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The Mob (film)
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Wikipedia article
'The Mob' is a 1951 American film noir crime-thriller produced by Columbia Pictures, directed by Robert Parrish, and starring Broderick Crawford. The screenplay, which was written by William Bowers, is based on the novel 'Waterfront' by Ferguson Findley.
Plot
Johnny Damico (Broderick Crawford), a detective going home on a rainy night, finds himself just a few feet from a shooting on a dark street. The gunman claims to be a detective from another precinct, flashing a real badge, and then slipping away. Damico discovers that the victim of the shooting was a witness who was to have appeared before a grand jury investigating waterfront crime, and that the same man who shot him also murdered the chief investigator on the case just a few hours earlier (which is where the badge came from). Damico could lose his job, but instead he is given the chance to redeem himself by the police commissioner and district attorney.
The authorities then make plans to fly Damico to New Orleans with instructions to work his way "back up", all undercover, as a New Orleans tough-guy named Tim Flynn. Once he returns home by cargo ship, Johnny has the assigned task to discover there the true identity of the head of the waterfront racketeers. All that is known about the mysterious mob boss is that his name is "Blackie" Clegg.Some cast listings and current film profiles cite Blackie's last name as "Clay" [for an example see [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043812/ "Storyline"] for 'The Mob' in the online reference Internet Movie Database (IMDb)], but in the film's actual onscreen dialog, the mob boss's surname is clearly pronounced "Clegg" by the district attorney, the police commissioner, by Damico in a phone call to Lieutenant Banks, and later by Banks himself in a conversation with Damico in a police car. The city in which all the action takes place is unspecified, but it is "up" relative to New Orleans, though palm trees are shown. Upon his return, while still under cover, "Flynn" gets a job locally as a longshoreman and quickly makes connections to the mob's network of enforcers as well as to crews of surrounding dockworkers. He is befriended by Tom Clancy (Richard Kiley), a fellow longshoreman who lives at the same hotel. There the two frequently meet after work for drinks, which are invariably served to them by a bartender nicknamed "Smoothie" (Matt Crowley).
Damico, still posing as Flynn, now manages to hook up with union thug Joe Castro (Ernest Borgnine), who tries to frame Damico for murder by having his strong-arm goon Gunner (Neville Brand) temporarily seize the undercover cop's own pistol to shoot and kill a potential stoolie, Culio (Frank DeKova). Castro then has Gunner return the pistol to Damico, who the next day is arrested for the murder by a crooked police sergeant named Bennion (Walter Klavun), although Police Lt. Banks (Otto Hulett) manages to spring him.
After following one blind alley involving a federal agentthe man he knows as Tom ClancyDamico is given a tip by the bartender Smoothie, who offers to drive Damico to meet the long-sought Blackie. Once the two men are at the mob boss's office of operations, Damico is shocked when Smoothie reveals that he is actually Blackie. A gunfight ensues, Blackie is wounded but escapes, and goes to a nearby hospital, where, under a new identity, he is admitted to have his wound treated. Damico's fiancee Mary, whom the mob had kidnapped earlier and had injured while interrogating her at Blackie's office, is taken to the same hospital. When Damico later visits her, the recovering Blackie confronts the couple in Mary's hospital room. He pulls out a pistol from his hospital robe's pocket. Just as he is preparing to kill the couple, a pair of police snipers in a nearby building fatally shoot Blackie as a stands near the hospital room's window.
