Street Smart is a 1987 American crime thriller film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Christopher Reeve, Morgan Freeman, Kathy Baker and Mimi Rogers.

When a real pimp who closely matches the fictional description (Freeman) is indicted for murder, both he and the prosecutor try to exploit the reporter for their own ends.

Jonathan Fisher, a struggling magazine reporter based in New York City, is having difficulty pitching a story to his editor, Ted Avery.

Frustrated and worried about his career prospects, he finally pitches a profile on a real-life street pimp, which Ted finds intriguing but gives him a very narrow deadline to meet.

After an attempt by his girlfriend, Alison, to help approach the nightlife goes disastrously wrong, Jonathan invents the story of a pimp named Tyrone.

Despite his often charming exterior, Smalls is a violent and unpredictable man; he nearly cuts up the face of his favorite prostitute, Darlene, when he believes she is skimming from her earnings.

Smalls, who knows that the magazine article isn't about him, asks Jonathan to create notes that show that their interview coincided with the time of the murder, therefore giving him an alibi.

Jonathan makes bail, and then admits to the magazine's lawyer representing him that he made up the entire story, that the similarities between the Tyrone character of the story and the circumstances of Smalls' life are purely coincidental and tries to back out, but the judge on the case shows him photos Pike had taken of Smalls and Jonathan eating together during their first public meeting, and is held in contempt and remanded into custody once again.

Freeman was not caught at the time, and only disclosed his deception during an interview with the magazine promoting the film in March 1987, stating "I was trying to write fiction in the form of journalism.

Principal photography took place in Montreal, Quebec, with two weeks of exterior location filming in New York City.

[5] Production designer Dan Leigh imported signage, paraphernalia, phone booths, mailboxes, and even garbage from Harlem in order to better mimic an American locale.

Christopher Reeve, who was on the Council of Actors' Equity Association and a union supporter, was forced to cross the picket line due to a “no-strike clause” in his contract.

The producers met with the group to hear their issues and agreed to hire locals for day jobs on the set.