The House Across the Street (1949) User Reviews

A nice little gem

[Michael1958 · 7/10 · 18 January 2003]

I do not know if this would be considered a classic, but it is a nice little film starring Wayne Morris, who by the late 1940's was not seen in too many starring roles in Hollywood. Morris gives a good performance as a newspaper man trying to expose criminal kingpin Bruce Bennett as a murderer. Good pacing, simple script with some fine witty dialogue. I saw this movie during a cold and blustery snowstorm. This is the kind of film that used to grace our late late movies. I sure could use more of this kind of entertainment on tv in the wee hours of morning instead of so many infomercials. Check this one out if it is ever on. It's worth a watch.

MM

From Editor To Sob Sister

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 12 January 2009]

Had this B film remake of Hi Nellie been done during the Thirties before the war my guess is that Warner Brothers probably would have included a lot more action. Other than James Mitchell roughing up Wayne Morris a bit there's no real action in this film, not even the sound of a gun firing. Unusual when you consider the villain is a gangster.]

The House Across The Street had more of an accent on comedy with Wayne Morris being demoted to the advice to the lovelorn column after refusing to back off an expose of gangster Bruce Bennett. It's not that publisher Alan Hale isn't in his corner, but Morris hasn't got any proof and Bennett is doing the ungangster like thing of suing for libel.

But curiously enough a woman who had not had her letter to the column answered, Lila Leeds came up and gives Morris the lowdown on her problem with boyfriend James Holden. She inadvertently provides a clue that starts Morris on the trail of linking Bennett to the murder of a state's witness.

Morris gets plenty of help, good help from the former sob sister at the paper, Janis Paige. She's got good reporter's instincts and was never really given a chance to prove them while Morris was the city editor. Now she's helping, but giving Wayne a few jabs in the process.

The House Across The Street is a nice competently made B film that I'm sure 1949 audiences enjoyed while waiting for the main feature from Warner Brothers to start. It's fast and funny and a real treat.

Bewildered Hearts

[krorie · 6/10 · 20 July 2006]

From a literal standpoint the title for this film seems somewhat irrelevant, since the house across the street only involves the opening sequence. But from a figurative viewpoint, the title is apt, indicating that most urban Americans don't really know much about what is going on across the street from where they live, crime, murder, shakedowns, and such. Across the street could be across the nation.

Dave Joslin (Wayne Morris) is the managing editor for the local newspaper, involved in attacking a crime syndicate running the city headed by boss Keever (Bruce Bennett). When a key witnessed is murdered by Keever's hit-man right in front of a stakeout, Joslin writes a scathing editorial about the ineffectiveness of the police department in handling the mob. Joslin's boss, J.B. Grennell (Alan Hale, Sr.), running scared, orders Joslin to back off. When Joslin refuses, J.B. reassigns him to the Bewildered Hearts office replacing Joslin's lady love, Kit Williams (Janis Paige), who is much obliged to be reassigned. (One wonders if this flick wasn't the basis for the early television sitcom starring Peter Lawford and Marcia Henderson, "Dear Phoebe," where the advice columnist is a man.) While doing his duties as advice to the lovelorn columnist, Joslin stumbles onto a situation that is connected to the mob hit. He and Kit begin a merry chase that leads them into dark corners, near-death escapes, and lots of other fun and mayhem before pulling all the loose ends together.

Wayne Morris is always a joy to watch. Janis Paige doesn't get to sing and dance, but does get to turn in a good performance as assistant sleuth. The rest of the cast is great, especially James Mitchell as Marty Bremer. "The House Across the Street" is basically a comedy-thriller, giving the audience a fair run for its money.

For what it was, it was pretty good....

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 20 February 2018]

This B-movie was directed by Richard Bare, the guy responsible for all those Joe McDoakes shorts as well as the rural comedies of the 60s, like "Petticoat Junction" and "Green Acres". The story, though very familiar, is quite well done.

The editor of a local newspaper is in hot water with the owner. It seems that Dave Joslin (Wayne Morris) has been running all sorts of critical stories about a mobster named Keever (Bruce Bennett)...and Keever is threatening to sue. But when Joslin refuses to back off, the owner can't fire him...he has a contract with Joslin. So instead to punish him, he's assigned to run the lonely hearts department. Later, when an odd story about a man who was slipped a mickey lands on his desk, Joslin investigates...and thinks this all might be related to Keever. And, instead of going to the police, Joslin decides to investigate for himself.

