KING OF THE UNDERWORLD (Warner Brothers, 1939) directed by Lewis Seiler, stars Humphrey Bogart in one of many crime and gangster dramas, and his only one opposite Kay Francis. Formerly a top-rated actress for the studio (1932-1937), by this time, Francis' career was on the wane and forced to fulfill her studio contract in a series of programmers such as this one. For further humiliation, the opening credits places Bogart's name above the title with Francis coming second under the "With" listing of supporting players. Adapted from the story by W. R. Burnett, it was previously produced by the studio as DOCTOR SOCRATES (1935) featuring Paul Muni (The Doctor), Ann Dvorak (The Drifter) and Barton MacLane (The Gangster). This reworking, with slight alterations to the major characters, is basically the same through plot elements but on a shorter (67 minutes) scale. Capitalizing on title usage listings from Paramount's trio of crime capers as KING OF GAMBLERS (1937), KING OF ALCATRAZ (1938) and KING OF CHINATOWN (1939), this edition has its share of robberies and gunplay as well, with Bogart the sole focus that once belonged to Francis at her prime.
Opening in a general hospital where Carole (Kay Francis) and her husband, Niles Nelson (John Eldredge) are surgeons operating on a wounded gangster named Butch. With news reaching gang leader Joe Gurney (Humphrey Bogart) that Butch will recover, he shoots down Slats (John Harmon), Butch's informer to the cops. Rewarding the doctor $500 for saving one of his boys, Niles uses the money to form a new medical office with Carole in a more exclusive neighborhood. By accepting money from Gurney, Niles is committed to treat Gurney's men from gunshot wounds. Having promised Carole he'd no longer bet on the horses to earn extra money, his telephone call from Gurney has him breaking away from both her and his patients for further treatment at Gurney's hideout. As Carole follows by taxi and awaits for Niles downstairs, she soon discovers a police raid where her husband is caught and killed in an ambush as Gurney and his mob make their escape. With her statement unbelieved by the police, Carole faces trial but is given three months to prove her innocence with her connection to Gurney by the medical board. Tracing Gurney's mob to the small town of Wayne Center, Carole, accompanied by her Aunt Josephine (Jessie Busley), decides to set up her medical practice while at the same time to track down Gurney's mob. With her past reputation against her and unable to obtain new patients, Carole finds one with Bill Stevens (James Stephenson), a drifter and author by profession whose bullet wound she treats, causing suspicion from those believing both connected with Gurney's mob. Others in the cast include Arthur Aylesworth, Charley Foy, Joseph Devlin and Charles Trowbridge.
As much as Bogart played similar roles through much of his career, he displays his usual acting skills by making his character both tough and real in style. The directing pace moves swiftly with Francis going along for the ride as crime doctor. Interestingly, John Eldredge, who plays her doomed husband, also enacted in the earlier screen treatment of DOCTOR SOCRATES. James Stephenson (1888-1941), an obscure actor whose career was gathering enough attention by this time, satisfies his support as an author risking himself gathering material for Joe Gurney's proposed biography, "Napoleon of Crime."
Never distributed on home video but available on DVD, KING OF THE UNDERWORLD is one of those long forgotten crime capers that would be of sole interest for either Bogart or Francis who make this agreeable viewing. Look for it next time is shows on Turner Classic Movies cable channel. (**)
Opening in a general hospital where Carole (Kay Francis) and her husband, Niles Nelson (John Eldredge) are surgeons operating on a wounded gangster named Butch. With news reaching gang leader Joe Gurney (Humphrey Bogart) that Butch will recover, he shoots down Slats (John Harmon), Butch's informer to the cops. Rewarding the doctor $500 for saving one of his boys, Niles uses the money to form a new medical office with Carole in a more exclusive neighborhood. By accepting money from Gurney, Niles is committed to treat Gurney's men from gunshot wounds. Having promised Carole he'd no longer bet on the horses to earn extra money, his telephone call from Gurney has him breaking away from both her and his patients for further treatment at Gurney's hideout. As Carole follows by taxi and awaits for Niles downstairs, she soon discovers a police raid where her husband is caught and killed in an ambush as Gurney and his mob make their escape. With her statement unbelieved by the police, Carole faces trial but is given three months to prove her innocence with her connection to Gurney by the medical board. Tracing Gurney's mob to the small town of Wayne Center, Carole, accompanied by her Aunt Josephine (Jessie Busley), decides to set up her medical practice while at the same time to track down Gurney's mob. With her past reputation against her and unable to obtain new patients, Carole finds one with Bill Stevens (James Stephenson), a drifter and author by profession whose bullet wound she treats, causing suspicion from those believing both connected with Gurney's mob. Others in the cast include Arthur Aylesworth, Charley Foy, Joseph Devlin and Charles Trowbridge.
As much as Bogart played similar roles through much of his career, he displays his usual acting skills by making his character both tough and real in style. The directing pace moves swiftly with Francis going along for the ride as crime doctor. Interestingly, John Eldredge, who plays her doomed husband, also enacted in the earlier screen treatment of DOCTOR SOCRATES. James Stephenson (1888-1941), an obscure actor whose career was gathering enough attention by this time, satisfies his support as an author risking himself gathering material for Joe Gurney's proposed biography, "Napoleon of Crime."
Never distributed on home video but available on DVD, KING OF THE UNDERWORLD is one of those long forgotten crime capers that would be of sole interest for either Bogart or Francis who make this agreeable viewing. Look for it next time is shows on Turner Classic Movies cable channel. (**)