The Hoodlum

The Hoodlum opens with a montage illustrating Lawrence Tierney's rap sheet, starting when he was a holy terror still in short pants. From preparatory work in juvenile hall to matriculation at the Big House, he majored in recidivism and minored in anti-social personality disorder. When, now a surly menace, he comes up for parole, most members of the board object but are swayed by the tearful pleas of his saintly immigrant mother (Lisa Golm), who thinks he's misunderstood (by the time she's on her deathbed, she's comparing him to the city dump).

Released, he moves back home. He's reluctantly offered, and reluctantly takes, a job at the filling station owned by his straight-arrow sibling (and real-life brother Ed Tierney, later Tracy; actor Scott Brady was a third brother). But, apart from a personal campaign to prove that the customer is never right, Tierney's main interest is getting into the pants of the bank manager's secretary who works across the street so he can plan his next big job. (He also manages, in his off-hours, to rape and impregnate his brother's fiancée, driving her to suicide.) The rest of the movie recounts the brutal bank heist, which is synchronized with a phonily arranged funeral....

The Hoodlum was made at a time when Tierney's off-screen roughhousing was starting to make him, after striking roles in Born to Kill and The Devil Thumbs A Ride, an undesirable in Hollywood. It's a short, stripped-down, starvation-budget programmer. Still, it shows those ragged edges that more artifice might have smoothed away (the rape and pregnancy are startling for their era); a few plot strands seem like distant echoes of the incomparably superior White Heat, of two years earlier. The most noteworthy aspect of The Hoodlum's script is that Tierney undergoes no character development whatsoever: He starts out as a cur and dies like a dog.

This is typical but quite entertaining B movie fare. Well, not completely typical because the main character of such fare is generally more sympathetic than Lawrence Tierney is here. He's a guy you love to hate as he gets paroled thanks to his sweet and loving mother and then proceeds to be a total heel, raping and impregnating his sister-in-law, robbing a bank and just an overall not-nice guy. He doesn't even evoke sympathy at his dying mother's bedside and that's one of the perverse charms of the film. The ending in a dump is quite satisfying and prompts a feeling of good riddance to bad rubbish. This is a typically short little B film, cheaply made, ludicrous at times, but fun to watch and one which will be appreciated by fans of 40's and 50's 2nd features.

Never viewed this 1951 film starring Lawrence Tierney,(Vincent Lubeck) who is up for parole from prison, however, the warden does not want to release him because he almost knows he is evil through and through. Mrs. Lubeck,(Lisa Golm) walks into the parole board meeting and pleads for her sons release and it is finally granted. Vincent spent five years in prison and is worse than when he went into the prison. Johnny Lubeck, (Edward Tierney) greets his brother back and offers him a job at his gas station to work and get himself on the right side of the law. It is not long before Vincent steals his brothers girl friend and then decides to pull off a big job across the street from his brothers gas station. If you viewed the film "Dillinger" in 1945, Tierney plays almost the same role with plenty of hate for everybody and a mean look on his face all the time. In this film, Lawrence Tierneys brother, Edward Tierney gave a great supporting role. Lisa Golm, (Mrs. Lubeck) gave a great portrayal of Vincent Lubeck's mother and acted just like a loving mother would towards her wayward son. Enjoy

... because TIerney was such a seemingly tortured soul and his own worst enemy that he really seemed to understand the most memorable characters that he played. His drunken brawling destroyed his movie career in less than ten years. Once he called the police and told them there was a fight in a bar and they needed to come break it up. There wasn't, Tierney just wanted some fist to cuffs with some cops. In the 1970s his girlfriend died from a fall from a high rise window. Tierney was there and told the police that as he had entered the apartment she had just jumped out of the window, seemingly for no reason. Charges were never filed. But I digress.

The point is that here Tierney plays the brooding violent seemingly tormented hoodlum Vincent Lubeck, into far more nefarious stuff than Tierney ever was, but Tierney has the titular character's mood and mentality down pat. VInce is somewhat enigmatic with few words. It is with posture and factial expressions that you come to know this character.

The first part of the film is almost in documentary style. It talks about Vincent's ride through the revolving door of the criminal justice system with his crimes elevating in gravity with his age. Finally at age 25 he is sentenced to 5-10 in the pen for armed robbery. At his parole hearing after 5 of those 10 years, the parole board can't think of why they should loose this guy on the public. But then his gray haired mama enters and after she slings enough chicken soup, cliches, and mixed metaphors at the board she apparently convinces (confuses???) the board into letting Vince go.

But you might as well meet the new VInce, same as the old Vince. He feels the world owes him something because of his impoverished upbringing, living next to the city dump as a kid. But his little brother (and this actually IS Tierney's little brother folks) doesn't seem to have any of Vince's hardness, is enterprising, and has opened a gas station and gives Vince a job, which he needs to stay out on parole.

But Vince is busy eyeing the things he can't have and that he wants. One is his kid brother's fiancee, Rosa. The other is the contents of the bank across from the gas station where he works. And this is where he plans a rather intricate bank hold-up. This is where low budget Eagle-Lion excelled, what they couldn't afford in really big name stars - TIerney is the only one in this film - they spent on rather clever plots.

Tierney gets to show a bit of range here. He even shows fear and regret, although in small doses. And the end of the film is quite ironic. I would recommend this little film.

Although his warden considers him an unrepentant hoodlum, bank robber Lawrence Tierney (as Vincent "Vince" Lubeck) is granted parole. This is largely due to Mr. Tierney's pleading mother Lisa Golm (as Mama Lubeck). Lawrence moves home with the family and begins working for younger brother Edward Tierney (as Johnny Lubeck) at his auto service station. Lawrence proves to be a terrible worker and drives customers away from the gas station, which happens to be across the street from a bank. He meets bank secretary Marjorie Riordan (as Eileen) and gathers information for a planned robbery. Lawrence also assaults Edward's girlfriend Allene Roberts (as Rosa Czermak) with a kiss, which succeeds in getting her to copulate in that old "you know you want it" way...

Leading man Lawrence Tierney scowls through his part. His best scenes occur near the end, especially with mother Golm. Though theatrical, Golm performs most passionately for director Max Nosseck. Edward Tierney is Lawrence's real-life brother and is okay his first featured role. They are interesting in the bracketing car scene which opens the story with flashbacks. While Ms. Roberts is a pushover, a couple of other women assert themselves. All things considered, the best part of this unassuming crime drama is the story/screenplay, well-written by Sam Neuman and Nat Tanchuck. They make the characters more interesting than they are played – and "the city dump" is an artfully used metaphor. The main caper, involving the bank and a nearby mortuary, is nicely staged.

****** The Hoodlum (7/5/51) Max Nosseck ~ Lawrence Tierney, Edward Tierney, Lisa Golm, Allene Roberts