With 1949’s Side Street, we get a thriller from noted filmmaker Anthony Mann. This one offers a film noir affair.

When he loses his job at a gas station, Joe Norson (Farley Granger) finds himself forced to take a low-paying mail carrier gig. Short on funds, this means he and pregnant wife Ellen (Cathy O’Donnell) must move in with her parents (Harry Antrim and Esther Somers).

Eager to get out of this situation, Joe steals money from corrupt attorney Victor Backett (Edmon Ryan). This leads down unexpected – and dangerous – paths.

Given Mann’s track record, I went into Street with high hopes. While the movie offers a decent drama, I admit it doesn’t quite live up to expectations.

The main problem comes from awkward voiceover. Although narration acts as a staple of noir, its utilization here feels clumsy.

That happens because this dialogue leans toward a nagging Jiminy Cricket vibe. Rather than embellish the story and characters, the narration nags the viewer.

As such, Street can feel more like a morality tale than a noir thriller. This doesn’t become a fatal flaw, but it makes the end result a little heavy-handed.

Still, Street offers a mix of strengths, and Granger’s lead performance becomes one of these. He plays Joe’s desperation and conflict in a positive manner.

Mann also creates a taut claustrophobic tone that suits the tale. This builds the tension as the screws on Joe grow and grow.

Street also gets better as it goes, mainly because it proceeds down darker paths – and loses most of that annoying narration. While Joe descends into increasing danger, the anxiety amplifies.

Despite some qualms, I mostly like Street. Even with a few iffy choices, it becomes a largely positive thriller.

Side Street appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a pretty strong presentation.

Sharpness worked well throughout the movie. Some mild instances of softness popped up at times, but these remained insignificant.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to become an issue, and grain felt light but natural.

Blacks appeared deep and dense, while shadows looked smooth and clear. The film consistently looked very good.

Though not as good, the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack appeared perfectly acceptable for its age. Speech occasionally betrayed a little edginess, but the lines generally came across as accurately rendered.

Music and effects worked in similar ways, as they showed decent accuracy and lacked much distortion. Nothing here excelled, but the audio seemed satisfactory for the material and vintage.

We get a mix of extras here, and these open with an audio commentary from film critic Richard Schickel. He provides a running, screen-specific look at cast and crew, story and characters, genre domains, some production notes and his thoughts about the film.

Schickel tended to record spotty commentaries, but this one works pretty well except for one issue: too much dead air. When he speaks, however, Schickel provides a pretty enjoyable look at the movie.

Where Temptation Lurks provides a five-minute, 49-second featurette. It provides notes from Schickel, AFI Catalogue Executive Editor Patricia King Hanson, and filmmakers Oliver Stone and Christopher Coppola.

The featurette covers story/characters, cinematic choices and techniques, and related thoughts. This turns into a short but reasonably informative reel.

In addition to the movie’s trailer, three vintage shorts appear. In addition to the live-action The Luckiest Guy in the World (21:09), we find cartoons Goggle-Fishing Bear (7:21) and Polka Dot Puss (7:45).

Part of a series called “Crimes Does Not Pay”, Guy focuses on a man (Barry Nelson) whose debts lead him down unpleasant paths. Essentially a morality tale, it seems dated but interesting for archival reasons.

Goggle shows Barney Bear as he attempts to nab some fish. Due to an adorable seal, hijinks result but not many laughs come along for the ride.

Finally, Puss presents a scheme Tom executes to stay inside for the night while Jerry tries to ruin this ruse. Though nothing special, it comes with some fun moments.

At no point does Side Street threaten to deliver a noir classic. However, it does more right than wrong and delivers a reasonably taut tale of a man who makes some bad choices. The Blu-ray comes with very good picture, acceptable audio and a mix of bonus features. Street becomes a more than competent thriller.