During the 1930s and 40s, there were tons of mystery films in which some member of the public investigates and solves a crime. However, this one is handled more smoothly--with some very nice acting, writing and direction. Worth seeing despite being a rather slight movie.

This was better the first two times it was made

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 30 June 2012]

The first time this film was made it was 1934 and it was a precode of sorts entitled "Hi Nellie!" with Paul Muni in the role of the demoted newspaper reporter forced to author the paper's lonely hearts column until he can redeem his professional reputation. The idea was novel and anything with Glenda Farrell and Paul Muni is worth watching. The second time it was made it was 1937's "Love is On the Air" with Ronald Reagan as a demoted radio reporter who can't keep his mouth shut concerning his suspicions about a local gangster's involvement in murder. That one is notable as not only Reagan's first credited film appearance, but a starring role for him to boot.

The third time around this story is moved back to a newspaper, and this time it is Wayne Morris, workhorse of Warner's B picture unit, in the role as the demoted managing editor. This time his girl Friday (Janis Paige as Kit Williams) is involved with Morris' character from the beginning, so she is always supportive. In the original 1934 film Glenda Farrell plays the female lead, but one that is antagonistic of Muni's character throughout yet helps him just the same. Here the gangster behind all the crime and Morris' character's demotion is played somewhat unpersuasively by Bruce Bennett, who usually played rather oatmealish good guys.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that these three pictures are not perfect replicas of each other, but by 1949 Warner Bros. no longer considers this story A-list material and treats it as such. For the gritty A-list version of this film see 1934's "Hi Nellie". For Ronald Reagan at the very beginning see "Love is On the Air". To see what Warner Brothers could do with this story a third time as far as adapting it to the times - post War America - see this film. Nobody could whip up a batch of celluloid leftovers and make it as palatable as 30's and 40's Warner Brothers.

Just 248? Does the street have a name?

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 27 September 2010]

***SPOILERS*** After police protected witness Villman, Jack Wise, was gunned down in his safe house by a phony letter carrier who was actually paid hit-man Eddie Marklin, Eddie Foster, newspaper reporter Dave Joslin,Wayne Morris, started putting the heat on the person whom he felt was responsible for Villman's murder big time mobster Matthew J. Keever, Bruce Bennett.

Joslin's obsession in getting Keever indited for the Villman murder got so out of hand that his boss on the newspaper "The Star Chronicle" J.B Grennell, Alan Hale, fearing a libel suite from Keever had him yanked off his beat as a crime reported. Grennell then had Joslin demoted to answering the mail of mostly women with boyfriend and men problems on the newspaper's Dear Abby like column using the pen name of Dolly Trent. It's there that Joslin gets into trouble with his girlfriend on the paper Kit Williams, Janis Paige, whom he or his boss J.B Grennell bumped off the column to make room for him.

It's when one of the readers Billie Martin, Lila Leeds, of Joslin's Dear Abby column came to visit him at his office about him not answering her letters, three of them, that Joslin got his big break in putting Keever behind bars! It was both Billie and her boyfriend Carl Schrader, James Holden, who were at the Keever's run bar "Horseshoe Harry's" the night before Villman was iced! Carl who was so boozed up that an outraged Billie left him cold after he spilled a drink on her. After passing out drunk Carl found himself in a rooming house the next morning without knowing how he got there! It was something that was going on at "Horseshoe Harry's" that whoever who slipped Carl a "Mickey" didn't want him to know or remember! And it was the waitress, Phillys Coates, who snapped the photo of a very drunk Carl with Macklin the background being paid off by Keever to, later that morning, knock off Villman that can break the Villman murder case wide open and thus put Keever and his hoods behind bars for committing it!

Re-make of the Paul Muni 1934 crime/comedy "Hi Nellie" with a very old-looking, he was only 34 at the time, and overweight, he looked like he was wearing a size 55 pants, as well as impeccably dressed Wayne Morris.

Random Title For A Nice Little Movie

[boblipton · 6/10 · 17 March 2024]

Managing Editor Wayne Morris is trying to get the goods on gangster Bruce Bennett, but it's all speculation, and Bennett's lawyer is getting nasty about it. Morris won't lay off, and Morris can't be fired, so publisher Alan Hale demotes him to the paper's Miss Lonelyhearts, bumping Janis Paige back to features. Morris doesn't give up, and finds a lead, putting him and Miss Paige into danger.

