After an accident, a New York man with amnesia finds out the ugly truth about his real identity and past by interacting with people who seem to know him well.After an accident, a New York man with amnesia finds out the ugly truth about his real identity and past by interacting with people who seem to know him well.After an accident, a New York man with amnesia finds out the ugly truth about his real identity and past by interacting with people who seem to know him well.
Kenneth Chryst
- Taxi Driver
- (uncredited)
Kernan Cripps
- Taxi Driver
- (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn
- Fireman
- (uncredited)
Ruth Gillette
- Blonde
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. Its initial television broadcasts took place in Chicago Tuesday 6 January 1959 on WBBM (Channel 2), followed by New York City Friday 30 January 1959 on WCBS (Channel 2); in Minneapolis it first aired 1 August 1959 on WTCN (Channel 11), in Detroit 22 September 1959 on WJBK (Channel 2), in Pittsburgh 7 October 1959 on KDKA (Channel 2), in Milwaukee 13 October 1959 on WITI (Channel 6), and in Omaha 19 November 1959 on KETV (Channel 7).
- Quotes
Frank Thompson: You oughta have a good sock on the jaw.
Ruth Dillon: Go ahead - sock me. Danny, I'd go through anything for you but never lie to me.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Nightmare: The Life and Films of Cornell Woolrich (2022)
Featured review
early noir with amnesia angle
Paramount's "Street of Chance" is an early, and certainly not full-fledged, entry in the film noir canon. It qualifies mainly for being based on a work by that master of paranoia and cruel fate, Cornell Woolrich -- using the familiar amnesia premise to trigger the protagonist's alienation -- and by its oppressively moody low-key lighting. The first few reels offer a true noir milieu of urban angst and displacement -- the hero, injured by falling construction material, discovers a year-long lapse in his life -- and worse, he's suspected of murder and has a completely unremembered lover in addition to his puzzled wife. As the film progresses and he narrows in on the truth, it resolves itself into something closer to Gothic melodrama, with a more traditional view of human transgression and frailty. The blending of the two genres is reminiscent of the studio's "Among the Living" from the previous year rather than the out-and-out noirs "This Gun For Hire" and "The Glass Key" of its own release year.
Paramount's B-picture unit offered a higher degree of professionalism than most, reflected by the fine level of performance and technical achievement here. Burgess Meredith's lead character is far too benign to be a true Woolrichian anti-hero, but Claire Trevor shows underlying tinges of femme-fatalité which would serve her well later in her career. Lower-rank director Jack Hively contributes a few visual cachets, particularly the unexpected discovery of a pivotal character lurking in the background, and an over-the-transom tracking shot to end the picture that is almost Antonioniesque. Unfortunately, he doesn't milk the character conflict for much intensity, and the denouement is disappointingly soft.
Paramount's B-picture unit offered a higher degree of professionalism than most, reflected by the fine level of performance and technical achievement here. Burgess Meredith's lead character is far too benign to be a true Woolrichian anti-hero, but Claire Trevor shows underlying tinges of femme-fatalité which would serve her well later in her career. Lower-rank director Jack Hively contributes a few visual cachets, particularly the unexpected discovery of a pivotal character lurking in the background, and an over-the-transom tracking shot to end the picture that is almost Antonioniesque. Unfortunately, he doesn't milk the character conflict for much intensity, and the denouement is disappointingly soft.
helpful•301
- goblinhairedguy
- May 8, 2005
- How long is Street of Chance?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 14 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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