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| Paul Muni | ... | ||
| Ann Dvorak | ... |
Cesca
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Karen Morley | ... | |
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Osgood Perkins | ... |
Johnny Lovo
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C. Henry Gordon | ... |
Inspector Guarino
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| George Raft | ... |
Rinaldo
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Vince Barnett | ... |
Angelo
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| Boris Karloff | ... |
Tom Gaffney
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Purnell Pratt | ... |
Publisher
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Tully Marshall | ... |
Managing Editor
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Inez Palange | ... |
Tony's Mother
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| Edwin Maxwell | ... |
Detective Chief
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Johnny Lovo rises to the head of the bootlegging crime syndicate on the south side of Chicago following the murder of former head, Big Louis Costillo. Johnny contracted Big Louis' bodyguard, Tony Camonte, to make the hit on his boss. Tony becomes Johnny's second in command. Johnny is not averse to killing anyone who gets in his and Johnny's way. As Tony is thinking bigger than Johnny and is not afraid of anyone or anything, Tony increasingly makes decisions on his own instead of following Johnny's orders, especially in not treading on the north side run by an Irish gang led by a man named O'Hara, of who Johnny is afraid. Tony's murder spree increases, he taking out anyone who stands in his and Johnny's way of absolute control on the south side, and in Tony's view absolute control of the entire city. Tony's actions place an unspoken strain between Tony and Johnny to the point of the two knowing that they can't exist in their idealized world with the other. Tony's ultimate downfall may ... Written by Huggo
Action-wise, this movie was 60 years ahead of its time, at least in terms of the amount of action in it. I think it's safe to say most classic films, including the crime movies, are much slower in pace than today's fare. Not this one.
Since they didn't show much blood in these old films, it isn't gory but it is action- packed with few lulls. Paul Muni, as "Tony Camonte," the head gangster, is compelling and fun to watch. He's tough-as-nails until the end. The women n here - Ann Dvoark and Karen Morely - are interesting, too, as is one of Muni's sidekicks, a big dumb guy who was funny. Don't be fooled by the billing of George Raft and Boris Karloff. They got it because they turned out to be big names later. In this film, they have very small roles.
This is Muni's show, though, all the way and few actors could ham it up in his day like him. It's a wild ride for the full 93 minutes.
p.s. To anyone misreading my opening remarks: more action doesn't always mean more interesting. Some times it does; some times it doesn't.