King of the Underworld (1939)

Niles and Carol Nelson are married doctors who save one of gang lord Gurney's men. Gurney exploits them, then kills Niles leaving Carol to take the fall. He next kidnaps writer Bill ... See full summary »

Director:

Lewis Seiler

Writers:

George Bricker (screen play), Vincent Sherman (screen play),

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Kay Francis, James Stephenson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Joe Gurney
Kay Francis	...	Carol Nelson
James Stephenson	...	Bill Stevens
John Eldredge	...	Niles Nelson
Jessie Busley	...	Aunt Josephine
Arthur Aylesworth	...	Dr. Sanders
Raymond Brown	...	Sheriff
Harland Tucker	...	Mr. Ames
Ralph Remley	...	Mr. Robert
Charley Foy	...	Slick
Murray Alper	...	Eddie
Joe Devlin	...	Porky
Elliott Sullivan	...	Mugsy
Alan Davis	...	Pete
John Harmon	...	Slats

Storyline

Niles and Carol Nelson are married doctors who save one of gang lord Gurney's men. Gurney exploits them, then kills Niles leaving Carol to take the fall. He next kidnaps writer Bill Stephens to write his biography. Knowing Bill will be killed when the biography is finished, Carol takes matters into her own hands.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | hospital | surgery | murder | gunshot wound | 

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Taglines:

EXCITEMENT...WITH THE SILENCERS OFF! (re-release print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unlawful

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several actors in studio records for the movie "King of the Underworld (1939)" were not seen in the film; these include, with their character names if any, Peggy Moran (Young Man's Wife), Davison Clark (Foreman), Jerry Fletcher (Young Man), Francis Sayles (Furniture Store Proprietor), Vera Lewis and Frank Orth.

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Quotes

Dr. Carole Nelson: [sticking thermometer in Gurney's mouth] Keep your mouth shut.
Joe Gurney: Hey, d'ya year that? That's a hot one. First time anybody ever told me to keep my mouth shut and got away with it.
Dr. Carole Nelson: I suppose that's something to boast about.
Joe Gurney: You bet it is. Hey doc...anybody ever tell you that you're a pretty good lookin' doll? Ah, I'm not kiddin'. Y'know, I don't go for dolls as a rule. I mean, they're just something nice to have around the house like cats and dogs and pets and things. You got brains.
Dr. Carole Nelson: Yeah, I'm ...
[...]

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Connections

Version of Dr. Socrates (1935)

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Soundtracks

"I Wanna Go Back to Bali"
(1938) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played when Joe receives the telephone call after the operation

User Reviews

Bogart puts comic spin on dumb criminal in programmer...

The central role in this low-budget crime melodrama really belongs to KAY FRANCIS, and she makes her lady doctor pretty believable. But it's HUMPHREY BOGART who walks off with the show, which is no more than a programmer made on the cheap, by playing up the comic elements of his character.

Bogart is an illiterate man who wants his "genius" to be known. He kidnaps a man (James Stephenson) with a reputation as a writer in order to tell him his life story and make him the "king of the underworld." But Kay Francis spoils all his plans when she has to prove herself innocent of criminal charges pending against her due to a prior event. She fools the hoods into believing they will go blind if they don't let her help them.

The story has several implausible script problems and never really comes off as credible. Interesting only to see that Bogart was far more worthy of his early material than the studio realized. And Kay Francis has one of her more believable roles in this crime melodrama.