Les bas-fonds new-yorkais

Underworld U.S.A. (1961)

Sam Fuller's movies have an edgy, reckless quality to them, as if lacking propriety. Which is good. What Underworld U.S.A. lacks in subtlety it makes up for in surprise and a kind of sultry sizzle, something very different than more usual "romance" that other crime and noir movies have. There is some second rate acting throughout, but if you accept some of this as "style" and go with the flow, it's click along nicely. In fact, the lack of star power makes the film a hair more everyday, and therefor a hair more realistic in a good way. And the lead male going solo through much of it is first rate, Cliff Robertson.

Not that this is actually believable--it feels contrived all the way--but it has a modern interpersonal selfishness and sometimes cruelty that is fun to watch. The plot? Great enough. But the searing looks, the slaps, the brooding closeups. This is movie-making! Certainly an influence on Tarantino.

As a black and white crime film with a slightly low budget feel, this naturally comes labelled as a film noir. And there are some similarities. But it's also a crime drama, more directly, and it explores (and exploits) the violence of cops and robbers circa 1960. There a lot of unsavory types involved, and some crisp filming. If you like other Sam Fuller films, you'll like this one.

From its brisk opening, this dark and seamy underworld drama moves like a well-oiled machine, laying out and glorifying Cliff Robertson's revenge tactics to punish the men who killed his father.

Not unlike John Boorman's "Point Blank" which also featured an almost cyborg-natured Lee Marvin punishing the bigshot criminal overlords who did him wrong, here the pursuit is more humanized but suffers no slack as Robertson gives an extraordinary performance.

With a glinty-eyed, crooked smile and a gleeful look which seems to creep into his face as he torments his victims, Robertson suggests a little of Mel Gibson's instability in the first "Lethal Weapon", but without the looniness. His more understated moments are not only very realistic, but are the epitome of cool. Robertson can definitely smoke cigarettes better than anybody.

Fuller's direction is taut, featuring plenty of creative cinematography and a lot of sequences which are far more ahead of their time than the majority of crime films being made around 1961. As always, Fuller manages to tell his story with both hysteria and pathos. This is definitely a must-see for fans of Don Siegel's work or the crime films of Phil Karlson and Anthony Mann. "Underworld USA" could very well share a double bill with John Flynn's "The Outfit" as well. Superb stuff.

A juvenile delinquent witnesses the murder of his father by mobsters and seeks revenge as an adult. This is a brutal crime drama, with lively direction by Fuller, although he goes a bit overboard with shadows, closeups, and zooms. Robertson is not bad, but seems miscast as the tough guy who, driven by vengeance, singlehandedly takes on the syndicate. The best performances are turned in by the two leading actresses: Dorn (recalling Stella Stevens) as a gangster's moll and Kay (recalling Thelma Ritter) as a mother-figure for Robertson. Also notable are Rust as a ruthless mob henchman and Gates as a federal prosecutor.

Samuel Fuller was a man ahead of his time. making such films as pickup on south street, naked kiss, Shock Corridor, and this film. fuller works were tough as hell for there time. They also had a wonderful oddness about them. He seemed to take a simple clichéd story and make something wonderful and strange out of them.

Underworld USA is a story of revenge. Tolly Devlin A 14 year old boy witness his father beaten to death by four men. Tolly voles revenge. Fast forward 20 years later. Tolly is doing a five year bit and finds one of the men who did his dad In. the man is old and dying. But tolly git's the names from the dieing man of the other three thugs who killed his father . What ensues for the rest of the film is a interesting and creative story of revenge.

As always in Fuller work the woman play a important part. Beatrice Kay's plays sandy. She is a mother figure to Tolly. She is not able to have children so she Surrounds her self with baby dolls. The scenes with her and the dolls are great. They are bizarre and eerie but also heart breaking at the same time. Beatrice Kay plays sandy the ex hooker who falls for Tolly after he comes to her rescue.Cliff Robertson plays Tolly and gives a great performance.

Underworld USA is one of Fuller more underrated films. It was made after his classic pickup on south street and before his great later work of naked kiss and shock corridor. But while not as good as those films underworld USA is a great piece of noir and a most for any Fuller fan.

When a young boy witnesses the murder of his father he vows to revenge his death. After reaching manhood he joins the organization that the killers preside over with the intention of fulfilling his death wish. Good action and dialogue kept this story moving right along, even though it was a little corny and the ending was predictable.