The Hoodlum (1951)

Paroled sociopath career criminal Vincent Lubeck betrays his family's trust when he masterminds a complex armored car robbery.

Director:

Max Nosseck

Writers:

Sam Neuman (screenplay), Sam Neuman (story),

Stars:

Lawrence Tierney, Allene Roberts, Marjorie Riordan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lawrence Tierney	...	Vincent Lubeck
Allene Roberts	...	Rosa
Marjorie Riordan	...	Eileen
Lisa Golm	...	Mrs. Lubeck
Edward Tierney	...	Johnny Lubeck
Stuart Randall	...	Police Lt. Burdick
Angela Stevens	...	Christie Lang (as Ann Zika)
John De Simone	...	Marty Connell
Tom Hubbard	...	Police Sgt. Schmidt
Eddie Foster	...	Mickey Sessions
O.Z. Whitehead	...	Mr. Breckenridge
Richard Barron	...	Eddie Bright
Rudy Rama	...	Harry Hill
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Whyte	...	Eulogist (unconfirmed)

Storyline

Vincent Lubeck is a vicious ex-convict. His criminal activities are despised by his family, but he uses and abuses them in the course of his crimes. Eventually his own brother must stand up to him.

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Plot Keywords:

brother | armored car robbery | robbery | armored car | public domain | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for violence and thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 July 1951 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jack Schwarz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

61 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A new print has been made of this film which received its premiere at the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences on 21 May 1999.

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Goofs

The position of the mother's head on her death bed changes between the long shot and the close-up.

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Quotes

Vincent Lubeck: Ma, the Bible gives you 70 years to live. The insurance companies tell you it's 65. The big companies tell you that after 40 years you can't make a buck. Well, I haven't got far to go. When you die, you're a long time dead.
Mrs. Lubeck: And when you are in jail, are you alive?

User Reviews

An Entertaining Way To Kill Some Time

Got a chance to watch this little noir/crime film recently and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. It's a quick movie that clocks in at about 61 and a half minutes and there is no denying that it was a very low budget programmer but it was quickly paced and had some nice touches. Lawrence Tierney is at his nastiest as lifelong criminal Vincent Lubeck. The film opens with Tierney in a car being held at gunpoint by his brother(real life brother Edward Tierney) Johnny and then goes back in time to take us through what lead up to this point. We get a neat narrated, documentary style montage about Vincent's life of crime to start things off. Nice noir touches along the way as shadows abound and for the most part, the performances are very good. Several scenes in the film sort of reminded me of the vastly superior WHITE HEAT. Several things kind of startled me from a film made in 1951 like rape, suicide and the word "pregnant"! All in all, a pretty entertaining little film and a nice way to kill an hour of your time.