The Mob (1951)

Director:

Robert Parrish

Writers:

William Bowers (writer)
Ferguson Findley (novel)

Release Date:

17 October 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

The coldest crew since "The killers"

Plot:

Police detective Damico, outwitted by mob killer Blackie Clay, is nominally suspended; actually he goes undercover (as Tim Flynn...

Plot Keywords:

Undercover | Gangster | Murder | Dockyard | Based On Novel

Cast

Broderick Crawford	...	Johnny Damico
Betty Buehler	...	Mary Kiernan
Richard Kiley	...	Thomas 'Tom' Clancy
Otto Hulett	...	Police Lt. Banks
Matt Crowley	...	Smoothie, Bartender / Blackie Clegg
Neville Brand	...	Gunner, Castro henchman
Ernest Borgnine	...	Joe Castro
Walter Klavun	...	Police Sgt. Bennion
Lynn Baggett	...	Mrs. Peggy Clancy (as Lynne Baggett)
Jean Alexander	...	Doris Clancy
Ralph Dumke	...	Police Commissioner
John Marley	...	Tony

Also Known As:

Remember That Face (UK)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:(Banned) (1952) | Sweden:15

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In scenes set in a pawn shop and an all-night diner (apparently shot in interiors on standing street sets), actors' frosty breath can be seen even though they're supposed to be inside real businesses that would presumably have been heated.

Quotes:

Lt. Banks: Be careful.
Johnny Damico: Yeah, sure. I'll carry real bullets in my gun.

Not Front Rank

Get "Mr. Big"-- that was the target of a lot of crime dramas back when the Kefauver Commission on Organized Crime was headlines. Here, Mr Big is Backie Clegg, the mysterious crime boss of an ocean-front city. Crawford's assigned to go undercover to get Clegg, and he better because he's already screwed-up on an underworld killing (the movie's opening scene). Crawford gets a lot of good snappy lines and a brutal knock-down-drag- out with thuggish Neville Brand, but his best scene is in a station house. There, the hefty Crawford does a finger push while leaning into a wall—not exactly standard interrogation procedure for the cops, and I'm still hurting from that one.

Nonetheless, the results are too uneven overall to reach the front rank. Following drips on a city street with a special light makes for suspenseful viewing, but what cops would really use such an undependable tracking method. Also, the mysterious Clegg is a theatrical device that doesn't mix well with the tough, realistic scenes along the waterfront. It's like someone in charge couldn't decide on a consistent approach. Still, it's a great chance to see up-and-comers in supporting roles (Bronson, Brand, and Borgnine). Then too, there's Crawford, not exactly your standard leading man. I kept thinking he and the handsome Kiley were supposed to switch roles. Yet it's Crawford's homely looks that make the movie somewhat memorable, along with a machine gun delivery that really spits out snappy lines. Anyway, be sure to catch the very last scene— from the way everybody's behaving, I don't think it was in the script.