Such a frustrating disappointment

I'll tell you why so serious

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I watched "Down Three Dark Streets" because I wanted to add another notch to my film noir belt. But though it has some noirish qualities, it's really not much of a noir at all. Instead, it's one of those docudramas that were little more than propaganda pieces for one government agency or another, this one the FBI.Broderick Crawford lends the film some gravitas as an FBI agent who takes over three cases from his friend and colleague who's murdered in the process of investigating one of them. They may all be related or they may not be. The question of whether or not they are doesn't generate much suspense for the viewer, if it was ever meant to. Ruth Roman is the protagonist at the center of the case that gets the most screen time. Martha Hyer does some screen chewing as a gangster's floozy, while Marisa Pavan, one year away from being nominated for an Oscar (for "The Rose Tattoo") plays a blind, sympathetic wife. There's some suspenseful atmosphere and forays into the seedy underbelly of L.A., and it's these qualities that bring it closest to belonging to the noir canon. But in most respects it settles for merely competent, and as a result, it's not especially memorable.Grade: B-

FBI story about Brodrick Crawford working three cases at once trying to find a killer who may also be an extortionist. First there's the criminal on the run who kills a gas station attendant. His va-va-voom semi floozie moll played by Martha Hyer is entertaining, Second story is an innocent caught up in a hot car ring afraid to squeal and his adroitly played blind wife, Marisa Pivan & finally single mom Ruth Roman who is being squeezed out of her dead husbands $10,000 life insurance payout under death threat of her young child. Crawford is intense & thorough yet soft & human toward victims. The film moves along briskly, never lags..very economical pace & direction. Lots of L.A. exteriors, good storyline and interwoven plots/characters. I found this exciting & suspenseful & was fooled by who the villain actually was due to red herrings so the final revelation was a part of the overall thrill, the climax taking place in Hollywood hills (is that vacant lot at the ice-cream truck scene the same one used in Strangers When We Meet where Kirk Douglas & Kim Novak rendevoux)? I never heard of this film, glad NETFLIX obtained it for instant streaming an was well worth the watch. Definitely check it out.

Moderately interesting programmer made at a time when police procedure was popular on both the big and little screens. The influence of TV's Dragnet is apparent in the stentorian voice-over and the rather feeble attempts at quirky citizen humor. An FBI agent is killed in the line of duty. His chief Broderick Crawford determines that the killer is tied into one of three cases he's investigating. But which one. The narrative follows his sorting through the cases, all the while both he and we wonder which one will lead to the culprit. It's a good premise, but director Laven does little to develop the potential.Movie gains a lot from location photography in and around a burgeoning LA. The final scene makes effective use of that city's landmark "Hollywood" sign, the only film I know to do that. There's a fine performance from Ruth Roman as a beleaguered mother whose child is under threat of kidnap, along with an unusually restrained Crawford as the head agent, a role I suspect recommended him for for the lead in the following year's hit series Highway Patrol. Note the rather gratuitous cheesecake scenes from Roman and the bosomy Martha Hyer. After all, the movies had to do something to get people away from the novelty of their television sets. Nothing special here. Just an easy way to pass a spare 90 or so minutes.

Enjoyed viewing this black and white film from 1954 starring some great veteran female actors, namely: Martha Hyer, (Connie Anderson), who looked just like Marilyn Monroe and was being controlled by a mysterious man who keeps sending her all kinds of gifts, but she never goes out of her apartment. Connie is visited by FBI Agent John Ripley,(Broderick Crawford) and flirts with him like she has never seen a man before. Ruth Roman, (Kate Martell) is a fashion designer who is being threatened by a black mailer who wants ten-thousand dollars or he will kill her daughter. Julie Angelino, (Marisa Povan) is another woman whose husband was accused of a crime he did not commit and he refused to tell the police who really performed this crime and was sent to prison. Julie is also a target for this blackmailer and killer. Kenneth Tobey, (FBI Agent Zack Stewart was assigned to these three cases and was killed before he could solve this crime. Agent John Ripley was then assigned to these cases and has plenty of work ahead of him trying to gets leads from these three women. There are some great old time scenes of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Enjoyable old timer from 1954.