Street Corner (1948)

Director:

Albert H. Kelley

Writers:

Jack Jungmeyer (screenplay)
Albert H. Kelley (story)
(more)

Release Date:

3 October 1949 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A forthright, true as life story of delinquent parents; a daughter who got into trouble and desperately sought the way out.

Plot:

Naive small-town girl gets pregnant on her prom night, and winds up in the clutches of the local abortionist. |

Plot Keywords:

Pregnancy | Abortion | Childbirth | Teen

Cast

Joseph Crehan	...	Dr. James Fenton
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Lois Marsh
Jean Fenwick	...	Mrs. Marsh
Don Brodie	...	Arnold Marsh
John Treul	...	Bob Mason
Billie Jean Eberhart	...	Irene (as Billie Jeanne Eberhart)
Jan Sutton	...	Kitty Mae
Gretl Dupont	...	The Abortionist
Jean Andren	...	Dr. Fenton's Nurse
Johnny Duncan	...	Hal (as John Duncan)
Sam Ash	...	District Attorney
Stuart Holmes	...	Judge
Wendell Niles	...	Wendell Niles
Milton Ross	...	Tom Brennan
Dale Van Sickel	...	The Passing Motorist
Luella Bickmore	...	Hospital Nurse
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eddie Gribbon	...	Taxi Driver

Directed by
Albert H. Kelley		(as Albert Kelley)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jack Jungmeyer		screenplay
Albert H. Kelley		story (as Albert Kelley)
Edwin Roth		adaptation

Produced by
William Collins	....	associate producer
James M. Doane	....	producer (as Jim Doane)
George McCall	....	producer

Original Music by
Bernard Katz

Cinematography by
Virgil Miller

Film Editing by
John Faure

Art Direction by
Frank Dexter

Makeup Department
Harry Ross	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Theodore Joos	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Leo Pepin	....	assistant director

Art Department
Tommy Thompson	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Glen Glenn	....	sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Eddie Jones	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Stan Levin	....	grip (uncredited)
John J. Martin	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Bernard Katz	....	musical director

Other crew
Gordon Otto	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Wilshire Pictures Corp.

Distributors

• Viro Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical)
• Modern Film Distributors (1948) (USA) (theatrical)
• Peerless Films (1959) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (2003) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Wilshire Pictures Corp.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001)

Decent Drama Hidden Behind Exploitation

Street Corner (1948)

** (out of 4)

Teenager Lois (Marcia Mae Jones) and her boyfriend have sex for the first time after his Senior Prom. She ends up pregnant but he's off at college and when he's on his way home he gets into a car crash and dies. Afraid to tell her parents Lois decides to go to an abortionist but things take a dark turn. I love watching these early exploitation films because, to get around the Hayes Office, producer's would present their films as educational subjects but then try to make a quick buck by adding in nudity, drug use, sex and various other no-no items that wouldn't be playing at most theaters. This film pretty much falls into that level as we get a pretty straight drama that takes a turn towards the end when the host of the film goes into detail about the "miracle of birth". As far as the actual film goes, the thing isn't too bad even though many scenes contain way too much dialogue and go on far too long. The film is pretty predictable and none of situations are fully explored as the goal is obvious and that's to get to the exploitation at the end. Jones actually isn't too bad in the role of the teenage and she had a pretty long career, which includes working with John Ford years before this picture. Joseph Crehan plays the doctor in the film and he too appeared in several high profile films including THE BIG SLEEP, THE BRUTE MAN and countless other films with the likes of Bogart, Tracy, Cagney and Karloff. The "exploitation" part of the film hits at the very end and lasts for nearly fifteen-minutes. We start off seeing a vaginal birth and then a C-section birth. These here will make one appreciate women and what they have to go through. We then turn to more disgusting stuff including seeing various men and women parts who have syphilis and gonorrhea. The film takes pleasure in showing what the diseases will do to a penis or vagina so be prepared to see some ugly sites. After this stuff we see the conclusion of the main film but I'm not sure who will care after these images. Fans of exploitation might want to check this out due to it being an early example of the subject but I'm sure most will want to stay away.