Cast
* Broderick Crawford as Johnny Damico
* Betty Buehler as Mary Kiernan
* Richard Kiley as Thomas "Tom" Clancy
* Otto Hulett as Police Lt. Banks
* Matt Crowley as Smoothie
* Neville Brand as Gunner
* Ernest Borgnine as Joe Castro
* Walter Klavun as Police Sgt. Bennion
* Frank DeKova as Culio
* Lynn Baggett as Peggy, Tom Clancy's wife
* Jean Alexander as Doris, Clancy's sister
* Ralph Dumke as Police Commissioner
* John Marley as Tony
* Charles Bronson as Jack, a Longshoreman (uncredited)
* Jay Adler as Russell, the Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
* Emile Meyer as Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
* Duke Watson as Radford (uncredited)
* Carleton Young as District Attorney (uncredited)
Production
Under the working titles "Waterfront" and "Remember That Face", filming of 'The Mob' was actually completed eight months before its release in the fall of 1951, with shooting occurring between January 11 and February 8, 1951.[https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50212-THE-MOB?sid=61a0cc53-34ed-4cd4-93b4-0dd4bde3c276&sr=7.232976&cp=1&pos=0 "The Mob (1951)"], catalog, American Film Institute (AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved April 5, 2022.[https://archive.org/details/motionpicturedai69unse/page/n469/mode/2up "16 Col. Films"], 'Motion Picture Daily' (New York, N.Y), March 19, 1951, p. 2. Retrieved via Internet Archive, April 5, 2022.
Promotion
For three months after the initial distribution of 'The Mob' in late September 1951, Broderick Crawford conducted an extensive 60-city tour across the United States to promote the production for Columbia Pictures.[https://archive.org/details/variety184-1951-09-26/page/n1/mode/2up?view=theater "National Boxoffice Survey"], 'Variety', September 26, 1951, p. 3, col. 4. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 19, 2022.[https://archive.org/details/filmbulletin195119film/page/n737/mode/2up "Short Subjects"], 'Film Bulletin', December 17, 1951, p. 12. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 20, 2022. He made personal appearances at screenings of the film at various locations in New York; in Hartford, Connecticut; Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts; Washington, D.C.; Cleveland; St. Louis; Memphis; and in other cities in the Midwest and on the West Coast. During those visits, among other scheduled events and activities, it became routine for Crawford to give newspaper and radio interviews, appear on local television shows, attend special dinners and receptions, make goodwill visits to police precincts, and to accept assorted awards from law enforcement agencies that wanted to honor him for his portrayal of the tough, dedicated cop Johnny Domico.Assorted news reports published in 'Exhibitor' and other trade publications between late September and December 1951. In its December 12 issue, for example, the trade weekly 'Exhibitor' provides some details about the film star's visit to Portland, Maine:
In an earlier 1951 news item about Crawford's promotional tour to Rochester, New York in October, 'Motion Picture Herald' reported that the actor was honored there by officials, who presented him a Rochester police badge. The trade journal noted that Crawford had accumulated by then "a trunkful [of police badges] on his smash coast-to-coast personal appearance chore for THE MOB", so many badges in fact that 'Motion Picture Herald' dubbed the actor "America's Number One Pin-On Boy".[https://archive.org/details/motionpictureher185quig/page/n189/mode/2up "This Week's Back Page News"], 'Motion Picture Herald', October 27, 1951, back outside cover. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 19, 2022.
Crawford's promotional tour to cities and towns was not limited to theaters and to law enforcement agencies. Periodically, he ventured to other sites. For instance, during his "four-day junket" touring the Boston area to promote the film at eight theaters, the star also took time to visit his alma mater, Dean Academy (now Dean College), in Franklin, Massachusetts. There he presented a speech in the school's chapel to students and faculty, although after that presentation he returned to his routine and attended yet another special screening of 'The Mob' at the nearby Morse Theatre.[https://archive.org/details/motionpictureher185quig/page/n445/mode/2up "The National Spotlight: Boston"], 'Motion Picture Herald' (New York, N.Y.) November 17, 1951, p. 35. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 19, 2022."Broderick Crawford to Speak at Dean", 'The Boston Globe', November 5, 1951, p. 10. Retrieved via ProQuest, January 21, 2022.
