Die Spur führt zum Hafen

I saw The Mob at Cinevent in 2013 and it was the best film of the weekend. This tight noir is filled with great one-liners and unexpected twists.

Broderick Crawford plays a cop who goes undercover as a hoodlum to try to take down a crime ring. We constantly question whether he is totally legit because his mouth is just as tough as the criminals' he's working to put in jail. The story keeps moving and if you blink you might miss something, but the plot never quite gets away from the viewer. This is realism done with panache. It is unfortunate that this movie has had no formal release because it is certainly worth seeing.

Consistent with its simplistic title, "The Mob" is a straightforward cops vs. mob story starring the reliably tough Broderick Crawford. He goes undercover among the longshoremen after being 'suspended' from his police-detective job. He's trying to find the big cheese controlling extortion and payoffs on the docks, and meets up with several shady (or actually criminal) characters along the way. Crawford is his usual no-nonsense self, working his way into the scene with an abrasive coating over a good-cop personality. Neville Brand and Ernest Borgnine have a few scenes as mobsters, and Crawford's dockside pal is played by Richard Kiley. The only confusing part for me was that the TCM description stated that Crawford's character goes "from California to New Orleans" to discover the mob crime, but as far as I can tell, he leaves "town" (wherever that is) briefly, then returns by ship in his undercover mode to the place where he started. Overall, a good-quality crime-fighter movie, worth watching on Saturday night for a B/W movie fan.

Broderick Crawford plays a cop in this excellent crime drama. (I wouldn't call it a film noir but I'd say it got to the location of "On the Waterfront" first. And, in my very humble opinion, pulled together a better story.) The dialogue has a snappy edge that isn't found much in gangster movies of this period. The guys -- and it's mostly all guys here -- have a sarcastic way of communicating. They talk like athletes or construction workers. I've been both and I know. A lot of calling each other cheerleaders and other ways of joking about their masculinity. But it's done in a good-natured, blue collar. There is no hint of anti-gay sentiment.

Broderick Crawford generally seems so different from his mother it's hard to imagine they were related in that way. But here we pick up his casually comic timing.

Crawford is excellent as a policeman who goes undercover on the docks. Richard Kiley shines as one of the guys -- giving nothing away, here -- he deals with. And Matt Crowley is fine as another. (I checked on him and he played Walter Burns in a TV version of "The Front Page in 1945. Wow! I didn't know there WAS TV in 1945.) The actress playing Crawford's girlfriend isn't bad. She plays a nurse and she seems wholesome. Wholesome and dull. She seems to have few film credits.

This has an authentic feel. And it's different, too. It's definitely a keeper.

The Mob is directed by Robert Parish and adapted to screenplay by William Bowers from the novel written by Ferguson Findley. It stars Broderick Crawford, Betty Buehler, Richard Kiley, Otto Hulett, Matt Crowley, Neville Brand, Ernest Borgnine and Jean Alexander. Music is by George Duning and cinematography by Joseph Walker.

Cop Johnny Damico (Crawford) is fooled by a mob killer during the slaying of a witness and is chastised by his superiors. Sent undercover to infiltrate the waterfront organisation to flush out the killer, Damico faces danger at every turn.

He's a cop who is hell bent on atoning for what could basically be a career ruining error. It's this core essence that really oils the pistons of this tough and under seen slice of crime cinema. Awash with characters so shifty it's hard to locate a moral compass in the mix, director Robert Parrish (Cry Danger) takes a standard under cover plot and elevates it to a riveting tale of corruption, paranoia and the search for redemption at any cost.

William Bowers' script positively pings with the sort of dialogue you could cut a joint of beef with, with most of it spat from the mouth of the excellent Crawford. No matter what the situation, what the danger, Damico has a quip or a put down to always exude a calm and carefree menace, he literally is a sardonic miserablist who is unflappable. It's a wonderful characterisation that's helped enormously by a screenplay that contains some surprises, with a nifty plot line standing out that sees Damico hired by the mob to enact a hit on himself! Wonderful.

Parrish keeps the atmosphere side of things on the boil, always ensuring that Damico could be snuffed out at any moment, while Walker's (The Velvet Touch) photography is tight to the plotting. Around Crawford are a raft of familiar faces from film noir, with the villain roll call considerably boosted by Borgine and Brand. From the quite excellent opening murder played out in the nighttime rain, story unfolds in a whirl of sarcasm, set-ups, machismo, stand-offs and mobster machinations. The Mob, under seen and under valued, add it to your "to see lists", especially if you be a fan of Brod Crawford. 8/10

Broderick Crawford plays a cop who goes undercover to infiltrate the mob. And to make them think he's "their kind of guy" he comes into town with a major attitude and a willingness to slug anyone who gets in his way. However, this is no routine assignment, as there are lots of dangerous twists and turns and repeatedly it appears he's about to buy the farm. I particularly loved the very tense and rather violent ending in the hospital---you just have to see it to understand.

This film has one of the most important ingredients of Film Noir down pat--it has one of the ugliest casts in film history!! True lovers of this gritty genre know that actors in such films can't be "pretty boys" but ugly and cold-blooded killers. That's why when I saw this film starred Broderick Crawford (king of the hard-drinking ugly actors), Ernest Borgnine and Neville Brand (the scariest looking thug in film history) I was thrilled to see it. Now this ISN'T meant as an insult--I am just stating a fact necessary for a good Noir film. Great Noir abounds with ugly mugs like Edmund O'Brien, John Ireland and John McGraw--though the cast in THE MOB is among the ugliest and therefore best in genre history. In addition to ugly and menacing men, the film also features realistic and gritty violence, tough dialog, lots of great shadows and camera angles as well as a taut script--and all are in THE MOB in spades. All the elements needed for exceptional Noir--so it certainly wasn't a surprise that I really enjoyed the film.

If you love Noir, you will love this film. If you don't, then watch this film anyways!! Then, try some other great Noir films like THE KILLERS, DOA, KISS OF DEATH and ASPHALT JUNGLE--then you, too, will most likely be hooked!!