13 West Street (1961) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Crime Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1961
Running Time	79:50
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Philip Leacock
Studio Distributor	ViaVision	Starring	Alan Ladd Rod Steiger Dolores Dorn Michael Callan Kenneth MacKenna Chris Robinson Arnold Merritt
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	George Dunning

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Late one night on his way home from work rocket engineer Walt Sherill (Alan Ladd) runs out of petrol in a deserted industrial neighbourhood. Walking to get some petrol he is attacked by a gang of juveniles, beaten badly and left lying beside the road. In hospital with a broken leg and fractured ribs he is visited by his wife Tracey (Dolores Dorn) and his boss Paul (Kenneth MacKenna) as well as Detective Sergeant Pete Koleski (Rod Steiger) who takes Walt’s statement, such as it is, and promises to do what he can.

     The gang were well dressed and well-spoken so seem to have been made up of juveniles from wealthy families without a police record so Koleski has few leads to go on. Walt is stunned by the senselessness and randomness of the violence of the attack on him; as well, his pride and self-esteem have also taken a battering and he becomes increasingly frustrated by Koleski’s lack of a lead. But Koleski is making progress, visiting the school he thinks the gang attends. The gang is led by Chuck (Michael Callan), who dominates the others including Everett (Chris Robinson) and Bill (Arnold Merritt); Chuck knows that Walt lives at 13 West Street so decides to deliver a warning, throwing a piece of metal through the window when only Tracey is home and threatening her by telephone.

     Koleski manages to identify some of the gang members, but their wealthy parents give their boys alibies. Koleski keeps digging, but Walt becomes more and more obsessed with revenge, distancing himself from Tracey and threatening their marriage with his obsession. Undeterred, Walt buys a pistol and hires a Private Detective to follow one of the boys until one night things come to a head.

     13 West Street was directed by Philip Leacock based on the novel The Tiger Among Us by Leigh Brackett. This film was Alan Ladd’s last starring role and second last film before his untimely death in 1964; his last film, in which he had a supporting role, was The Carpetbaggers (1964). Ladd’s career spanned three decades, starting in 1932, with100 credits, but by 1961 when 13 West Street was released Ladd had put on weight and the period during the late 40s and early 50s when he was at the height of his popularity as a leading man was well past. Nevertheless, Ladd was still a handsome man (he apparently observed he had the face of an aging choirboy) and his screen charisma remains undeniable; in the role of Walt Sherill Ladd was able to act and to show a level of vulnerability and frustration in a good performance. The other highlight of 13 West Street was of course Rod Steiger who is excellent as the detective trying to do his job while dealing with lies from wealthy parents and a frustrated victim! Steiger was only a couple of years off his tour-de-force performance in The Pawnbroker (1964) for which he was nominated for an Oscar but lost out to Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou. I love Marvin and Cat Ballou but I know which is the most compelling performance! Steiger did win his Oscar a few years later for In the Heat of the Night (1968).

     13 West Street is not really about juvenile gangs as such, nor is it a vigilante film in the ilk of later films such as Death Wish (1974). Instead it is a much more realistic and measured films about what happens to a decent man when he becomes obsessed with finding out who attacked him, rather than leaving it to the police who were, in this case, making progress. Good performances by Alan Ladd and Rod Steiger and a script that does not quite go where it might have help to make 13 West Street a decent watch.

Video

     13 West Street is presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, in NTSC and is 16x9 enhanced.

     This is a decent black and white print. Blacks are solid, greyscales good, shadow detail fine in both wide shots and close-ups. See, for example, the sequence when Walt walks in the deserted industrial area with its darkness and shadows. The early stock footage of the failed rocket launch has an vertical scratch but the film itself is good with only some small specks, some motion blur against vertical lines and reel change markings. Grain is nicely controlled.

     No subtitles are provided.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono at 384 Kbps.

     Dialogue is clear. The effects are limited; the broken glass when the window is shattered, engines in the motor car chase and crash and thumps during the beatings are acceptable. The score by five times Oscar nominated George Dunning, including one for From Here to Eternity (1953), is fine although not memorable.

     There was no hiss or crackle.

     The lip synchronisation was fine.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     The menu is silent and offers only “Play Feature”.

     I can find references to a US released standalone DVD of 13 West Street which is advertised for quite exorbitant prices of up to $US120.00! In Australia 13 West Street is released as part of the 5 disc / 5 film The Alan Ladd Collection Volume One, a collection which does not seem to have been released elsewhere. See the summary section below for details.

     13 West Street is a decent urban drama with a very good cast and a thoughtful script. As far as I can tell the film has never been released on home video in Australia so this is an opportunity for fans of Alan Ladd or Rod Steiger to check it out.

     The video and audio are fine, no extras.

     13 West Street is included in the 5 disc / 5 film set The Alan Ladd Collection Volume One of films made by Ladd between 1946 and 1961. There is nothing included here that would be up there with his most memorable roles, but it is an interesting collection for fans nonetheless. Four of these films date from between 1946 and 1951: Two Years Before the Mast (1946), Calcutta (1947), Red Mountain (1951) and Thunder in the East (1951), plus 13 West Street from late in Ladd’s career.

     The Alan Ladd Collection Volume One was supplied for review by Via Vision Entertainment. Check out their Facebook page for the latest releases, giveaways, deals and more.

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