Race Street

George Raft and William Bendix costar as childhood chums operating on either side of the law who come up against the syndicate, in this noir drama set in postwar San Francisco. Raft plays Dan Gannin, a bookie looking to get square after meeting the perfect dame, while Bendix plays Lt. Barney Runson, a cop whose heart is bigger than his badge. As the mob starts to muscle in on the Bay's loose affiliation of independent operators, they lean a little too hard on Dan's number two and best pal from the hood, Hal (Harry Morgan). Dan puts his dreams of the straight and narrow on hold and sets out to settle the score while Barney tries desperately to convince his friend to try it his way for once. And Dan's perfect dame, socialite Robbie Lawrence (Marilyn Maxwell), is caught between them, while harboring a secret or two of her own.

In this dark crime drama, the trouble begins when a San Francisco bookie attempts to lead an honest life by marrying a comely widow. In preparation for his nuptials, the fellow stays on the straight and narrow, but when he learns that one of his cohorts has been murdered by an East Coast gang that is trying to horn in on West Coast territory, he reenters the underworld. A boyhood friend who became a cop tries to convince him to team up with the police, but the vengeful bookie remains determined to things his way. It proves to be a tragic mistake and shows the bookie that those closest to him are not what they seem.