Underworld U.S.A.
Underworld U.S.A. (also known as Underworld USA) is a 1961 American neo-noir[2] crime film produced, written and directed by Samuel Fuller. It tells the story of a fourteen-year-old boy who goes to enormous lengths to get revenge against the mobsters who beat his father to death. It stars Cliff Robertson, Dolores Dorn, and Beatrice Kay.[3]
| Underworld U.S.A. | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Samuel Fuller |
| Produced by | Samuel Fuller |
| Screenplay by | Samuel Fuller |
| Based on | articles in The Saturday Evening Post 1956 by Joseph F. Dinneen |
| Starring | Cliff Robertson Dolores Dorn Beatrice Kay Richard Rust |
| Music by | Harry Sukman |
| Cinematography | Hal Mohr |
| Edited by | Jerome Thoms |
Production company | Globe Enterprises |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date | May 13, 1961 |
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1 million[1] |
Plot
Fourteen-year-old Tolly Devlin and his mother-figure (Beatrice Kay) see four hoods beat his father to death. Tolly vows to avenge his father's death. Tolly becomes a criminal and gets himself sent to prison so that he can get close to the one perpetrator he recognized when his father was being beaten. On his prison deathbed, Tolly manipulates the names of the other 3 killers from him. The remaining 3 killers have risen to the top of the crime syndicate. Tolly works his way into their organization. Becoming a secret informant for the government, Tolly ends up playing both sides in his cagey campaign to bring down the remaining mobsters. One by one he sees to their death/downfall. Once accomplishing his goal, he plans to go straight and marry his girlfriend, Cuddles (Dolores Dorn). The police warn him that without bringing down Conners, the head of the syndicate, he has no chance of getting out alive. Tolly is planning to leave when he finds out Conners is planning to have Cuddles and other innocents killed. He decides that Conners must be stopped. In the process of killing Conners, Tolly is shot. He stumbles into an alley and dies.
Cast
- Cliff Robertson as Tolly Devlin
- Dolores Dorn as Cuddles
- Beatrice Kay as Sandy
- Paul Dubov as Gela
- Robert Emhardt as Earl Connors
- Larry Gates as John Driscoll
- Richard Rust as Gus Cottahee
- Gerald Milton as Gunther
- Allan Gruener as Smith
Production
Producer Ray Stark asked Fuller to write and direct a film based on the title of a magazine article written by Joseph F. Dinneen. Fuller also was inspired by a book, Here Is to Crime, by newspaperman Riley Cooper.[4]:383–384
An opening scene with a Union of Prostitutes was deleted by Sam Briskin and other Columbia executives.[4]:383–384 Fuller's character Tolly is a loner motivated by revenge using the United States Government as well as his own devices to even the score. Fuller heard the reaction of a real life gangster who reportedly said "If only my son would have that kind of affection for me!".[4]:390
Reception
Critical response
Film critic Dennis Schwartz liked the film, and wrote, "Samuel Fuller's revenge crime thriller is shot in the same brisk and violent manner he shoots his war films. The timely crime film hopes to cash in on the public's thirst for mob stories, as it takes place after the well-covered mob gathering in Apalachin, New York; Fuller based his film on a series of exposé articles in The Saturday Evening Post ... Fuller's violent noir film shows the inhumanity of the soldiers in the war on crime, where neither the syndicate or Tolly react with basic human responses. Their drive to succeed overrides everything, even love. The FBI is shown as stymied without the help of the public coming forth with information or willing to act as witnesses despite the risks, but the lawmen do not play fair by not telling how dangerous it's to be a witness against the mob."[5]
Legacy
A wanted poster of Tolly Devlin appears in a police station in Columbia's film of Sail a Crooked Ship (1961).
Preservation
The Academy Film Archive preserved Underworld U.S.A. in 2000.[6]
References
- Fuller in Running With 'Mob' Movie: Enters 'Underiworld, USA'; 'Burlesque' Up Again--Berle Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 2 July 1959: B7.
- Schwartz, Ronald (2005). Neo-noir: The New Film Noir Style from Psycho to Collateral. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8108-5676-9.
- Underworld U.S.A. on IMDb.
- Fuller, Samuel. A Third Face, Pages 383-384. Alfred A Knopf (2002).
- Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, February 27, 2009. Last accessed: December 3, 2009.
- "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.