East Side, West Side (1949)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Check out that cast list... the first EIGHT names are all HUGE, or became huge eventually. They must have blown the budget on just the payroll. Even further (farther ?) down the list, there are biggies. Wm Frawley (FRED!) and Vito Scotti. Poor Barbara S... kept getting nominated for Oscars; should have won it for sure for a couple of those. Stanwyck had just made a run of GREAT films during the 1940s, so it's no wonder this one isn't as well known. In this one, Jessie (Stanwyck) confronts her husband's mistress Isabel (Ava Gardner). James Mason is the playboy husband Brandon Bourne, and tries to have his cake and sleep with it too. Some amazing, big time co-stars - Van Heflin, Nancy Davis Reagan, Cyd Charisse, Gale Sondergaard. Bad stuff happens, and then the cop (a young Williamm Conrad) tries to figure out who-dunnit... so many suspects and motives. Really great film... surprised we don't see this on TCM more often, but so many movies, only so much time, i guess. Directed by Mervyn Leroy, who had worked on some biggies during the 1930s and 1940s.

This is an edit of my original review, after watching the film a second time.Realism is what I see in this film. I don't necessarily mean in terms of plot. There are a few aspects of that which didn't seem logical, but no more so than most films. But the performances, in general, seemed very real.I've never been much of a fan of James Mason, and this film doesn't redeem him much in my eyes. But, funny thing is, his character in this film is just about what I have a feeling he was actually like. And that's not saying much. But, at least he has that wonderful voice.Barbara Stanwyck was excellent here, but with a problem. ON the positive side, she seems very realistic as the jilted wife who ultimately makes the best decision for her life. On the negative side, in the early part of the film she seems very wishy-washy in how she reacts to her husband's repeated infidelities, then, fairly suddenly, she becomes the tough lady we usually enjoyed Stanwyck being. I'm not sure that in real life many women (or men, for that matter) could change roles so easily.Van Heflin is not one of my favorite actors, but I would have to say this is the best role I have seen him in. He seems real in his acting, but his character seems rather contrived. Nevertheless, he shines here.This is not a role that Ava Gardner fans might appreciate...the ultimate bad girl...but she does it well. As for me, I rarely appreciated Gardner's acting.Cyd Charisse is very good as Rosa Senta, but she disappears after the first half of the film, never to be seen again. Her character seemed to be merely a contrivance for the overall plot line.Nancy Davis -- later Mrs. Ronald Reagan -- has a small role here, and she's not very believable as a concerned friend of Barbara Stanwyck.Gale Sondergaard's roles were often over the top. But here, she has a more normal role and is excellent!William Conrad is fine as a police detective, as is William Frawley as a bar tender.The worst acting in the film has to be that by Beverly Michaels. She was a B movie actress...although "B" might have been generous. Her talking here is the most unrealistic aspect of the movie.Mervyn Leroy is noted for other films far more than this one, but this is a pretty good story with some fine acting. Recommended.

Having just watched "BUtterfield 8", I saw this movie as an earlier attempt to tell the same story from the wife's point of view. Same story, basically: seemingly happily married couple deals with issues concerning a rather "loose" woman (a former fling, now back in town) with few (if any) morals. Instead of Elizabeth Taylor, the "other woman" is Ava Gardner (like Taylor, one of MGM's genuinely beautiful as well as talented stars), and in place of Laurence Harvey and Dina Merrill are James Mason and Barbara Stanwyck. "BUtterfield 8" told the story from the other woman's point of view, but "East Side, West Side" focuses on the long-suffering wife (Stanwyck). It is very apparent here that Gardner has no scruples when it comes to going after a married man, so is it any wonder she ends up a corpse? But the film is not about the murder; It is about the wife's fight for her marriage and how she manages to find herself in the process.If you can get past the fact that Barbara Stanwyck was only 8 years older than Gale Sondergaard (cast as her mother!), you can enjoy this lavish soaper, made for MGM's 25th Anniversary. James Mason (like "BUtterfield 8's" Laurence Harvey) is what Lucile Watson described to daughter Norma Shearer in "The Women"; the type of man who can't do his hair or redecorate his office when he's going through a change of life ordeal. He has to find himself in the arms of a younger woman. Unlike Taylor in "B-8", Gardner doesn't show any vulnerability or motivation for her loose lifestyle, certainly no apologies to either Mason or Stanwyck. I found it interesting that when Stanwyck finds out about Gardner's death, she is as stunned as if it were a neighbor or an old friend. Like she later did in the brilliant thriller "Jeopardy", Stanwyck provides an opening narration that seems unnecessary.Certainly, there is no realism in a lot of the movie, so you have to take it from an entertainment point of view. I was surprised by the performance of Cyd Charisse as a model who helps Mason out of a predicament and later befriends Stanwyck to explain a picture in the newspaper. Usually, Charisse seems distracted by something in her acting, but here, she was amazingly on the ball with everything she did. I was not surprised by the outstanding performance of Van Heflin as Gardner's friend who becomes Stanwyck's confidant when they pick him up at LaGuardia Airport. I do not recall seeing Heflin in anything where he was less than inside the role. Whether it was a musical ("Presenting Lily Mars"), film noir ("Act of Violence") or his award worthy performance as the man with the bomb in "Airport", Heflin was simply outstanding.I like Sondergaard in her two scenes; As a Broadway star from long ago (even though she's only 55-in real life only 50), she gave an interesting speech on society how in her day you couldn't just become a stage star to get into "Cafe Society". Sondergaard, a veteran of playing chilly characters, is nice here, although she has a moment alone with Mason where he gets to feel that chill. I liked the interaction between Stanwyck and her stepfather, one of mutual respect and affection. Nancy Davis (Reagan) gives a nice quiet performance as Stanwyck's pal who makes sweet observations about women's friendships going beyond cattiness and jealousy. You won't quickly forget Beverly Michaels as a mannish (yet well dressed) femme fatale. She may look like Diana Dors but has the masculinity of Hope Emerson! Veteran character actors and soon-to-be TV stars William Conrad and William Frawley have nice bits. This isn't a film that will be regarded as an all-time classic but is a fairly enjoyable "women's picture", made long after Hollywood really stopped making them.

Whoever said this "isn't a great film" doesn't enjoy film noir and romance nearly as much as I do. And I can also guess you've never waited up all night worrying about a husband or lover.... pacing the floor, wondering what you are doing wrong, praying he or she is not having an affair --worrying yourself in to a state of illness. I have. And many of my friends have. This movie illustrated so well the multi-dimensional facets of our human characters. I don't think there was a bad guy here --there were people trying to make their relationships work, falling in love, falling out of love, being weak, being strong, having regrets, and having hope....... being very human. I really loved it. I highly recommend it.These actors are four of the finest of their day, and with good reason. Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Ava Gardner, and the ever-underrated Van Heflin --wow! It's set in the heart of NYC AND directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Seriously, what a recipe for success! If you get the chance, watch and enjoy "East Side, West Side". You'll be glad you did.