''Slaughter on Tenth Avenue'' is a 1957 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

directed by

Arnold Laven Arnold Laven (February 3, 1922 – September 13, 2009) was an American film and television director and producer. He was one of the founders and principals of the American film and television production company Levy-Gardner-Laven. Laven was a ...

and starring Richard Egan,

Jan Sterling Jan Sterling (born Jane Sterling Adriance; April 3, 1921 – March 26, 2004) was an American film, television and stage actress. At her most active in films during the 1950s (immediately prior to which she had joined the Actors Studio), Sterling ...

Dan Duryea Dan Duryea ( , January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying a vast range of character roles as a villain, he nonetheless had a long career in a wide variety of leading and second ...

Julie Adams Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams; October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of ...

. The film is a story of crime on New York's waterfront. It is based on the non-fiction book ''The Man Who Rocked the Boat'', an autobiography by William Keating, played by Egan in the film. The book chronicles Keating's experiences as an assistant district attorney and as counsel to the New York City Anti-Crime Committee. In the portion of the book depicted in the film, Keating pursued a murder prosecution for a waterfront hit despite widespread corruption that stretched all the way into the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

's office. The title comes from the

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American ...

ballet of the same name, which was featured in the 1936 play '' On Your Toes''. The plot line of the movie has no relation to the play, but the composition by Rodgers is indeed heard in the film, in an adaptation by Herschel Burke Gilbert (under the direction of music supervisor Joseph Gershenson) that was praised as "magnificent".

Plot

Thugs working for union boss Al Dahlke ambush and shoot Solly Pitts, an honest man who hires longshoremen on the docks. Solly is wounded and hospitalized, looked after by wife Madge, who trusts Lt. Tony Vosnick to see that justice is done. The district attorney, Howard Rysdale, turns over the investigation to a relative novice, Bill Keating. As his marriage to fiancee Daisy Pauly draws near, Keating tries in vain to get longshoremen to speak with him about activities on the docks. An intermediary tries to persuade Keating to collude with Dahlke, who issues vague threats after Bill rejects him. Witnesses are intimidated and discredited by attorney John Jacob Masters in court, and Bill and Daisy receive an anonymous death threat on their wedding day. Keating goes to the docks for a direct confrontation with Dahlke's men and triggers a near-riot. As the dust settles, the men hear on the radio that Solly's attackers have been found guilty.

Cast

* Richard Egan as William Keating *

as Madge Pitts *

as John Jacob Masters *

as Dee *

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), '' King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

as Al Dahlke *

Charles McGraw Charles McGraw (born Charles Crisp Butters; May 10, 1914 – July 29, 1980) was an American stage, film and television actor whose career spanned more than three decades. Early life McGraw was born to Beatrice (née Crisp) and Francis P. B ...

as Lt. Anthony Vosnick *

Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Russian Empire-born American Broadway, film, radio, and television actor and director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over 50 comedy and dr ...

as Howard Rysdale *

Mickey Shaughnessy Joseph C. Shaughnessy (August 5, 1920 – July 23, 1985), better known as Mickey Shaughnessy, was an American actor and comedian. Early life Joseph C. Shaughnessy was born in New York City. He began in show business working as a singer at res ...

as Solly Pitts *

Harry Bellaver Harry Bellaver (born Enricho Bellaver; February 12, 1905 – August 8, 1993) was an American stage, film and television actor who appeared in many roles from the 1930s through the 1980s. Early years Bellaver was born in Hillsboro, Illinois, the ...

as Benjy Karp *

Nick Dennis Nick Dennis (April 26, 1904 – November 14, 1980) was a Greek American film actor born in Thessaly, Greece. Biography The supporting actor, who began in films in 1947, was known for playing ethnic types (usually Greek) in films such as ''Kiss ...

as Midget *

Joe Downing Joe Downing (June 26, 1903 in New York City, New York – October 16, 1975 in Canoga Park, California) was an American stage, TV and B-movie actor who made more than 70 appearances. Downing's early acting experience included work with the Thea ...

as Eddie 'Cockeye' Cook *

Ned Wever Ned Wever (born Edward Hooper Weaver; April 27, 1902 – May 6, 1984) was an actor on stage and on old-time radio. Garyn G. Roberts wrote in his book, ''Dick Tracy and American Culture: Morality and Mythology, Text and Context'', "Wever's most f ...

as Captain Sid Wallace * Billy M. Greene as "Monk" Mohler * John McNamara as Judge *

Amzie Strickland Amzie Ellen Strickland (January 10, 1919 – July 5, 2006) was an American character actress who began in radio, made some 650 television appearances, had roles in two dozen films, appeared in numerous television movies, and also worked in T ...

as Mrs. Cavanagh * Mickey Hargitay as Big John

References

External links

* * 1957 films 1957 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Arnold Laven Films scored by Herschel Burke Gilbert Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Universal Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{1950s-crime-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links