Watch Slaughter on 10th Avenue For Free

Why so much hype?

Instant Favorite.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

In order to enjoy this movie, you have to adopt a certain perspective. You have to look at it close up, so that you ignore the fact that it's a variation on the theme of "On The Waterfront" (1954). The points of similarity are myriad. The one that's missing is any poetry whatever in "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue", while there is an abundance of it in "On The Waterfront." I'll give just one example. Marlon Brando, as longshoreman Terry Malloy, is standing in the middle of a dozen other workers on one of the piers. Two members of "the waterfront commission" push their way towards him, calling, "Mr. Malloy? Terry Malloy?" Instead of turning to his left and facing the lawmen, Brando feigns puzzlement and turns the other way, completely around, until he's facing them again. Every dock worker knows that the crime commission is nosing around but longshoremen proudly solve their own problems. Brando's slow shuffling in a circle is a perfect non-verbal expression of his contempt.But you must forget scenes like that. You have to forget Brando and Eva Marie Saint strolling through a smoky little park and getting to know one another. You have to forget all of that and think of "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" as a thing unto itself. Yes, it's a pale imitation, but it's not ineffective in its own terms.Richard Egan is an Assistant District Attorney who's assigned a homicide case. The victim, Mickey Shaughnessy, is only one of many 1950s iconic faces. They include Harry Belaver, Dan Duryea, Charles McGraw, Walter Matthau, Mickey Hargity, and Sam Levene. The names may or may not mean anything but you'll probably recognize most of the faces.The two actresses are well cast. Jan Sterling, as Shaugnessy's wife and, later, widow is fine as the spitfire of a working-class woman. "Madge Pitts." Could anyone think of a better name for her rough, uneducated character? Julie Adams is Egan's girl friend and, as usual, she exudes an air of elegance in addition to her dark and striking beauty. She SOUNDS like the kind of babe who could marry an ambitious lawyer on his way up the bureaucratic ladder, while "Madge Pitts" belongs in a dump with an oilcloth covering the table in the tiny kitchen.The central role is Richard Egan's district attorney. He's handsome enough, I suppose, and has a slightly nasal but resonant baritone. I like him. But if this is a display of his acting chops, then one must admit that he's not as well cast as Madge Pitts. Walter Matthau has the "Johnny Friendly" role -- all good will and bad grammar. I prefer him as a good guy.The plot gets too complicated to describe, and I'm not at all sure why Matthau and his goons wind up in the paddy wagon, but okay. I get the fact that it's a happy ending.

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.

Excellent movie about uncovering crime on the waterfront. Young DA catches a murder case, involving corrupt labor leaders. Richard Egan stars as the young DA, and does an excellent job. The movie has a steady pace, and is not full of the same old cliché's. Their is light comedy, with a lady that is afraid of aliens, the is very effective at keeping the tempo of the film changing. The ending is very exciting, and the musical score is great. All in all, a really fine movie-with good acting all around, an interesting and believable premise, and a well directed pace. If you love old movies, or just a good story, you'll love this one. I highly recommend it.

Eclipsed by the accomplishment and reputation of On The Waterfront three years earlier, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue mines a similar vein: corruption in the longshoremen's unions and the violent struggle for their control. And while the earlier movie remains the heavyweight champ , its younger brother can be considered a worthy contender, too. (Its title, by the way, comes from an unrelated George Balanchine ballet of two decades earlier, with music by Richard Rogers retained as the film score.)While On The Waterfront centered on the lives on the dockworkers embroiled in struggles beyond their control, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue focuses on the Suits who try to prosecute the shooting and later death of one of those workers. Richard Egan plays the young turk in the District Attorney's office who must penetrate the operative code of silence and win the trust of the men working the piers and their families – they're scared, and have no reason to put themselves on the line for what they see as a callous bureaucracy with few teeth. Egan finally wins over the victim's wife (Jan Sterling) and a few of his cronies, but along the way discovers that wheels turn within wheels. A former prosecutor, now some sort of lobbyist, drags him to meet the slick operator who calls the shots on the waterfront (Walter Matthau, before he became the shambliest of straight men), who tries to buy him off. (Fortunately, the movie entertains no theories about the source – Communists? Organized crime? – of the corruption.) But Egan soldiers on, finally persuading his superiors to bring an indictment despite unreliable witnesses and holes in his case.And this is the movie's most interesting aspect: How the connections and history linking the police, the district attorney and the legal system (Dan Duryea, with a moustache, is another former prosecutor who lives high as a defense lawyer) compromise whatever justice may ultimately be meted out. While influenced heavily by the noir cycle that was coming to an end, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue shades more heavily toward social commentary; its upbeat ending, too, is anathema to the pessimism of hard-core noir. Still, its good to see Charles McGraw as a police detective, even if he is sporting a silvery mane of hair.