve escapando de un camion celular que lo lleva a la carcel y emprendiendo una huida con una herida de bala; ella es Denise Vernon, la novia que lo ama y no duda de poner en riesgo su libertad para procurarle a Eddie una salida segura a Belgica. Porque este es un policial con el aroma negro americano en pleno suelo parisino. Y sale muy bien, los aromas…
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They made this film in both French and English, which might be why it felt a little unpolished. That's what often happens with multi-language productions. Without having seen it, I bet the French version felt more natural. But of course mixing Hollywood actor Dane Clark and French star Simone Signoret was intriguing. Signoret easily the one that made the biggest splash in this one.
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After escaping the paddy wagon in a police transfer, criminal Eddy Roback (Dane Clark) is a wanted man, and injured to boot. He turns to former love interest Denise (Simone Signoret) and eccentric "friend" Max Salva (Michel André) for help, both with his injury and to get money to aid his escape, but can they be trusted?
I thought this rare English/French film noir was pretty good, with some clever bits (especially involving a shopping center early on) and interesting characters. Clark shines in this as the brutal con. He's so good at being so bad! Pretty huge, intriguing finale, too, and the fact that the CAT is the one that...well, you'll have to see. Let's just say the cat is awesome. ;)
P.S. Interestingly, there is also an alternate French version of this called Le traqué, and the actors are all credited for both versions.
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Gritty, neo-noir with heartless gangster Dane Clark on the run and his beleagued former paramour trying to help but torn in two directions. Simone Signoret is SO young and very beautiful.
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Isn't that Yves Montand she bumps into towards the end?
A very '30s gangster-movie vibe with Dane Clark as one nasty criminal on the run in Paris where everyone prefers to speak English just so he can get by.
Signoret is so beautiful and her look of disgust at him is everything.
Serviceable B noir.
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Tough man on the run noir w/ an indelible ending. Not an absolute masterpiece, but it certainly merits wider exposure.
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Dane Clark plays Eddy, an American deserter in France who has become a criminal and is now on the run from the police. He is trying to get to Belgium and hopes that an old girlfriend (Simone Signoret) may help him.
At less than 90 minutes the film moves quickly and is an entertaining thriller.