Sworn Enemy

Robert Young, Florence Rice, and Lewis J. Stone star in "Sworn Enemy," a 1936 MGM B movie.

Though not a superstar in films, before he became one in TV, Robert Young played a variety of roles in movies. His likable personality served him well, and he is very good here as Hank Sherman, a young man who goes undercover to get evidence against Joe Emerald, the head of a protection organization (Joseph Calleia). His first effort fails miserably when instead of a shooting a cop, he shoots his partner and is thrown out of the group. So he tries again, this time by replacing his brother, killed by the mob, as the manager of a fighter (Nat Pendleton).

Very good and exciting film, with a gay undertone that possibly went over the head of the 1930s audiences. The mob boss, Emerald, is crippled and, from his treatment of Florence Rice's character, has no use for women. When he brings Hank into his deco steam room, it's filled with Greco-Roman friezes of nude men. He more or less tells Hank that he lives vicariously through fighters, which is why he wants Hank's client. An interesting twist on what could have been just a formulaic mob story.

The excellent finale takes place in said steam room, where detectives are searching for hidden files.

Dark film, noirish, albeit before noir, and intriguing. Recommended.

Hank Sherman (Robert Young) gets a job moving vegetables. When gangsters demand a monthly cut, he fights back. Dr. Simon Gattle (Lewis Stone) and his daughter Peg (Florence Rice) stop to help him. Simon fires his driver for not helping and hires Hank on the spot although he's not a driver. He does learn and falls for Peg. His boss is going up against the mobsters led by Joe Emerald (Joseph Calleia).

The opening is a little clunky. It does achieve two things. It shows that Hank is a fighter and there is corruption everywhere. It's just weird that this is how he got hired. It's a little clunky. A lot of the story is a little clunky, but it works good enough. It's a middling crime drama.

Hank Sherman (Young) is out of work until he lands a job with Eli Decker's (Hinds) firm as a warehouse worker. Soon after he's hired, thugs approach him and tell him that he has to pay them a weekly amount for "protection." When he refuses, the thugs beat him up, an event that Decker sees and tries to break up. Decker hires Sherman as his chauffeur and soon Decker's secretary Peg Gattle (Rice) and Sherman become close. Decker is determined to clear out the protection racket headed by Joe Emerald (Calleia). At this time, Peg Gattle's father, "Doc" Gattle (Stone) is released from prison where he spent 12 years after being framed by Emerald. "Doc" provides information about Emerald that he gleaned while in prison to the District Attorney. Both Sherman and Peg Gattle become agents for the District Attorney and Sherman also becomes the manager of boxer "Steamer" Krupp (Pendleton). Pendleton plays his usual likable doofus – but hey – he does it so well that it's fun to watch. The rest of the movie is about the effort to find Emerald's hidden stash of incriminating documents and cash. Other reviewers have rightly commented on the strange steam room scene with its frieze of nude Greek athletes. That this is indicative of gay undertones may or may not be so but the scene in context makes little sense. I find it unlikely that a big time racketeer would find it necessary to explain to a small time boxing manager (as he thought Sherman was) why he wanted to have a fighter under contract. And while the ending is exciting, Peg Gattle's transformation into a gun moll type is hard to swallow. That said, all of the actors are so good that this movie is highly entertaining. It was also nice seeing Leslie Fenton in a role where he wasn't a slime ball (although no one could play that type better than he).

It starts out with Robert Young looking for a job and becoming chauffeur to Samuel S. Hinds. But crippled crime boss Joseph Calleia finds Hinds in his way, and Hinds winds up dead. This leads to a long, rambling plot involving Young going undercover for the District Attorney to take down Calleia by managing boxer Nat Pendleton for Calleia, a rained-out match, and a steam room with badly arranged controls.

And yet everyone plays their parts with a will; the peculiar veerings of the plot keep the audience guessing; Pendleton gets gets a speech that is touching; and Calleia, who only shows up after three quarters of an hour, is absolutely dominating. This with a cast that includes Florence Rice, Lewis Stone, John Wray, and Cy Kendall. Keep an eye out and you can see Dennis O'Keefe, still uncredited but instantly recognizable.

Calleia was a fine singer on Broadway, but only rarely sang in the movies. He was too busy playing bad guys and compelling oddities, like his turn as an ambiguous cop in GILDA. He retired to his native Malta in 1963 due to ill health; Coppola wanted him for Don Corleone in THE GODFATHER, but Calleia turned him down. He died in 1975 at the age of 78.

This film is a little confusing and not very interesting. It's also unbelievable. Robert Young (Hank) drifts into town and picks up jobs as easy as anything I've ever seen and that includes gang member, undercover agent, chauffeur, vegetable factory worker, lawyer. You name it. How totally dumb.

Unfortunately, none of the characters inspire. Joseph Calleia (Joe Emarald) is ok as the lead bad guy but it doesn't say much when Nat Pendleton (Steamer Krupp) who plays a buffoon of a boxer is the most likable cast member. Again, it's not a good sign when the most enjoyable part of the film is spotting Anthony Quinn in a few scenes at the film's climax.

I've read a few of the reviews previously submitted and they have pointed out the next most memorable part of the film and that is the homo-erotic decorations on the walls of Calleia's hotel suite that leads to the steam room. Maybe there is some truth to the idea that these represent his sexuality as he certainly did not seem interested in girls at any point in the movie. Quite the opposite.

It's clearly a B-movie that comes across as hurried and the acting isn't particularly good.