Hoodlums

Loretta is a gangster's moll who hates her occupation as singer/escort in a nightclub/illegal casino. So when she meets a charming man outside of the club, she decides to follow her heart instead of her mind. This doesn't bode well with George, her would-be boyfriend who runs the club, but he's got problems all his own...

To fully appreciate the gangster drama "Hoodlums," one has to know a little bit about its creator/star, Nai Bonet. Beginning her career as a belly dancer, she set her sights on acting, but no one would give her a job as anything BUT an exotic dancer. Bonet finally decided to find investors and make her own movies to star in. First was "Nocturna," a dopey disco vampire-comedy; this was her second and final attempt to make her own film, and this one was most-likely made with real mob money.

Both movies suffer from a lot of the same problems: slim story, endless disco sequences padding out the running time, cornball dialogue and bad overacting. But this film also features some GOOD acting (albeit scattershot), characters with some depth and enough story that they didn't really need the musical padding. Disco diva Vicki Sue Robinson (who gets to both sing and act) is a scene-stealer, and Peter Iacangelo gives a notable, standout performance as George's henchman, Zoo.

"Hoodlums" doesn't have any pretensions of being a high-brow, award winning film, and that's part of its charm. But as a forgotten little grindhouse type gangster b-movie, it's pretty damned hard to dislike.

Loretta Lumiere (Nai Bonet) works in a New York club run by mobster George Genero (Tony Page). Her job is to sing and entertain wealthy gamblers, but she is getting tired of the life and wants to break free with her young daughter. She finds an escape route with the normal banker Andrew (Douglas Kerr), but soon finds out that leaving the mob life ain't easy. The second film from Nai Bonet Enterprises, you can guess this is a vanity project gone wrong just like her earlier Nocturna (1979). Bonet apparently started her career as a belly dancer and produced both of these to further her acting and singing career. It didn't work. Resembling Laura Gemser a little bit, Bonet is really stiff in both capacities and that obviously hurts a film when she is in nearly every single scene. Fans of the The Godfather films might enjoy seeing Michael Gazzo in a couple of scenes as the Godfather of this world, but he mumbles so much of his dialogue I couldn't understand most of it. Fans of disco will be interested as Vicki Sue Robinson ("Turn the Beat Around") has a co-starring role as one of Loretta's friends and co-workers. Perhaps the most interesting thing for me was the film was directed by Mac Ahlberg, who went on to be one of Charles Band's go-to cinematographers. He already had a dozen Swedish films under his belt as a director by the time he made this. Sadly, it was the only full length feature he directed in America. There is also some nice NYC photography at points, but not much else going on here unless you are a true masochist when it comes to vanity projects.

This is quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. And it includes possibly the worst ever acting performance by Nai Bonet as the hooker with the heart of gold.

Rather than listing strong or weak aspects of the film, it suffices to say that this one sucks all round. Has some moments of unintentional comedy, though.

Released on video in Finland in the early eighties.

I had a bit part in this movie and have searched high and low looking to purchase it. Does anyone have any idea how I can get it? It was a low-budget film but did have some notable actors in it.

Micahel Gazzo - won an Acedemy Award for Godfather II

Tony Sirico - plays Paulie Walnuts in The Sorpanos

Raymond Serra - was in many gangster movies and played the lead role in The Edward G. Robinson Story on Broadway.

Vicki Sue Robinson - was a disco queen in the 70's

Nai Bonet - produced and acted in many cheesy "B" films.

Jean Smart - has become a famous actress

The movie was a "Mafia" movie and Nai Bonet played a hooker. There wasn't much of a plot but it'll be interesting to see me and a few of the stars that weren't famous at the time.