Southside 1 1000

Plot

Based on a true story, the US secret service goes after a gang of counterfeiters, whose engraver (Morris Ankrum) has secretly constructed his plates while in prison. A federal agent (Don DeFore) poses as the counterfeiters contact man in order to purchase enough bills to incriminate the gang.

Cast

Production

The final fight-to-the-death scene was filmed aboard Los Angeles "Angels Flight", a cable-car service hanging 40 feet above the ground.

Reception

Film critic Craig Butler of Allmovie wrote, "Southside 1-1000 is a good pseudo-noir film told in pseudodocumentary fashion, but it also must register as a bit of a disappointment. Its functional and all the parts fit together smoothly, making it run like a fairly well-oiled machine but it lacks real spark. Given director Boris Ingsters impressive work on the seminal Stranger on the Third Floor, one expects something a bit more unusual or off the beaten path or at least distinctive. Instead, Southside looks like it could have been the work of any competent director." The New York Times wrote, "In the cinemas library of routine gangster fiction, Southside 1-1000 merits a comfortable middle-class rating being neither especially exciting nor particularly dull." Michael Barrett of PopMatters rated it 4/10 stars and called it "an unnecessary and forgettable entry in the genre".