King of the Underworld

The central role in this low-budget crime melodrama really belongs to KAY FRANCIS, and she makes her lady doctor pretty believable. But it's HUMPHREY BOGART who walks off with the show, which is no more than a programmer made on the cheap, by playing up the comic elements of his character.

Bogart is an illiterate man who wants his "genius" to be known. He kidnaps a man (James Stephenson) with a reputation as a writer in order to tell him his life story and make him the "king of the underworld." But Kay Francis spoils all his plans when she has to prove herself innocent of criminal charges pending against her due to a prior event. She fools the hoods into believing they will go blind if they don't let her help them.

The story has several implausible script problems and never really comes off as credible. Interesting only to see that Bogart was far more worthy of his early material than the studio realized. And Kay Francis has one of her more believable roles in this crime melodrama.

Humphrey Bogart stars in the Warner Bros. Crime melodrama from 1939. A husband & wife doctor team barely make do due the hubby's gambling habits. One night he's approached by one of Bogart's minions to patch up one of his wounded which he does gaining Bogart's favor which helps to elevate the doctors' status as they open up a private office & start living the good life. When the wife, played by Kay Francis, realizes where their good fortune is coming from, she admonishes her hubby, played by John Eldredge, only for him to go off to cater to another of Bogart's fallen which prompts Francis to follow him only to be corralled by a police sting where her hubby buys it. Francis is charged but is given a couple of weeks to prove her innocence (what?) so she follows Bogart's crew out to the sticks hoping the moment will come when he'll need her talents. Meanwhile Bogart meets up w/a out of work Brit novelist , played by James Stephenson, who he takes a fancy to (they share a love of Napoleon) so much so he contracts him to write his biography but when he gets hurt (Bogart's crew robs a bank & the author is shot innocently in the background), Francis volunteers her services to patch him up (the town mistake him as being a member of Bogart's crew) & even extends a hand by giving him some work at the home she shares w/her aunt. When Bogart himself gets nicked in the arm by a gunshot, Francis is only too happy to help out since she's going to use her new friendship w/him to turn him & his gang over to the authorities. Pretty standard fare to be sure but then the ending where Francis convinces Bogart his gunshot wound has infected his eyes (prompting her to bring a solution to indeed blind him temporarily under the guise of some administered medicine) which becomes a nail biting exercise as she gives the tainted eyedrop doses to Bogart & his bunch, even Stephenson (to facilitate an escape), blinding them all while the approaching police hope to catch them. Feeling like a leftover gag from an Our Gang serial, helps put this potboiler over the top by sheer chutzpah if not pragmatic sense.

King of the Underworld (1939)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Warner remake of their 1935 Paul Muni flick DR. SOCRATES has Kay Francis playing a doctor trying to clear her name after her husband got connected to a gangster (Humphrey Bogart). I watched this film for the first time many years ago and found it to be campy fun but this was my first viewing since seeing the original 1935. My opinion on this film here has certainly changed but in the end I think this is still worth seeing if you're a fan of Bogart. That original film was an incredibly smart and tense little gem that should be better known to film fans but this remake, clearly meant to be the second film on a double-feature, leaves out the brains and instead goes with action. The movie runs a fast-paced 67-minutes and for the most part we get to see Bogart chew up one scene after another and this here is clearly fun if you're a fan of his. He's constantly shouting at his men, giving orders or just going around like a madman and we even get to hear him quote a few things from Napoleon. Bogart's maniac-style performance is clearly the stand out here and the reason people should tune in. Francis seems to be rather upset at having to appear in something like this as she pretty much sleepwalks through here role and she certainly brings the film down some. She was certainly a capable actress but you really can't tell that by watching her here. James Stephenson adds nice support in his small role. The ending to the original film worked wonderfully well because they went for suspense but that's not the case here. The ending is pretty wacky and over the top and sure to draw a few laughs. It does lead up to some violent gun play, which is never a bad thing in a Warner movie.

Husband-and-wife doctor team Carole and Niles Nelson are doing modestly well in their careers, but Niles has a gambling problem. His luck changes when he (unknowingly) saves the life of a gangster from Joe Gurney's mob and gets a big bonus from the gangleader himself. Loving his change of fortune (and snazzy new apartment), Niles continues to receive payoffs for patching up other injured members of the gang. Unfortunately, his shady deals come to light in a police raid, which hangs a shadow over his wife's career as well.

At this point the plot comes into focus, as Carole Nelson has to rescue her career before her license is suspended. This involves bringing the gang to justice more or less single- handedly.

This is not a hard-edged gangster picture, but a plot that might have been comfortable on a show like MATLOCK or MURDER SHE WROTE. There is some tension, but the mood is kept light by Bogart's tongue-in-cheek performance of a stupid gangster who imagines himself as the "Napoleon of Crime." His other gang members also function more as stooges than hoodlums. And there's some snappy dialog between Bogart and Francis, especially when she's treating his injuries at his hideout. Of course, as in all gangster flicks, there's a big shootout ending, but with a humorous twist. This is a good short film showing Bogart on his rise to stardom.

Quickly Made Gangster Movie with Kay Francis vs Humphrey Bogart Central to the Thin Plot. Bogey is a Stereotypical Bully with a Moronic Sense of Humor and an Ego to Match His Hero "Napoleon". Kay Francis, on the other hand is Anything but Stereotypical for the Era.

She Plays a Strong Female Doctor having to use Her Wits and Wiles to Save Her Career and Her Determination and Intelligence is a Refreshing Role for Her Gender in the 1930's.

She is Totally Believable in the Part and Matching Her is Bogey's Goofy Gangster and somehow the Bogart Character comes across as a Likable, Brainless Thug like something in a Cartoon.

Overall, some Side Characters like Kay's Mother tend to Grate the Nerves and a couple of Bogart's Gang are very Dated Stock Gangsters. The Film is Entertaining and Enjoyable while Not in the same League as the Best WB Crime Films of the Thirties.

It's a Short, Fast Paced and Compact Movie with enough Playful Panache to Pass as a Lighter than Usual Look at some of the Clichés of the Genre.