Morris gives one of those performances that seems all declaratory, but Miss Paige is cute as a button. But her roles were unsatisfactory, so she gave up the movies a couple of years later and became a Broadway star. She's still around as I write this at the age of 101.

Newspaper vs. the mob in passably tight crime programmer

[bmacv · 5/10 · 18 January 2003]

A police detective bungles a stakeout, resulting in the murder of a key witness against a crime boss (Bruce Bennett). Against the advice of his skittish publisher, a managing editor (blond bruiser Wayne Morris) launches a hard-hitting campaign against police incompetence. When Bennett, escorted by mouthpiece and torpedo, rattles his sabres, the publisher puts Morris on the Bewildered Hearts column as punishment. And lo and behold, that's where the case gets solved.

A problem brought by a lovelorn gal, about an incident involving her drunken boyfriend in a mob-owned nightclub, raises red flags. Morris and his sob-sister girlfriend (Janis Paige) start pursuing the story, despite kicks in the shins, threats from guns and almost being run down by a careening black sedan. It turns out that a snapshot taken by the club's roving photographer conceals incriminating evidence....

The House Across the Street stays a fairly generic crime programmer, even down to its attempts at comic and romantic relief. Luckily, the story stays reasonably tight, centering on why and where the boyfriend vanished that dimly remembered night. Its biggest puzzle is its title: The House Across the Street refers to the residence being staked out at the movie's beginning; it's no more than the wick that kindles the plot.

THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET is fashioned to show . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 7/10 · 13 July 2021]

. . . how females have been messing up America's work places since World War Two. Not content to return to one-room school houses, their nursing caps or scrub woman positions, these brassy but not so broad-shouldered wenches remained Hell-bent upon filching men's spots on the assembly line, rivet-gun firing range or--in the case of Kit here--on the beat in the newsroom. Fouling up her boss editor Dave like a redundant second wheel, Kit all but permanently sabotages the veteran scribe's journalism career. Shame on her!

one nice stunt

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 17 September 2022]

A police detective is watching a house across the street. A postman comes upon the house. After awhile, the real postman shows up. The man across the street is a witness against racketeer Matthew Keever and has been murdered by the fake postman. Manager editor Dave Joslin (Wayne Morris) writes several editorials criticizing the police. Keever threatens the paper and Joslin gets demoted to an advice column. Assisted by Kit Williams (Janis Paige), Joslin continues his investigation.

A stuntwoman has a nice stunt. This is the lesser genre of comedy-noir. It's a B-movie. The comedy is lame. I don't think comedy is a natural fit for this genre. That goes for the lead character as well. He's a bit of a Bubba which doesn't fit the role of a hardnosed newspaper man. I'm not laughing. Kit is a good girl Friday and her character has the nice stunt. It's not more than seventy minutes which is part of the B-movie production. It does mean that this movie doesn't spend the money on an action thriller ending and it rushes the wrap-up. It's a B-movie.

"Tell him to take another bicarbonate, I'll be right in."

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 21 March 2024]

A routine B level remake of the Paul Muni film "Hi, Nellie", "The House Across the Street" offers adequate entertainment for people addicted to vintage crime dramas. Wayne Morris plays Dave Joslin, the crusading managing editor of a newspaper. He's printed one too many stories criticizing the police force and vilifying crime kingpin Matthew Keever (Bruce Bennett), so his boss (Alan Hale Sr.) demotes him to working the advice column section. A dejected Dave quickly sees a way in which doing this thankless job can lead to a real break in terms of actually proving Keever of any wrongdoing - in a roundabout way, of course.

Some folks might consider this "noir", but it's more of a straightforward crime picture with a heavy accent on comedy. Not that the comedy isn't pretty funny, as Dave is a rather obnoxious, sexist guy who constantly spars with would-be girlfriend Kit Williams (an adorable Janis Paige), who was previously toiling on the advice column. Kit would much rather be covering stories of substance, and is often there following leads when Dave is otherwise busy.

You won't get a lot of stark atmosphere, or much physical violence, or much gunplay here, but the story is reasonably entertaining, and as I said, some of the humor works fairly well. The strong supporting cast also includes James Mitchell as a henchman, Barbara Bates as a "bad girl", James Holden as a hard-luck young working stiff, Phyllis Coates as a camera girl, and Billy Gray, Charles Lane, Lila Leeds, Doreen McCann, and Ray Walker as well.

