Just for a change, today's Shuker In MovieLand blog post is far less of a film review and much more of a cinematic detective story. Allow me to explain.
After being perplexed for some time by the film under consideration here, namely Streets of Sin, on 2 January 2021 I finally decided to throw the case open to the public, by posting the following account on my Facebook page, and also on several FB movie/video groups of which I'm a member, including my own FFTF group (click here to access it), in the fervent hope that someone could offer any information or welcome insights concerning this very mysterious movie on video:
Firstly, Happy New Year! Secondly, does anyone know anything about this mystifying ex-rental big box movie, Streets of Sin? I recently saw this pic of it online [i.e. the picture opening this present blog article], which brought back memories of seeing it in the rental shops back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, though I never rented it. I've also seen one on offer for £25 plus p&p online, but before I think about paying that much to get it, I'd like to know something about this movie in case it turns out not to be of interest to me, yet I can't find anything about it at all anywhere. It's like the movie doesn't exist!
I've checked out biogs of all four actors/actresses named on the cover, on IMDb, Wikipedia, etc, but this movie is not listed for any of them. I've googled its title, nothing, google-imaged it, nothing. No clips or trailer for it on YouTube or DailyMotion. I can't even find the year that it was released. The one on offer online includes a photo of the very brief description of it on its back cover [see below for it], but no other details (director, production company, release date, etc).
As all four actors/actresses are French or French-born (Michel Lonsdale = famous French-British actor Michael Lonsdale), I've even tried finding out if it was originally released in French under a different title, but again nothing.
So any info about this mystery movie would be very welcome - thanks very much in hopeful advance!
A few days then passed by uneventfully, my plaintive plea for assistance receiving no positive responses. Then longstanding FB friend Duncan Ingram weighed in with what proved to be the exceedingly unexpected but greatly welcomed solution to this very tenacious film-related riddle.
It turns out that the above-depicted video's front cover and title are what might be best thought of as highly imaginative interpretations of the movie itself. So too might the following short description of the movie present on the video's back cover:
A film of subterfuge and adultery set against a background of industrial intrigue. A grim picture of mental stress and unrest which could hardly be equalled in modern cinematography.
For in reality, and to my considerable surprise, this movie is in fact a 1989 English-dubbed version of the 1975 French film La Téléphone Rose (The Pink Telephone), which in turn is actually a stylish, fairly lighthearted comedy-drama directed by Éduardo Molinaro. Needless to say, therefore, it is very far removed indeed from the ostensibly hard-hitting, gritty action flick that the above video's front-cover artwork, back-cover description, and title might conceivably suggest.
I haven't watched this movie, but according to the short précis given for it on IMDb:
A small industrialist from Toulouse goes to Paris to negotiate the buyout of his company from an American financial group. During his stay, the representative of the large firm calls on a luxury call girl to facilitate their "business".
Just as you should always not judge a book by its cover, it may not always be wise to do the same with a movie video either, it would seem…
Finally, just for the sake of completeness, please click here if you'd like to view on YouTube an official trailer for La Téléphone Rose – very suave, very 1970s, and very French, but not a sinful street in sight!
My sincere thanks to Duncan Ingram for solving this quite bizarre cinematic conundrum.
And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!
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