Streetwalkin' – Auf den Straßen von Manhattan (1985)

Streetwalkin’ – Auf den Straßen von Manhattan: Directed by Joan Freeman. With Melissa Leo, Randall Batinkoff, Dale Midkiff, Deborah Offner. A high school dropout working as a street prostitute spends one night turning tricks and avoiding her emotionally unstable pimp who’s starting to turn very violent.

“Future Oscar winner Melissa Leo is radiant here in a very early big screen appearance. She plays u0026quot;Cookieu0026quot;, a runaway girl, whou0026#39;s fleeing an abusive stepfather and pitiless mother, along with her younger brother Tim (Randall Batinkoff). Almost immediately after arriving at the Port Authority bus terminal, sheu0026#39;s targeted by a pimp named Duke (Dale Midkiff of u0026quot;Pet Semataryu0026quot;). Grateful that he gives the two of them a place to stay, sheu0026#39;s soon turning tricks for the guy, but turns sour on him when he brutally beats her friend Heather (Deborah Offner). When she thinks of switching pimps, things escalate to the point where heu0026#39;s spending an eventful night tracking her down, intending on doling out some serious punishment.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile u0026quot;Streetwalkinu0026#39;u0026quot; is to be commended for being reasonably sleazy and offering an appropriately grim look at the whole world of hookers and pimps, thereu0026#39;s really nothing thatu0026#39;s special here. The ladies all look great, of course. Julie Newmar of u0026#39;Batmanu0026#39; fame shows that she could still turn heads at 50 something years of age, and gives a solid performance as a worldly veteran prostitute. Writer / producer Robert Alden and writer / director Joan Freeman maintain a respectable enough pace, use their locations well, and create the right look for the movie with cinematographer Steven Fierberg. Leo is an appealing protagonist, and Midkiff is definitely amusing as a creep who wonu0026#39;t be deterred from his mission. He takes a lot of abuse on his way to the inevitable showdown. Leon, Antonio Fargas, Annie Golden, Khandi Alexander, Julie Cohen, Greg Germann, and Kirk u0026quot;The Giggleru0026quot; Taylor round out a decent supporting cast. This viewer particularly liked singer Golden as the pathetic junkie hooker Phoebe.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie might have had more impact if it werenu0026#39;t so obviously reminiscent of u0026quot;Vice Squadu0026quot;. One thingu0026#39;s for sure: Midkiff is no Wings Hauser.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSix out of 10.”