Stakeout on Dope Street *** (1958, Yale Wexler, Jonathan Haze, Steven Marlo, Abby Dalton) – Classic Movie Review 8369

The 1958 crime drama Stakeout on Dope Street is an interesting, still relevant fable for the late-Fifties times from the Roger Corman pool of Fifties youthful talent. Indeed the film was financed by the ever-canny Roger Corman, as executive producer, providing $15,000 of the tiny budget.

The chance discovery of a valuable consignment of hard drugs in old can in a briefcase is seen as a way out of poverty for three teenage youths (Yale Wexler, Jonathan Haze, Morris Miller [aka Steven Marlo]), but ultimately leads to their downfall, with drug dealer’s gang hunting them down to get back their uncut heroin.

Irvin Kershner’s directorial début defies its low budget of $35,000 and shows the confidence and cinematic understanding that later led his work on to big-budget mainstream epics such as The Empire Strikes Back and Never Say Never Again. The fresh young cast injects a genuine feeling of helplessness into the disheartening subject matter.

Also in the cast are Abby Dalton, Allen Kramer, Herman Rudin, Philip Mansour, Frank Harding, Bill Shaw, Andrew J Fenady, Slate Harlow, Herschel Bernardi and Matt Resnick.

Stakeout on Dope Street runs 83 minutes, is made by Warner Bros, is distributed by Warner Bros, is written by Irwin Schwartz, Irvin Kershner and Andrew J Fenady, is shot in black and white by Haskell Wexler [credited as Mark Jeffrey], is produced by Roger Corman (executive producer) and Andrew J Fenady and is scored by Richard Markowitz.

Irvin Kershner (1923–2010) began his career teaching photography at the University of Southern California, then worked in TV before his movie debut with Stakeout on Dope Street. He directed A Fine Madness with Sean Connery in 1966, The Flim-Flam Man (1967) with George C Scott, Loving (1970), Up the Sandbox with Barbra Streisand in 1972, S*P*Y*S (1974), The Return of a Man Called Horse with Richard Harris in 1976, Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) and RoboCop 2 (1990), his final movie.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8369

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