99 River Street – Review

Boxer Ernie Driscoll (Payne) is about to have the heavy weight belt, with his opponent down on the floor and the count hitting seven… eight… nine… but then, in an instant, things are flipped. His opponent Sailor Braxton is up and swinging, re-energized and landing some heavy blows. Then... BAM; Ernie’s head is on the ropes, and his body is woozy.

The win slips out of his grasp, and worse yet, he got his ass royally kicked, which never happens. His nephew will be let down, and his wife Pauline (Castle) is displeased. He’s out of fighting for now… Ernie’s next serious job is as a cabbie, so he hits the streets to pull in some fares. Unfortunately for Ernie, his bad luck is not up. After heading to pick up his wife from work, he realizes that she is cheating on him with a lowlife hoodlum Victor Rawlins (Dexter). What a tramp, so thinks Ernie.

Tough guy Ernie has had it. Buuuut, in all this craziness, his wanna-be play actress friend and sometimes cab fare Linda James (Keyes) says she has killed a man! What the hell. And this isn’t the end of Ernie’s troubles!! There is another haymaker headed his way, as he winds up in multiple crosshairs over another crime and dead body.

99 River Street is a nice little thriller and murder noir, with a few nice twists and turns. The dialogue is pretty straight forward and not too hammy despite the 50s script, and some of its characters are pretty dark, serious and mean, closer to reality than some takes of the time. Ernie may be the main character, and “hero” but he’s tough to sympathize with since he has a helluva temper and lets it loose.

As the walls close in, the film moves along at a nice pace, and its short runtime blows by. Check out 99 River Street for a classic noir with a bit of a dark side. It is well done, and the main actor John Payne sells his character very well. Ernie will not be told no.