99 River Street

99 River Street is a 1953 film noir, starring John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen, and Peggie Castle. The film was directed by Phil Karlson, produced by Edward Small, with cinematography by Franz Planer.

His wife, Pauline, unhappy living a poor life, is having an affair with a richer man who happens to be a criminal. The thief, after being unable to sell some stolen diamonds, kills Pauline and then attempts to frame her husband with the crime.The New York Times film critic gave the film a negative review, writing, ...is one of those tasteless melodramas peopled with unpleasant hoods, twotiming blondes and lots of sequences of what purports to be everyday life in the underworld. In this stale rehash, John Payne is a cabbie seething with dreams of what he might have been in the boxing world ... To say that this film is offensive would be kind to point out that it induces an irritated boredom would be accurate. The defendants in this artistic felony are Robert Smith, the scenarist, and Phil Karlson, the director. It is interesting to ponder how Mr. Karlson managed to slip some objectionable scenes past the production code. Maybe it was just artistic license. ........

Source: Wikipedia