Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1957)

Surely no other film noir has had such an illustrious composer responsible for its theme music. I studied "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue," the musical suite, in elementary school! The movie itself is quite good. It is a gritty story about life on the waterfront. The director isn't famous but I notice he also directed one of my favorites, which I haven't seen in many a long year: "Down Three Dark Streets"! And what a cast! Most people watching today will single out Walter Matthau, who is fine in a relatively small role. But Richard Egan is excellent as an ambitious young cop. Jan Sterling, always good in tough roles, is excellent as the wife of the man who falls victim to the title event. Julie Adams is appealing as Egan's wife. And Dan Duryea gives a bravura performance as a smart but not very admirable lawyer.

The rest of the cast includes such noir staples as Charles McGraw, Sam Levene, and Mickey Shaughnessy.

Initially, I have to admit that I found the music a little distracting. But I got used to it. And the movie hits pretty hard.