Stakeout on Dope Street (1958)

Three teenagers find a briefcase with a beat-up old can in it. They throw away the can and pawn the suitcase. When they read in the papers that the can was full of uncut heroin and belonged... See full summary »

Director:

Irvin Kershner

Writers:

Andrew J. Fenady (screenplay), Irvin Kershner (screenplay)

Stars:

Yale Wexler, Jonathan Haze, Steven Marlo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yale Wexler	...	Jim Bowers
Jonathan Haze	...	Julian 'Ves' Vespucci (as Jonathon Haze)
Steven Marlo	...	Nick Raymond (as Morris Miller)
Abby Dalton	...	Kathy
Allen Kramer	...	Danny
Herman Rudin	...	Mitch Swardurski
Philip Mansour	...	Lenny Potter (as Phillip Mansour)
Frank Harding	...	Capt. Richard R. Allen
William Shaw	...	Chuck (as Bill Shaw)
Andrew J. Fenady	...	Stan (as A.J. Fenady)
Slate Harlow	...	Officer Lynn Donahue
Herschel Bernardi	...	Mr. Fennel
Carol Nelson	...	Nick's girl
Edward Schaaf	...	Samuel Alber (as Ed Schaff)
Matt Resnick	...	Sgt. Fred Matthews

Storyline

Three teenagers find a briefcase with a beat-up old can in it. They throw away the can and pawn the suitcase. When they read in the papers that the can was full of uncut heroin and belonged to a drug dealer who killed two narcotics agents in a shootout, they go back to look for the can, find it, and decide to go into the heroin selling business. However, the drug dealer's gang also wants the heroin, finds out the boys have it, and sets out to hunt them down and get back their dope.

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Plot Keywords:

heroin | drug dealer | drugs | teenager | gang | 

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Taglines:

Screen's First Blazing Story of Kids Who Go Rumbling Down Dope Street!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 May 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

De straat der verdoving

Filming Locations:

Redondo Recreation, Redondo Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was financed by Roger Corman who was executive producer. He provided $15,000 of the budget.

Corman later recalled: "My brother told me that it was the greatest mistake of my career because on account of that success I reinvested my money in other productions that were all failures. I gave great freedom to the writers, since I myself do not like when people tell me what to do when I'm filming. I never said a word to Irvin Kershner. We would meet and have long talks in which everyone offered his point of view, and I would approve the cast and the distribution (Jonathan Haze, Abby Dalton, and some of my actors would be there), but once the decision was made, I would say, 'Go for it', and I would pull back. This was hugely successful."

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Quotes

Officer Lynn Donahue: Nick and Ves had passed the earlier part of the afternoon looking at clothes, sporting equipment, bongo drums, and other racy items for kids their age.

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Connections

Featured in A Night at the Movies: Cops & Robbers and Crime Writers (2013)

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Soundtracks

Withdrawal
(uncredited)
Composed by Richard Markowitz
Performed by Hollywood Chamber Jazz Group conducted by Richard Markowitz

User Reviews

Kershner directs Corman feature

This is a surprisingly strong AIP feature, a first for Irvin Kershner as writer and director. Although stylistically it seems, at first sight, little more than an expanded DRAGNET episode in which you get to see the criminals' viewpoints, this largely no-name cast gives a bunch of decent performances with some well-written characters.

The feature is about a group of rather clueless teenagers -- who appear to use all their off-screen time body building -- who discover a cannister of heroin. Neither hard core criminals nor saints, they want all the things that society says they should want, and are not choosy about how they go about getting it.

The writing and direction are stronger than the acting, but the overall effect is quite striking. Definitely worth your time.