Richard Chatten Atmospherically shot by the veteran Oscar-winning cameraman Eugen Schüfftan, 'Gunman in the Streets' is the English-language version of a co-production released in France as 'Le Traqué'. The French version is now even more obscure than this, and since it had a different credited director (Borys Lewin, normally an editor) may be substantially different from this one. All those obviously Gallic types speaking English seem a little incongruous and it would be easy to imagine this with subtitles (Dane Clark and Robert Duke were presumably dubbed). Jean-Pierre Melville probably saw 'Le Traqué', and Fernand Gravet's police commissioner, suavely hot on Clark's trail, strongly resembles Paul Meurisse's Commissaire Blot in Le Deuxième Soufflé' (1966).The English-language version bears the name of blacklisted Hollywood veteran Frank Tuttle (before he yielded in 1951 to pressure to name names to the HUAC), which may be why it was never released theatrically in the United States. But it can't have helped that it's so relentlessly sordid, grim and claustrophobic, with a hero unlikeable even by Dane Clark's usual charmless standard.It starts like 'Odd Man Out', with Clark on the run on the streets of Paris with a bullet in his shoulder after shooting his way to freedom. He contacts former girlfriend Simone Signoret, curtly informs her that he needs 300,000 francs pronto to get out of the country, and they hole up in the apartment of a creepy admirer of Signoret's (Michel André) who Clark handles predictably roughly. What Signoret (then in her absolute youthful prime) ever saw in this vicious little runt was beyond me; I guess he must have been dynamite in the sack.

MartinHafer In post-war America, audiences were eager to see crime in a whole new light--both literally and figuratively. Instead of the old gangster films of the 1930s with their rather conventional characters, the film noir films of the post-war era featured darker characters, heightened realism, unusual and dark camera work as well as a certain fatalism that set them apart from previous gangster films. Not surprisingly, these noir sensibilities soon made their way abroad. The French, in particular, made some dandy noir pictures....and "Gunman in the Streets" is a sort of hybrid. It's a film with an American star and and international cast...set in France. While Dane Clark was never a top-tier star in the States, he was excellent at playing cold-hearted characters...and here he's about as cold and vicious as they come. While his character is awaiting trial for other crimes, he makes a daring but failed attack on an armored car with his gang....and he alone escapes. The film is about this thug's attempt to escape with the aid of his girlfriend (Simon Signoret) and some unexpected help from a dumb sap who is also in love with the girl! The bottom line is that although the camera-work is not classic noir, the nastiness of the leading character certainly is...as is the very downbeat ending. Remember...noir films are NOT intended to follow formulae nor are they intended to leave the audience happy...and this film succeeds on both accounts! Well worth seeing...particularly just to watch Clark do what he does best...play nasty and vicious thugs.

edwagreen Predictable crime thriller with Dane Clark escaping from a court appearance in this 1950 film.He has his dedicated girlfriend Simone Signoret aiding him in trying to raise money so that he can flee to Belgium. By the way, who was the hair stylist for Miss Signoret in this film? When her hair was long, she looked all right. When it was set in a bun-like way, she looked like one of your nosy neighbors from the Bronx.Clark plays the gangster role in the tradition of Humphrey Bogart or Edward G. Robinson, ruthless to the core.He gets the money thanks to a male friend of Signoret, a reporter who willingly becomes his hostage.Fernand Gravey plays the head of the police in hot pursuit of Clark. Wasn't Gravey in "The Great Waltz" of the 1930s?The film shows that love goes all the way with tragedy resulting.

bkoganbing American expatriates actor Dane Clark and director Frank Tuttle shot this gripping noir film which does not for one split second let up in the tension department. From the second American criminal Clark escapes police custody and becomes a fugitive you're held to your seats be it the theater or your living room couch.Unlike films where the man on the run is romanticized, not so in Gunman In The Streets. Clark is one dangerous man, at one point when he's trapped in a department store in Paris, he grabs up a small boy and uses him to shield his identity, the gendarmes not thinking that their quarry would have a child. The tension is pretty rough there as you wonder if someone will recognize Clark and bullets start flying.Simone Signoret plays the gangster's moll as tough in France as they are in America. She's moved on to another American, newspaper reporter Robert Duke. Duke loves Simone, but loves a story more as he agrees to help Clark escape. In the end Simone can't stay away from Clark.Two more roles of note, Fernand Gravey plays the determined police inspector pulling out all the stops to get Clark and Michel Andre who plays a part Peter Lorre would have had here on this side of the pond, the man looking to sell out all.Gunman In The Streets is a gripping noir thriller and the climax very much similar to White Heat.