[citation needed] Part of the story is set in the vicinity of the long-demolished Third Avenue El, a favorite location of the films made in the city during that era.

Joe Norson lives with his wife and her parents in New York City; he has lost his gas station job and found work as a part-time mail carrier.

Backett has framed wealthy broker/patsy Emil Lorrison in a sex scandal, then extorted the money from him with the help of Lucille "Lucky" Colner and ex-con and accomplice Georgie Garsell.

He explains his newfound wealth to Ellen as a lucrative out-of-town job, then disguises the money as a package and leaves it with bartender Nick Drumman.

The Big Apple comes alive via a nervy mix of photojournalistic shots of people on the move and hieratic [formal] compositions that give the squeeze to Farley Granger's Joe Norson..."[4] Critic Nathan Gelgud wrote in 2007 "Because it's an Anthony Mann movie, Side Street is similarly interested in detail, as well as great action sequences and even greater locations.

The scenes in the bar are the ones that come immediately to mind when you think of Side Street because the details are spot-on, and Mann constructs the place with the depth of the academy frame he’s so good at utilizing.