Stakeout on Dope Street

“Your bones scream and try to stretch apart, your brain burns, the pain won’t push out of your insides.” This is how ex-con junkie Danny (Allen Kramer) describes heroin withdrawal to the teen-aged boys who ask him to deal for them in Irvin Kershner’s Stakeout on Dope Street. Having stumbled upon two pounds of uncut heroin, the three bored, dissatisfied pals — Jim (Yale Wexler), Ves (Jonathan Haze), and Nick (Steven Marlo) — argue about what to do with the stash, ultimately settling on profit by using Danny to deal it to his junkie friends. This new flow of heroin into the market tips off both the police and the crime syndicate who misplaced the smack in the first place, which spells bad news for all involved. Occasionally giving off an after-school-special vibe, this low-budget noir with its no-name cast is still thoroughly entertaining and packs a brutal punch, especially during the aforementioned sequence when Danny describes the heroin withdrawal process in vivid, grueling detail.