Os Assassinos

Saw 'The Outfit' a long time ago in my quest to see anything with Lance Henriksen in it, but it didn't leave much of an impression at that time. So now I've gone back to rewatch it and give it another chance. Let's just say it's not able to fully capture what it was going for on its own or as a Henriksen fan.

Two mobsters at the top of their game - Dutch Schultz (Henriksen) & Legs Diamond (Josh Mosby) - battle each other for bootlegging control in 1930's American. While the FBI having been able to place an agent (John Christian) inside Diamond's organization use his influence, trust & knowledge to take the both of them down permanently as both gun it out for each other.

They got the vintage cars, the right type of clothing and no shortage of Tommy guns. However it's never able to overcome it's low budget in the sense that it can provide the feeling you're watching something of the time period. The musical score is horrible and the story has no depth to sustain interest.

The good news is if you're a Lance Henriksen fan you get a ton of him. This isn't one of those movies that splashes his name on the movie box and then he shows up for five minutes. Angry, firing off Tommy guns, yelling so much that his voice becomes coarse and in one scene, he barely has any left. However the other two predominant cast members Martin Kove as an FBI boss and Billy Drago as fellow mobster Lucky Luciano rank slightly above extended cameos. Billy appears in three scenes (none of them action oriented).

Trying for authenticity, but failing is 'The Outfit' problem. Acting itself is pretty solid and unfortunately this is the only title we got with Lance and the late Billy together. Fans of these men give this a go otherwise there's gangster flicks showcasing a more storied look at the mob than this tale can provide (92 min version).

Poorly made gangster movie about the supposed feud between "Dutch" Schultz and "Legs" Diamond. Silly script, Dreadful dialogue, amateur acting. The production values are not too bad, but it's flat and trite with every imaginable cliche.

Waaaaay too much sex and fighting, considering the plot. Feels like the main actor just wanted to have more sex scenes. I just watched this because I like Lance Henriksen, but he's wildly underutilized, and it sounds like they had him shouting himself hoarse with how ill he sounds in some scenes. Also the version available on Tubi is almost TWO HOURS long, which is way too long for so much nothing to be happening. Don't waste your time.

THE OUTFIT will never be considered a gangster classic worthy of standing alongside THE GODFATHER or THE UNTOUCHABLES, but it's worth watching just for fun.

If anyone has seen the 1992 made-for-video Dutch Schultz biopic HIT THE DUTCHMAN, you might recall that Legs Diamond spoke with an Irish accent, but in real-life Diamond was an American who never spoke with an accent. Josh Mosby plays Diamond just right. Also, the real-life Dutch Schultz looked more like the character that James Remar played in THE COTTON CLUB, rather than Lance Henriksen's portrayal. Finally, while Billy Drago was good as Frank Nitti in THE UNTOUCHABLES, he's not as well cast here as Lucky Luciano. While some people may have thought that Billy was Italian in real life, he's actually a Kentucky-born Native American, which explains his slightly darker skin. While the cover of the video shows Billy holding a Thompson submachine gun, he never actually uses a gun in this movie. Also, while the cover of the video lists him as one of the main stars, he actually has a very minor role limited to a few appearances.

I'm just a sucker for gangster movies, so that's why I own it.

I'll give this movie credit. For being a direct to video affair, it comes across like a far more important film. The acting is all over the place. John Mosby is the ladies man, "Legs Diamond", Lance Henriksen the explosive "Dutch Schultz", and Billy Drago plays "Lucky Luciano". The constant battles between "Legs" and "Dutch" are gradually wearing thin with "Lucky". Meanwhile, Martin Kove, is an F.B.I. Agent who infiltrates Diamond's organization. Basically the movie is not much more than one machine gun battle after another, as the two waring factions fight for whiskey running territory. There are a couple trollops thrown into the mix simply to add nudity. Not great, but better than you might expect. - MERK