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13 West Street

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13 West Street
Film poster
Directed byPhilip Leacock
Screenplay byBernard C. Schoenfeld
Robert Presnell Jr.
Based onThe Tiger Among Us (1957) by Leigh Brackett
Produced byWilliam Bloom
Alan Ladd
StarringAlan Ladd
Rod Steiger
CinematographyCharles Lawton Jr.
Edited byAl Clark
Music byGeorge Duning
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Ladd Enterprises
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • June 6, 1962 (1962-06-06)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

13 West Street is a 1962 American neo-noir crime film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Rod Steiger and Alan Ladd, whose own production company produced the film.[1] It is based on the 1957 novel The Tiger Among Us by Leigh Brackett, who called the film "very, very dull."[2]

Plot

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After rocket scientist Walt Sherrill's car runs out of gas on a deserted city street, he is assaulted and viciously beaten up by the occupants of a speeding car, a group of well-dressed young men. Sherill becomes frustrated when the police, including investigating officer sergeant Koleski, seem slow to act and too busy to find the culprits, so Sherill pursues them himself.

The quest becomes an obsession for Sherrill, threatening his job and marriage. He purchases a gun and shoots tin cans as targets. His wife Tracey becomes afraid of what Sherrill is becoming and what the gang might do to him. One of the gang members throws a ball bearing ball through the Sherrills' window as a threat.

One night, Sherill spots a convertible that resembles one belonging to his assailants and tails it at high speed. The driver is a frightened teenage girl who calls the police, and Sherill spends an uncomfortable night in jail before Koleski has him released.

Sherill hires Finney, a private investigator, whose work leads him to Chuck Landry, the gang's leader. Sherill's nonstop search for revenge causes one member of the gang to commit suicide. Finney tails Landry at high speed on a winding road but his car plunges down a ravine and he is killed. Landry then goes to Sherill's home, where he menaces Tracey and plans to shoot Sherill when he returns home. Landry escapes from the police but Sherill takes his address from his abandoned car and is waiting there when Landry arrives. Sherrill beats him savagely with his cane. On the verge of killing him by drowning in the Landry family's swimming pool, Sherill finally relents, handing Landry to Koleski to be placed under arrest.

Cast

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Production

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Leigh Brackett's novel The Tiger Among Us was originally published in 1957.[3] Film rights were purchased by producer Charles Schnee, who had just left MGM and signed a deal with Columbia Pictures. He hired John Michael Hayes to write the script.[4] John Wayne was announced as a possible star.[5] It was then reported that Valentine Davies was working on the script, which had been retitled Fear No Evil.[6] Production plans were delayed when Schnee announced his departure from Columbia, frustrated with the studio's inability to advance any of his films to the development stage because of "almost insurmountable casting difficulties."[7] The project stayed with Columbia and was assigned to producer Boris Kaplan. Roger Presnell wrote a version of the script.[8] Philip Leacock was given the job as director and Alan Ladd and Rod Steiger were cast in the leads.[9]

The title The Tiger Among Us was changed to avoid the possible misconception among audiences that it was a jungle film. The new title was 13 East Street, but Ladd requested a change in the title's direction. He said: "The story concerned a teen-age gang from Los Angeles' east side, but I suggested locale be switched to the swank purlieu of Bel-Air. I have nothing against Bel-Air but I want to show that juvenile delinquency can breed in exclusive areas, too."[10] Ladd also asked for the number of gang members to be increased from three to six, saying: "You can't have a hero fighting just three kids."[11]

Filming began in April 1961.[12]

Reception

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In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Howard Thompson wrote: "The first half of '13 West Street' is pretty darn good. It's convincing and diverting to watch Alan Ladd as the determined victim and, especially, Rod Steiger as an eagle-eyed detective, try to find five young boys who for no reason nearly beat Mr. Ladd to death. ... Why did they nearly kill Mr. Ladd? Don't ask us. The picture is more concerned with the hero's almost paranoic obsession to get them. It maintains a man shouldn't take the law into his own hands and then whips up a hot melodramatic lather to prove it."[13]

Reviewer Cyrus Durgin of The Boston Globe wrote: "This sort of story perhaps can be told better in the larger form of the novel, but screenwriters Schoenfeld and Presnell, and director Leacock have done a respectable job with it. To be sure, the conventions of the violence film, including a chase that kills a private investigator, are duly observed, for the film is leveled to a large, mass audience. I must say you experience a certain low satisfaction when Chuck gets his."[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Richard Harland Smith, "13 West Street", Turner Classic Movies accessed January 12, 2013
  2. ^ Brackett, Leigh (July 1975). "Leigh Brackett — An Audio Interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Tony Macklin. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015. 55m
  3. ^ ANTHONY BOUCHER (January 13, 1957). "Report on Criminals at Large". New York Times. p. BR11.
  4. ^ Schallert, Edwin (October 4, 1957). "Henreid Will Direct 'Take Five From Five' Teen-age Scourge Due". Los Angeles Times. p. A9.
  5. ^ Schallert, Edwin (October 14, 1957). "Bromfield Seeks Desi Arnaz as Star; Wills Livens 'Hell Bent Kid'". Los Angeles Times. p. C11.
  6. ^ "FILM EVENTS: Anna Lee in Hudson Film Play". Los Angeles Times. August 23, 1958. p. 12.
  7. ^ THOMAS M. PRYOR (January 30, 1959). "WALD, NEGULESCO TO TEAM ON FILM: Director and Producer Will Make 'Best of Everything' -- Schnee Settles Pact". New York Times. p. 33.
  8. ^ "ALAN LADD FILM NAMES DIRECTOR: Robert Webb Is Signed for 'Guns of Timberland' -- Columbia Adds Writers". New York Times. March 24, 1959. p. 45.
  9. ^ Hopper, Hedda (March 15, 1961). "'Critic's Choice' Film to Star Hank Fonda". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. b5.
  10. ^ Scott, John L. (November 19, 1961). "Marriage at First Sight". Los Angeles Times. p. 22, Calendar section.
  11. ^ Carroll, Harrison (May 30, 1961). "Behind the Scenes in Hollywood". Morristown Gazette-Mail. Morristown, Tennessee. p. 4.
  12. ^ Hopper, Hedda (March 15, 1961). "Leslie Caron Set for 'L-Shaped Room'". Los Angeles Times. p. 7, Part IV.
  13. ^ Thompson, Howard (June 17, 1962). "Alan Ladd and Rod Steiger Starring in '13 West Street'". The New York Times. p. 31.
  14. ^ Durgin, Cyrus (May 17, 1962). "'13 West Street' Film of Delinquent Violence". The Boston Globe. p. 21.
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