One important thing the policeman does, though, is bring in a girl to sing for Davenport. Davenport argues that he already has a singer, but of course, he falls for the new girl completely once he sees her and puts her in the show. This naturally creates friction in his relationship with Phillips' character. But since we only have a vague understanding of said relationship and little or no connection to them as people, this "conflict" is rarely compelling.
There is another, intertwining, plot line involving Davenport. Davenport's rich father dies early in the film, and he soon gets the idea that it was murder rather than suicide. This is the "murder mystery" aspect of the film, but it runs into the same issues that hinder the other sub-plot: the plot isn't compelling, and neither are the characters. Any sort of "mystery-suspense" film, even if it is stylized, must be able to get the audience involved with the details of the plot, maintaining suspense by slowly uncovering important new facts that change the story. Dark Streets does slowly uncover the facts surrounding the mystery, but it does so in such a haphazard manner as to make the "mystery-suspense" aspect of the film the weakest by far.
If you're wondering, the "murdered father" sub-plot does tie into the "romantic triangle" sub-plot, but just vaguely. In fact, vague would be a good adjective to describe the film in general.
So what is the saving grace of Dark Streets? If anything, it's the sights and sounds. The sights include a well-constructed 1930s-era nightclub, a wealth of interesting costume choices and a film that pays a great deal of attention to lighting. Even then, though, the look of the film isn't perfect. As you might have guessed, the exact era and location of the story is unspecific, perhaps intentionally so. But it does make for some awkward moments. Like, for example, when the police detective first arrives wearing something that could only be a police uniform in a Phillip K. Dick novel. This leaves us wondering how much of this is supposed to be real and how much is meant to be fantastical.
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