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

Everett Sloane, who plays the kingpin of the underworld in this movie, provided the voice of do-gooder Dick Tracy in the 1961 cartoon shorts based loosely on the Chester Gould comic strip.

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Goofs

Near the middle of the film the two young women are talking with each other outside in front of a house. After their conversation one of them walks toward the street. As she walks almost out of the picture you can see the shadow of the camera move across her body.

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Quotes

[Albert Mendoza is about to be freed and Ferguson decides to show him pictures of his victims as a farewell present]
D.A. Martin Ferguson: You think you can shut people up by killing them, but you're wrong. Maybe not in the courtroom but they'll be talkin' to you, Mendoza! At night when you're trying to sleep!

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Connections

Referenced in I Confess (1953)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Playing to packed houses in Paris

The Enforcer, whose French title is La femme à abattre, plays often to packed houses in Paris. More than one French critic has called the film a gem (un joyau) among film noir classics. Indeed, its popularity in France says lots about pure plot lines and straightforward characterizations which make the film accessible to non-English-speaking audiences. As many readers know, the French are crazy about American film noir, and it's common to see parents bring their children to see movies like The Enforcer. I recently sat next to such a family when the film played in March 2003 at the Grand Action cinéma in Paris. It was almost moving to hear the father explain to his son that they would be seeing a film which, in his words, is a classic with great insights in the American psyche. Hearing them speak made me wonder how many American families use films of decades past to teach their children about the world in which we live.

By the way, the three cinémas in the Action chain in Paris regularly play American films noirs and other classic American movies, many of them in newly restored versions.

Don Ediger