The Devil's Party

Pretty good thick-ear. Four Hell's Kitchen kids keep up their friendship into adulthood even though one has become a gambler (McLaglen), one a priest (Kelly), two are cops (Gargan & Gallaudet), and the girl (Roberts) a singer. Now their lives intertwine in problematic ways as crime confronts the law.

Looks like the plot's a variation on a familiar theme of the time (1930's)—kids growing up on opposite sides of the law only to confront one another later on. The concept creates a rich mine for conflicting emotions and loyalties. Here McLaglen has to navigate between gambling interests and loyalty to boyhood friends. The narrative sticks pretty closely to this line with its complications. The acting's okay, though emotions never build to an intensity. Instead, we're pulled along more by plot than characters. Certainly, McLaglen is capable of an intensity when so called upon, but not here. Oddly, there's not much action or violence despite the loaded title. I guess the two fires and smoke are supposed to justify the hellish expectations.

All in all, the hour seldom rises above programmer status, but might serve old movie fans on a slow evening.

The film begins with a group of five kids playing around a warehouse. They accidentally light the place ablaze and run when the police arrive. However, one of the gang (Marty) is caught and he refuses to tell them who else was involved. So, he takes the rap for everyone and ends up growing into a guy who is a shady character--owning his own casino and consorting with disreputable types.

The other four members of the gang grew into a not particularly talented lounge singer who works for Marty (Helen), a priest (Jerry) and two brothers who are firemen (Joe and Mike). Each year, they all meet for a reunion and are life-long friends.

This friendship is tested when two thugs that work for Marty kill a man. Joe suspects it is not an accident and when he goes back to investigate, the thugs kill him as well! Now Mike takes up where Joe left off and he begins to suspect Marty's involvement. As for Marty, he did NOT want anyone killed and is stuck having to cover for the two thugs because this all began when he ordered the two to rough up a customer who refused to make good on his gambling debts. The problem is that the thugs have plans of their own and they refuse to leave town when Marty tells them to beat it.

In the middle of this mess is Father Jerry. He cannot allow Mike to kill Marty but also cannot just ignore Marty's involvement. How all this is worked out is something you'll just have to see for yourself.

Overall, this is a very interesting B-film with some nice twists and turns thanks to some excellent writing. As far as the acting goes, it's just fine, though Victor McLaglen in the lead is a real standout--in a tough but very sympathetic performance.

Devil's Party, The (1938)

** (out of 4)

Okay, the story here is pretty confusing but I'll try to explain it. Four kids, growing up in Hell's Kitchen, have their lives changed when the oldest pulls a prank, which sets a warehouse on fire. He's sent to reform school but twenty years later he's out on the streets as a gambler/night club owner. Two of the other friends are cops and another is a priest. The gambler sends a couple men to rough a guy up but they eventually kill him and the two cops are put on the case. This film only runs 61-minutes but it seems the screenplay was missing around twenty minutes worth of additional footage that might have tied up various plot holes. With that said, I found myself somewhat entertained but there's really nothing going on in the film. I've heard this was an influence on Leone's Once Upon a Time in America but that connection would be very loose. Victor McLaglen stars.

Elements of Manhattan Melodrama and Angels With Dirty Faces are to be found in The Devil's Party. Though the two cited are better films The Devil's Party can certainly hold its own.

Back in the day four boys and the tomboy girl that tagged along with them who grew up to be Victor McLaglen, Paul Kelly, John Gallaudet, William Gargan and Beatrice Roberts commit a robbery in which a fire is started. The boy grows up to be McLaglen takes the rap for the rest and goes to reform school.

Fast forward several years and the grownups are now the owner of a swank gambling club and the girl singer attraction in same which would be McLaglen and Roberts. Paul Kelly has become a priest who runs a settlement house and Gargan and Gallaudet who are brothers are cops with ambitions to become detectives.

It's that ambition and the fact that McLaglen sends a pair of enforcers played by Joe Downing and Frank Jenks to collect a gambling debt and they kill the debtor sets in motion a whole string of events that pits the former pals from Hell's Kitchen against each other and it results in tragedy.

Some nice performances all around by the principal players make this B programmer from Universal something special. The Devil's Party is a real cinema diamond in the rough waiting to be discovered.

In THE DEVIL'S PARTY, a gang of tough kids known as the Death Avenue Cowboys run the streets of "Hell's Kitchen" in NYC, causing trouble.

Years pass, and the gang gets together for a reunion as adults. Among them, one is now a singer, two are cops, and another is a priest! When a murder is committed, problems arise, leading to further tragedy.

If you enjoy movies from the 1930's-1940's, full of wise guy characters spouting snappy dialogue, then this is worth your while! Entertaining from start to finish...