Triunfo às Avessas

"Law of the Underworld" is an interesting variation on the crime films so popular in the 1930s. The story isn't a bad one, although some of the far-fetched plot twists are curious, including some of the naive moves on the part of the young couple; but we must remember the girl (Anne Shirley) is only 18 and the boy (Richard Bond) presumably is only a tad older. Chester Morris carries the show, of course, with his usual strong and haughty persona, all the while also showing his sensitive side. The cast played their roles well. I really enjoyed the discussions and negotiations on the fate of the gang's leadership, which included Lee Patrick in a role that she probably enjoyed tackling. Eduardo Cianelli's Rocky was perfectly and darkly menacing. Effective black and white cinematography and the expansive nightclub sets enhanced the acting skills on display. Also appreciated were the many long takes. And finally, noteworthy too was the use of full-head and face screen shots late in the film, something not often seen in the 1930s. This movie admittedly is by no means great, but it can be entertaining and I would expect happily viewed by followers of old-school crime films.

Eduardo Ciannelli robs Richard Bond and Anne Shirley of the $136 they plan to get married on. They track him to where his gang is meeting. The boss is Chester Morris, who leads the seemingly impeccable life of a socialite when he isn't planning jewel robberies. He gets the youngsters to act as come-ons in one of his robberies, but they refuse the $2000 he offers them. They only want their $136.

All fine and settled, until Morris has to kill Ciannelli, Ciannelli's squeeze, night-club singer Lee Patrick commits suicide with with a $1000 check from Morris, and the youngsters are picked up in a raid on a closed night club. DA Walter Abel knows what's going on, but he can't prove anything in court. Who can he squeeze?

It's a remake of 1930's THE PAY-OFF, based on a successful play; Morris had played the Cianenlli role on stage. I can see it working, but, alas, it doesn't here, not quite. Morris is smooth, a little too nonchalant considering the stakes. It's a rare miscalculation for him. But no one is particularly stellar here. Miss Shirley is whiny, Abel is brisk, and so forth. Well, at least Nick Musuraca offers some nice, shadowy compositions. With Paul Guilfoyle, Eddie Acuff, and Jack Carson.

Chet morris, anne shirley. A sixty one minute shortie from RKO, based on the play by john hymer and samuel shipman. When engaged couple gene and annabelle cross paths with the mob, they get caught up in the underworld drama. And may have to pay the price. Will the mob boss do the right thing? Watch for a song, sung in the nightclub by lee patrick. She's not really known by name, but she sure popped up in some big films.. mildred pierce, vertigo, maltese falcon, mame! Wow, respect. It's simple, but good. No big twists and turns in the film version. Probably made for a suspense-full play, and might have been more fun before the film code white-washed the heck out of films and plays. Directed by lew landers. Chester morris had been in original the play also!

Tommy and his girl get robbed in the park by Rocky and Bill. It's all their money. Warren Rogers is the new appointed D. A. and he promises to clean up the city. Respectable citizen Gene Fillmore (Chester Morris) claims to be too scared to take on the mob, but he is secretly the boss of a gang. Tommy and his girl barge in on the gang to try to take back their money. Gene uses the gullible couple in his jewelry store heist. There are complications.

This is a dumb gangster flick from RKO. I don't see how the couple would actually see themselves stealing back the money in that way. The story would be better if they go to a cop who turns out to be corrupt. It's very annoying the way the couple plays dumb. They are too dumb to live.

Again and again during the course of this film you might think that the movie might in fact turn out to be a reasonably good little film. However, due to really awful writing that occasionally creeps onto the screen, the overall effort is very, very poor, so don't get your hopes up with this little film.

The movie starts by showing a young couple being robbed in Central Park. It isn't surprising this happens--after all, they did a lousy job of concealing their wad of cash meant for their honeymoon. And, oddly, when a cop comes upon the robbery, the couple say nothing and don't ask for help--allowing the two crooks to continue robbing them and get away!! Even dumber is later, when the two burst into a room full of hoodlums and demand their money back at gunpoint!!! Believe it or not, this very, very naive couple only behave more stupidly throughout the course of the film.

While these two dummies seem too idiotic to believe, the rest of the actors in leading roles are pretty good---at least at first. Eduardo Cianelli is excellent as a hot-headed hood and Chester Morris is generally good as the leader of a gang. However, as the film concludes, Morris is so stupid that you wonder if hanging around this couple perhaps wore off on him--such as a stupid virus!! While parts of the film work, the bad parts are what I was left remembering. Even though I am a huge fan of classic Hollywood films, this is one I can't recommend and can never see myself seeing again. Avoid it--you'll be doing yourself a favor.

By the way, if you look carefully, you'll see that a member of the gang is a very young Jack Carson before he was a star.