The Enforcer (1951)

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

Directors:

Bretaigne Windust, Raoul Walsh (uncredited)

Writer:

Martin Rackin

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Zero Mostel, Ted de Corsia

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

After years of pursuit, Assistant D.A. Martin Ferguson has a good case against Murder, Inc. boss Albert Mendoza. Mendoza is in jail and his lieutenant Joseph Rico is going to testify. But Rico falls to his death and Ferguson must work through the night going over everything to build the case anew.

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Plot Keywords:

black and white | black and white film | assassin | sniper | assassination attempt | 

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Taglines:

They called him The Enforcer (poster).

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Tiger

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

United States Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 85 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

When Rico gets in his car at the hideout on his way to fulfill a "contract" in the city, a crew member is visible in the reflection of the window of the car door as it is closed.

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Quotes

Capt. Frank Nelson: What's wrong with the law that we can't touch him
[Mendoza, boss of murder ring]
Capt. Frank Nelson: ? Oh, I know, our kind of laws are designed to protect the innocent. It's not enough we know a man is guilty - we have to prove it.
D.A. Martin Ferguson: Ever have a tune running through your head and you can't remember the words?
Capt. Frank Nelson: What are you getting at?
D.A. Martin Ferguson: How many people did we speak to on this case?
Capt. Frank Nelson: Oh, I'd hate to remember.
D.A. Martin Ferguson: How many pages of testimony do you suppose we took?
Capt. Frank Nelson: Enough to fill a nice-sized room!
D.A. Martin Ferguson: Heh, somewhere's in that ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Sonetàula (2008)

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Soundtracks

Kiss Me Sweet
(uncredited)
Written by Milton Drake
Played over the sidewalk loudspeakers

User Reviews

Great Start, But Disappointing After That

This starts off powerfully, with a very interesting scene and some excellent film- noir photography, but after the witness dies, so does the movie in many respects.

From that point on, it's just a bunch of flashbacks. When the "live" scenes reappear, they are not always easy to discern what's going on. The film also becomes too talky too often.

However, the characters are tough and generally interesting, with some good acting. Film-noir-wise, despite the presence of superstar Humphrey Bogart along with guys like Zero Mostel, Everett Sloane and Ted de Corsia, it's average fare for the day. it could - and should - have been better.