City Streets (1931)

Man joins a gang to free his girlfriend from prison.

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Writers:

Dashiell Hammett (story), Max Marcin (adaptation)

Stars:

Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gary Cooper	...	The Kid
Sylvia Sidney	...	Nan Cooley
Paul Lukas	...	Big Fellow Maskal
William 'Stage' Boyd	...	McCoy (as William Boyd)
Wynne Gibson	...	Agnes
Guy Kibbee	...	Pop Cooley
Stanley Fields	...	Blackie
Betty Sinclair	...	Pansy
Robert Homans	...	Police Inspector
Barbara Leonard	...	Esther March

Storyline

Nan, a racketeer's daughter, is in love with The Kid, a shooting gallery showman. Despite Nan's prodding, The Kid has no ambitions about joining the rackets and making enough money to support Nan in the lifestyle she's accustomed to. Her attitude changes after her father implicates her in a murder and she's sent to prison. During her incarceration, her father convinces The Kid to join the gang in order to help free Nan. When Nan is released, she wants nothing more to do with the mob and tries to get The Kid to quit, but she may be too late.

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Plot Keywords:

melodrama | gangster | bootlegger | remake | 

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Taglines:

A Terrific, Modern Action-Drama that will awaken you to a new understanding of the world you live in! (Print Ad- The Press, ((Christchurch, NZ)) 5 December 1931)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ruas da Cidade

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

French visa # 38616.

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Quotes

The Kid: I used to want to be a sailor before I made up my mind about the circus.
Nan Cooley: You sure go for jobs with no dough.
The Kid: There's plenty of money in the circus. I can shoot and throw a rope and do trick-ridin'. I used to ride some pretty tough broncs back on the ranch.
Nan Cooley: You'll probably get stranded again the way that you did with the rodeo. Only next time maybe you won't even land with a pop-gun joint.
The Kid: Money isn't everything.
Nan Cooley: People use it sometimes to get married on!

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Connections

Referenced in Le Doulos (1962)

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Soundtracks

Sing, You Sinners
(uncredited)
Music by W. Franke Harling
First tune played by the band at the nightclub

User Reviews

Sylvia Sidney's face!

I've only seen a couple of Sylvia Sidney's early films, but they all seem to feature at least one closeup of her face that reveals what's really going on in the picture. In Hitchcock's "Sabotage," there's a fascinating shot of her working at a theater box office when a guy she likes suddenly shows up unannounced. Hitchcock went in tight on her face as it slowly changes from a blank expression to a glow of sheer joy. I've never seen anything like it in any other film. And here, in "City Streets," the director dollies in and lingers on her face for a full minute while Hollywood cinema's first "voiceover" tells us what's going on in her thoughts. But really, the words are superfluous, because her brown, luminous eyes tell us everything. Sidney was perhaps too exotic and unconventional to compete for major stardom with the Clara Bow flappers and Jean Harlow blonds of her time. She was also difficult to get along with, according to some sources. But she is more timeless than most. Dashiell Hammett, who wrote "City Streets," said she was the best part of the movie. For me, she's the best part of any movie she's in.