Nice effects though.

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

For once, Broderick Crawford is not overacting, but actually falls well in line with the character of this almost neo-realistic documentary quality of an FBI-investigation into a seemingly hopeless tangle of murder cases: the one FBI-agent who was on the brink of solving one of his three cases gets murdered, leaving all three cases hopelessly jammed without clues. His chief Broderick Crawford takes over the job in a ruotine matter-of-fact manner, and this is actually the great asset of the film, which is more than enough convincing all the way.There are a number of ladies involved, but the starkest impression is made by Marisa Pavan as Julie Angelino, the only girl in the film to get manhandled. She made a similar unforgettable part against Tony Curtis in "The Midnight Story", also as an Italian vulnerable girl, and both performances lift their films to a higher level.Among the other girls are Martha Hyer, who more often than not played fatal blondes and did it well, and she makes her mark also here. But the best actress is Ruth Roman as Kate Martell, who makes the whole film. It pays to be observant in every scene she is in, for her crisis situation, which constantly is developing, is the main story of the film, and it is all written in her face all the way through. I can't remember having seen her in any other film.This is a great underrated noir of the highest quality but technically rather humble in its way of presenting itself, which only makes it the more interesting.

DOWN 3 DARK STREETS 1954This one is based on the novel, CASE FILE FBI by Gordon and Mildred Gordon. The Gordons also wrote the screenplay for the film.This one starts with the murder of a gas station employee. The man had spotted a wanted killer and was calling in the info to the FBI. The killer, Joe Bassett is heading to L.A. to hook up with his girl, Martha Hyer.FBI Agent Kenneth Tobey is assigned to track down Bassett. At the same time Tobey is involved with two other cases, a man, Gene Reynolds who has been grabbed up for driving a stolen car. Then there is a case involving a threat of kidnapping. A woman, Ruth Roman, has been called and told her daughter will be taken, if she does not fork over a 10 grand insurance payment she just got.Broderick Crawford plays Tobey's boss in the FBI chain of command. The deal here is that there could be a link between the last two cases to the first one. It is Tobey's job to unravel the twists. Tobey gets shot and killed during a stake-out for the killer, Bassett.The FBI now pulls out all the stops as they give all three cases top priority. The film follows Crawford and the various agents as they track down the leads and eliminate them. They solve one case and move on to the next as they look for Tobey's killer.The women involved in the various story threads, is what makes this film really click. Ruth Roman, Suzanne Alexander, Marisa Paven and Martha Hyer are the female leads. Miss Hyer in particular shines as she keeps thrusting her upper-works at Crawford and crew, as she cracks wise with lines like, "Do you mind if I put something on? I don't like men staring at me before lunch".This documentary style noir was directed by Arnold Laven. He cranked out several watchable film noir early in his career, WITHOUT WARNING! as well as VICE SQUAD.Film noir specialist Joseph Biroc handled the cinematography duties on the production. Two time Oscar nominated, and one time winner, Biroc was known for his work on, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, CRY DANGER, THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK, LOAN SHARK, WITHOUT WARNING!, ATTACK, TENSION AT TABLE ROCK, FORTY GUNS, CHINA GATE, LADY IN CEMENT and THE TOWERING INFERNO.This one has the odd slow spot but for the most part moves right along. There is some excellent location shooting involved here.The writers, The Gordons would dust this one off in 1963 and use most of the story to make, EXPERIMENT IN TERROR with Glenn Ford.

Before J. Edgar Hoover stopped fogging mirrors in 1972 you would not see a film that did not show the Federal Bureau Of Investigation as less than dedicated and perfect. Stripping the man's paranoia away from him, Hoover did bring a certain order and professionalism to the FBI and when they stuck to crime and criminals as opposed to just amassing files on the world they did a good job. Like any other law enforcement agency when one of their own is killed in the line of duty everything stops until the perpetrator is caught.Down These Dark Streets is one of the few films you'll see where someone who is a detective will be shown having more than one case. Indeed that is the crux of this plot. Which one of three cases did agent Kenneth Tobey get killed over by a sniper's bullet?His supervisor Broderick Crawford takes over and the three cases are a case of an organized car theft ring where young Gene Reynolds is about to take a fall in federal prison because he won't rat out the leaders. Maybe it's notorious fugitive Joe Bassett who is armed and dangerous and who already killed a gas station attendant who rather stupidly called the FBI before Bassett was clear from his station. Or there's Ruth Roman who is being extorted for an insurance settlement by a stranger threatening her child on the phone.Crawford takes on all three cases and systematically solves them and eliminates a lot of suspects. He's as thorough a professional as all big screen FBI men were at the time.Take note of Martha Hyer who plays Joe Bassett's kept moll. Martha was one of the most beautiful women ever to grace the screen and here she shows some real acting chops in her scenes with Crawford. Down Three Dark Streets is a crisp and competent police drama with a great ensemble cast. Definitely a must for noir fans.

It's "The F.B.I." starring Broderick Crawford, with special guest star Ruth Roman. The film begins promising - you expect a great interwoven, mysterious plot; but, it doesn't really work out that way. Instead, it's an extended TV crime drama, with stuff that may have been a little too sexy and violent for the time (so, couldn't they have put SOME bruise make-up on the blind woman?).The title "Down Three Dark Streets" refers to three seemingly unrelated crimes Mr. Broderick's F.B.I. solves. It seems like you need a notepad to keep track of events, but you'll get along by paying attention to the extortion plot involving Ms. Roman.Performance-wise, it's Roman's film. There are a lot of recognizable faces, though. Martha Hyer gives a Marilyn Monroe-type performance, as directed (Arnold Laven). Other than that, there are some Los Angeles-area location scenes that are very nice to see; the location scenery is the movie's highlight - climaxing by the "HOLLYWOOD sign". **** Down Three Dark Streets (1954) Arnold Laven ~ Ruth Roman, Broderick Crawford, Martha Hyer