The Enforcer (1951)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Bretaigne Windust

Writer:

Martin Rackin (written by)

Release Date:

24 February 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Film-Noir

Tagline:

"If you're smart you'll come down - if you're dumb you'll be dead..." (one-sheet poster)

Plot:

A crusading district attorney finally gets a chance to prosecute the organizer and boss of Murder Inc.

Plot Keywords:

Murder Inc. | Murder | District Attorney | Prison | Flashback

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Dist. Atty. Martin Ferguson
Zero Mostel	...	Big Babe Lazick
Ted de Corsia	...	Joseph Rico (as Ted De Corsia)
Everett Sloane	...	Albert Mendoza
Roy Roberts	...	Capt. Frank Nelson
Michael Tolan	...	James (Duke) Malloy (as Lawrence Tolan)
King Donovan	...	Sgt. Whitlow
Bob Steele	...	Herman (as Robert Steele)
Adelaide Klein	...	Olga Kirshen
Don Beddoe	...	Thomas O'Hara
Tito Vuolo	...	Tony Vetto
John Kellogg	...	Vince
Jack Lambert	...	Philadelphia Tom Zaca

Also Known As:

Murder, Inc. (UK)

Runtime:

87 min | 85 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | West Germany:16 (nf) | UK:PG (1989) | UK:X (1951) (cut) | Australia:PG | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:(Banned) (1951-1960) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #14747) | Finland:(Banned)

Company:

United States Pictures

Trivia:

After several days of filming, director Bretaigne Windust fell seriously ill and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Humphrey Bogart asked his old friend, director Raoul Walsh, to come in and shoot the picture until Windust recovered. Unfortunately, Windust was more seriously ill than most realized, and his recovery took several months, during which Walsh finished the film. However, Walsh refused to take screen credit for it, saying that the picture was Windust's big break and he wasn't going to take it away from him.

Quotes:

[Ferguson has just saved the sole survivor of Mendoza's killings, Angela Vetto, from being killed, just before Mendoza is about to be set free. He recalls Rico's description of Mendoza's first killing which Angela had witnessed saying that she was, "Starin' at him with her big blue eyes!"]
D.A. Martin Ferguson: C'mon, Miss Vetto. I want to see the look on Mendoza's face when he looks into those big blue eyes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bullets Over Hollywood (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Kiss Me Sweet

Technically good crime story

District Attourney Ferguson loses his only witness in the trial of Albert Mendoza - the head of Murder Incorporated, an organisation of killers. With hours to go to the case is dismissed, Ferguson decides to go back over the evidence from the start to try to find something else that could be used to try him.

This film is not very famous and is never listed when people talk of Bogart. This is mainly because it's not part of his film noir, hard boiled batch and it doesn't have a strong romantic subplot. However it's still got much to cheer about. The story feels very basic by today's standards - however this was one of the first films to bring in the language of hitmen, even though now everyone knows what a "hit" and a "contract" means. The story unfolds in flashbacks, and involves flashbacks within flashbacks - so it's not as simple as you think. At it's time it was very different to other films.

The performances are all good, the group of hitmen in particular stand out in their portrayal of tough guys who turn to fear and mistrust when the law closes in. Bogart is good in a straight role but despite his billing he is not the best role. De Corsia, Sloane, Mostel et al are the real stars and are very good in their hitmen guises.

The film was based on the discovery and cases of the real "murder inc" in the 40's and is told in the crime story style that would become more used in the 1950's. Due to our familarity of the hitman scene in movies nowadays, it won't set the screen on fire but it's still very enjoyable to watch.