Under the Gun

Whoa - Richard Conte plays a REAL louse with no redeeming qualities whatsoever in "Under the Gun" from 1951, also starring Audrey Totter and featuring John McIntire, Sam Jaffe, and Shepperd Strudwick.

Conte plays mobster Bert Galvin, who, while in Miami, hears the lovely Ruth Williams sing. He wants her to sing in one of his clubs in New York. At first she refuses but finally relents.

One night, they are eating dinner, and a man enters the kitchen through the back door. Galvin is warned - this man is obviously an enemy. When the man walks out, Galvin shoots him, while Ruth watches in horror. Galvin goes to prison and his attorney (Strudwick) puts the screws to Ruth to lie and say it was self defense.

However, once on the witness stand, Ruth doesn't lie. Galvin is then sent to a prison farm. He soon learns that each work team has a custodian with a gun. If the custodian kills someone trying to escape, he gets a pardon. We see Galvin's game plan immediately.

Since the current custodian is giving him such a hard time, Galvin feeds a story about hidden money to a prisoner. When he takes off, he's shot, and the custodian gets a pardon. Galvin volunteers to be the next custodian. Now for that pardon. He has some unfinished business with a singer.

Conte is great as a ruthless, amoral man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Sam Jaffe is wonderful as a fellow prisoner, Samuel Gower, who is full of plans for when he gets out. John McIntire plays the sherriff, who knows what trouble Galvin is.

Very absorbing, and you just can't believe what a rat Conte plays.

Richard Conte is a big city gangster who ends up in a southern prison work farm. He tries to scheme and manipulate his way out, driven by thoughts of revenge. It's a solid piece of work, flows nicely, has some clever ideas and good photography. Conte is in fine form, supported by an array of wonderful character actors, including Sam Jaffe, John McIntyre, Richard Taber and one of the first appearances by the great Royal Dano. Audrey Totter gets second billing, but for most of the running time she's out of the picture. Can't think of much else to say at the moment... just a really engaging flick.

Under the Gun - 8/10

And also an excellent Richard Conte in a predictable but so juicy gangster role. This is not a cliché, or a so enjoyable one, to see Dick Conte in such a role. But the surprise is from director Ted Tetzlaff, who also gave us JOHNNY ALLEGRO and A DANGEROUS PROFESSION, far less interesting than this one. This is a true and authentic crime film, in the Don Siegel and Phil Karlson way. Universal International studios proved with this film that they were able to purchase solid crime flicks, as good as Metro Goldwyn Mayer or Twentieth Century Fox. I am sure this flick is very underrated, not widely known enough. It should be.

UNDER THE GUN is worth watching only for AUDREY TOTTER in my opinion. She slayed me when she tells Conte's character "You just weren't worth the lies"!! That line made the movie for me. And what does Conte's character do...what all of his characters do, seek revenge. Since most of the movie is about said revenge, it didn't have my undivided attention. But the performances of the other cast members are solid, therefore worth an hour and 20 minutes of your time.

Nasty Richard Conte (Galvin) ends up in a Southern State prison that has a dodgy system in place. A prisoner can become a trustee which allows him to carry a rifle. His role is to keep the other prisoners in check and if he kills a prisoner whilst they are trying to escape, then he is given a pardon. WTF! I sense a system that is open to abuse. And so does Conte.

Interesting set-up for a film. That is one crazy prison system.

I wasn't convinced by Conte's obsession with singer Audrey Totter (Ruth) - she's not that great looking. She does have a great voice, though, and sings a song at the film's beginning. The film builds tension at the prison and you can't help but feel for prisoner Sam Jaffe (Gower) and will him on in his escape bid. Royal Dano (Nugent) has a standout part as the prison's original trustee. We get some good locations which includes some swampy waters in the end sequence. However, the film does end a bit too conveniently.

Blondie wrote a song called "Under the Gun". It's a good one. I wonder if there is a link to this film, ie, someone in the band had just watched it.