Reviews

3 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
8/10
a most for fuller fans
18 June 2006
Samuel Fuller was a man ahead of his time. making such films as pickup on south street, naked kiss, Shock Corridor, and this film. fuller works were tough as hell for there time. They also had a wonderful oddness about them. He seemed to take a simple clichéd story and make something wonderful and strange out of them.

Underworld USA is a story of revenge. Tolly Devlin A 14 year old boy witness his father beaten to death by four men. Tolly voles revenge. Fast forward 20 years later. Tolly is doing a five year bit and finds one of the men who did his dad In. the man is old and dying. But tolly git's the names from the dieing man of the other three thugs who killed his father . What ensues for the rest of the film is a interesting and creative story of revenge.

As always in Fuller work the woman play a important part. Beatrice Kay's plays sandy. She is a mother figure to Tolly. She is not able to have children so she Surrounds her self with baby dolls. The scenes with her and the dolls are great. They are bizarre and eerie but also heart breaking at the same time. Beatrice Kay plays sandy the ex hooker who falls for Tolly after he comes to her rescue.Cliff Robertson plays Tolly and gives a great performance.

Underworld USA is one of Fuller more underrated films. It was made after his classic pickup on south street and before his great later work of naked kiss and shock corridor. But while not as good as those films underworld USA is a great piece of noir and a most for any Fuller fan.
12 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Prime Cut (1972)
7/10
Lee Marvin
17 June 2006
If your fan of Lee Marvin like I am you will really dig this film. This time he plays a enforcer from a Chicago mob family. He is sent to Kansas City to settle a debt with a sadistic rancher named Mary Ann (Gene Hackman)who has a fancy for eating guts and selling young doped up girls.

This film also features a very young a beautiful Sissy Spacek in her first credited film role. Gene Hackman also gives a good performance but Lee Marvin shines as the mob enforcer.

This movie is a must see for fans of Lee Marvin. You wont need to invest much time or money into this film. as the running time is short at only about 86 min. and you should be able to find it on DVD for about 10 bucks.
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
good revenge film
16 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This film centers around Major Charles Rane Played by William Devane. A man that has returned from years in a prisoner of war camp. Cpl. Johnny Vohden also returns with him as well played by Tommy Lee Jones. The film follows Devane's character most of the film.He comes home to a wife that wants to leave him and a son that does not know him. He is given gifts by the town's people for being a local a hero. One of the gifts he is given is over two grand in silver dollars.The silver dollars are given to him by a good looking but warn out and screwed over woman Linda Forchet played by Linda Haynes. She is attracted to Devane because of his small time celebrity in the town and because she simply knows deep down it is not a good move to like a man like Charles Rane. Devane's character has no real interest in her in fact Davane is so damaged by the years he spent in the war camp he seems totally disconnected from every thing. Even his wife wanting to leave him seems to have little effect. The only thing he seems to care about in any way is his young son. His son and wife are killed by a couple of good old boys trying to steal Devane's silver dollars the town gave to him. They also destroy one of his arms. His arm are replaced by a hook . He returns home after a stay in the hospital and he is fixed on revenge. He sharpens his hook arms himself and grabs Linda and heads down to Mexico. To make a long story short they wonder around Mexico looking for the killers. Devane ditches Linda towards the end of th film and seeks out his old war buddy Johnny for help. Johnny gladly excepts and in the end Devane gets his revenge.

This is in my opinion a highly enjoyable film. It was written by Paul Schrader of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull fame. You can clearly see Schrader's style in the film. Especially in Devane's character. Rolling Thunder is also directed by John Flynn who directed Bestseller a good little action film from the 80.s
2 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed