City Across The River (1949)
City Across The River (1949)
„City Across The River“ is a 1949 film noir crime film directed by Maxwell Shane. The screenplay by Maxwell Shane, Dennis J. Cooper and Irving Shulman is an adaption of Shulman’s 1947 novel „The Amboy Dukes“.
To celebrate his sixteenth birthday, Frankie Cusack and his young sister Alice abandon their Brooklyn tenement-house and spend a carefree day in Manhattan. As soon as they return home, Frankie seeks out the company of his friends, „The Dukes,“ a local gang. When hood Gaggsy Steens offers The Dukes five dollars each to rough up a „welcher“ named Giotta, Larry, The Dukes’s leader, eagerly accepts. Everyone but Frankie participates in beating up the elderly Giotta, and Theodore „Crazy“ Perrin happily cuts him with his knife.
Later, after Gaggsy pays the boys off outside a community center, Stan Albert, who runs the center, angrily tells Gaggsy to „lay off“ the youths. Stan then warns Frankie not to become too involved with The Dukes. Frankie shrugs off the warning and soon after, is chased by a policeman for trying to break open a telephone box. Frankie’s father Joe helps Frankie.
Frankie’s hard-working mother Katie comes down with appendicitis. Frankie’s best friend and neighbor, Benjamin „Benny“ Wilks, then invites him on a double date, and Frankie is smitten by his date, the sweet-natured Betty Maylor.
Later, when Frankie and Benny disrupt their manual arts class, the beleagured teacher, Mr. Bannon, brings in the principal, Mr. Hayes, who suspends the students and demands to talk with each of their parents. Benny takes out a gun and accidentally shoots and kills Bannon. Benny and Frankie sneak away from the school, and that night, while they are out driving with Betty and Lucille Ween, Benny’s girl friend, Benny tosses the barrel of the gun out of the car.
Later, Frankie and Benny are interrogated by police detective lieutenant Louie Macon. Frankie and Benny ask Lucille and Betty to lie for them, and the girls reluctantly do so. Betty’s mother, however, forbids her from seeing Frankie again, and Frankie ends up stealing Crazy’s date, Annie Kane, one night. When Crazy sees Frankie with Annie, he becomes enraged and threatens Frankie with his knife.
Gaggsy now being sought for killing a policeman, is Stan’s brother, and soon after, Frankie reads about Gaggsy’s violent death at the hands of the police. The police find Benny’s discarded gun barrel and connect it to Bannon. At the dance, Frankie fights with Larry and a full-scale brawl almost erupts.
Outside the dance hall, Frankie calls Macon and anonymously names Benny as Bannon’s killer. Macon recognizes Frankie’s voice, however, and a panicked Frankie races home, intending to flee the city. When the police arrive to arrest Benny, Benny also hides on the rooftop, and fights with Frankie. Benny falls off the roof to his death. Frankie is arrested for his part in Bannon’s death and faces an uncertain future.
Cast:
- Stephen McNally – Stan Albert
- Thelma Ritter – Katie Cusack
- Luis van Rooten – Joe Cusack
- Jeff Corey – Lieutenant Macon
- Sharon McManus – Alice Cusack
- Sue England – Betty Maylor
- Barbara Whiting – Annie Kane
- Richard Benedict – Gaggsy Steens
- Peter Fernandez – Frank Cusack
- Al Remsen – Benny Wilks
- Joshua Shelley – Theodore Perrin
- Tony Curtis – Mitch
- Mickey Knox – Larry
- Richard Jaeckel – Bull
- Robert Osterloh – Mr. Bannon
- Anabel Shaw – Jean Albert
- Joe Turkel – Shimmy Stockton
„Die Brut des Satans“ (City Across The River) ist ein Film Noir-Kriminalfilm von 1949 unter der Regie von Maxwell Shane. Das Drehbuch von Maxwell Shane, Dennis J. Cooper und Irving Shulman ist eine Adaption von Shulmans Roman „The Amboy Dukes“ von 1947.
Um seinen sechzehnten Geburtstag zu feiern, verlassen Frankie Cusack und seine junge Schwester Alice ihr Mietshaus in Brooklyn und verbringen einen sorglosen Tag in Manhattan. Sobald sie nach Hause zurückkehren, sucht Frankie die Gesellschaft seiner Freunde, „The Dukes“, einer lokalen Gang. Als der Ganove Gaggsy Steens den Dukes fünf Dollar anbietet, um einen „Welcher“ namens Giotta zu verprügeln, nimmt Larry, der Anführer der Dukes, eifrig an. Alle außer Frankie beteiligen sich daran, den älteren Giotta zu verprügeln, und Theodore „Crazy“ Perrin schneidet ihn fröhlich mit seinem Messer.
Später, nachdem Gaggsy die Jungs vor einem Gemeindezentrum bezahlt hat, sagt Stan Albert, der Leiter des Zentrums, wütend zu Gaggsy, er solle die Jugendlichen „loslassen“. Stan warnt Frankie dann, sich nicht zu sehr mit den Dukes einzulassen. Frankie schlägt die Warnung in den Wind und wird kurz darauf von einem Polizisten verfolgt, weil er versucht hat, eine Telefonzelle aufzubrechen. Frankies Vater Joe hilft Frankie.