Overall the picture is unmemorable, but it's fast-paced & quick and rather snappy: in other words, a decent B movie from this era.

Six out of 10.

"Hi, Dolly!"

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 7 October 2010]

"Hi, Dolly!", a copy boy screams to the new advice column editor after he is demoted from managing editor. In this remake of the 1934 film "Hi, Nellie!", it is Wayne Morris who gets the insulting nickname. Several years later, June Allyson would change the "Hi" to "Hello" when she greeted a gossip columnist in "The Opposite Sex". So don't confuse these two Dolly's with everybody's favorite matchmaker in a play and musical that featured an explanation point at the end of its title.

Morris is supported by Janis Paige as a fellow advice columnist, Alan Hale Sr. as his boss, and Bruce Bennett, James Mitchell and Barbara Bates as the villains. The ever recognizable Charles Lane has a major small role as a nasty landlord that Morris encounters while investigating the murder which gets him demoted. Paige is great in her last film under her Warners contract (before she found Broadway fame in the original "Pajama Game") playing a down-to-earth girl who is less glamorous or earthy than her usual characters. And yes, that is "All My Children's" Palmer Cortlandt as the slimy gangster, even though James Mitchell's voice is not as recognizable as his face is.

This is a typical Warner Brothers crime thriller with comic elements. An out of place barber shop quartet number has a nice payoff even if it seems 30 years too late.

Bewitched, bothered and bewildered

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 30 January 2024]

Nathanael West, who once worked in a newspaper office, wrote the novel Miss Lonelyhearts, which was published in 1933. His story served as the basis for Daryl Zanuck's ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN starring Lee Tracy, as a hotshot journalist who is reigned in by a boss after overstepping his bounds and is assigned a lonely hearts column under a female pseudonym. Tracy was an expert at playing newshounds, even ones who faced a loss of prestige on the beat.

The following year, Warner Brothers decided to come up with its own version and produced HI NELLIE! Which put Paul Muni in a similar role, though Muni was a tad miscast compared to Lee Tracy. In HI NELLIE!, Muni is involved with Glenda Farrell who helps him work on an important criminal case on the side, while doling out advice to the masses.

In most versions of this story, the guy working as a female advice columnist gets caught up in the job of helping others solve their problems. Mostly because he has a Savior complex and thinks he can straighten out the issues of the world, or at least the issues of those who read the paper.

Like ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN, HI NELLIE! Was a hit with audiences. In fact, the bosses at Warners were so taken with its success that they quickly remade it as a B film with Ronald Reagan a few years later. Then the studio remade it in 1942, back to an A film with George Brent. And by the late 1940s, this version occurred, which is not exactly a B, but not really an A either. Filmed in the summer of 1948, though not released until September of 1949, it featured Wayne Morris.

Morris had been with the studio since 1936, and this would be his last film under his long-term contract at Warner Brothers. He would start freelancing, with a series of western B flicks at Monogram/Allied Artists, then dabble in television...and he'd later return to Warners for a supporting role in a Randolph Scott western. He died in 1959 at the relatively young age of 45, ten years after THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET was released. Morris was gone too soon.

One thing that always impresses me about Morris' on-screen persona is how kind he seems to be to his costars. There is zero ego with him in his roles. He comes across as gracious and helpful to his costars, such a likable fellow, which is probably why Warners kept him on the payroll so long, even if he never reached the ranks of the Cagneys, Bogarts or Flynns.

In this production, he has several very nice moments alongside leading lady Janis Paige, who was also wrapping up her contract at the studio, and had appeared with Morris in the western THE YOUNGER BROTHERS. Playing an editor who is demoted to the bewildered hearts section of the paper by a frenemy boss (Alan Hale Sr.), Morris isn't happy at first...but then rolls with the punches and takes his loss of status in stride. Of course, the main part of the plot involves Morris and Paige hunkering down to catch a gangster (Bruce Bennett) who has thus far evaded justice.

Into the mix we have a notable turn by Alex Gerry as Bennett's crafty attorney. And James Mitchell as one of Bennett's cronies, who ultimately fears for his life and confides in Morris about Bennett's illegal activities. His statements provide evidence for a conviction.

It's not a profound story. Several aspects of the original version have been softened. Once again, Warners is trotting out its gangster flick formula and melding it with a newspaper drama. It's hardly earth shattering, but it is still an acceptable time passer with pleasing stars who make it enjoyable motion picture entertainment.