Box office in 1951
'The Mob' ranked 122nd among American films that earned at least $1,000,000 in box office receipts in 1951, a time when the average cost of a movie ticket in the United States was only 47 cents and the population of the country was significantly smaller than today.Stockdale, Charles (2017). [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cost-movie-ticket-were-born-155153039.html "Cost of a Movie Ticket the Year You Were Born"], Yahoo Finance, originally posted August 11, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2022. At many large and small theaters, the film proved itself to be an attractive and profitable attraction. 'Exhibitor' reports in its November 17 issue that during the picture's run at the 3,664-seat Paramount Theatre in Manhattan, it generated the second largest box office total of 1951, eclipsed that year only by the crowds of ticket-buyers who descended on the Paramount to see Martin & Lewis, when the famous comedy duo made personal appearances at the New York theatre to promote their film 'That's My Boy'.[https://archive.org/details/exhibitornov195147jaye/page/n165/mode/2up "Columbia's 'The Mob'..."], 'Exhibitor', p. NT-2, col. 2. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 20, 2022. With regard to entire revenue totals for 'The Mob', various news outlets credited Crawford's publicity work with boosting the film's receipts, while the actor himself drew special attention to theater owners for their effective use of television to promote the picture. 'Film Bulletin' is one of those outlets which noted that success in its December 17 issue:
Critical reception
In 1951, reviews of the film in major newspapers and trade publications generally ranged from mildly positive to highly favorable. Edwin Schallert, the film critic that year for the 'Los Angeles Times', commends the crime story for its blend of melodrama and humor, and he draws special attention to the lead performance.Schallert, Edwin (1951). "'Mob' Blends Melodrama With Fun", 'Los Angeles Times', October 27, 1951, p. 11. Retrieved via ProQuest Historical Newspapers, January 17, 2022; subscription access through The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library. "The presence of Crawford in this picture", writes Schallert in his October 27 appraisal, "is its main asset", adding that the actor conducts "his role with robust ingenuity and plenty of emphasis on its amusing trimmings." The 'Chicago Tribune' also praised the "robust" aspects of Crawford's performance, saying he "slams his way thru it in convincing fashion","'The Mob' Is Waterfront Action At Best", 'Chicago Tribune', November 27, 1951, p. B6. Retrieved via ProQuest, January 22, 2022. as did 'The New York Times' in its October 18, 1951 edition:
In her review of the "thrilling" film in the December 3rd issue of 'The Boston Globe', media critic Marjory Adams states, "'The Mob' is one of the best suspense pictures that Boston has had in many long months, and as distinguished in its more conventional way as was 'Detective Story'" (1951).Adams, Marjory (1951). "NEW FILM: 'The Mob' Thrilling Drama With B. Crawford at State and Orpheum", 'The Boston Globe', December 3, 1951, p. 8. Retrieved via ProQuest, January 21, 2022. After highlighting and complimenting Crawford's performance in her column, Adams turns her attention to the star's supporting cast: "Maybe there is no message to 'The Mob' but it is a first rate melodrama, handsomely and excitingly enacted by a group of lesser known but very efficient players."
Reactions to the Columbia production were quite positive as well in film-industry periodicals in 1951. The New York-based review service 'Harrison's Reports' characterizes the feature in its September 15 preview as "a very good crime melodrama" that showcases "novel and realistic" action, which in the publication's estimation should hold theater audiences "in tense suspense all the way through."[https://archive.org/details/harrisonsreports00harr/page/n169/mode/2up "'The Mob' With Broderick Crawford"], 'Harrison's Reports', September 15, 1951, p. 146. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 18, 2022. After watching an even earlier screening of the film for 'Motion Picture Daily', critic Charles L. Franke in his September 5 review calls the picture's climax "a dandy rendition of a standard idea" and assures moviegoers they will experience a "fine time" seeing 'The Mob', especially "devotees of fast-action melodrama as they watch Crawford act out the none-too-novel story".[https://archive.org/details/motionpicturedai70unse/page/n397/mode/2up "'The Mob' (Columbia)"], 'Motion Picture Daily' (New York, N.Y.), September 5, 1951, p. 14. Retrieved via Internet Archive January 18, 2022. Franke in his commentary expresses further admiration for Crawford's performance and pegs him as "the actor most likely to inherit the tough-guy mantle so often worn in the past by James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson."
'Film Bulletin' in 1951 also summarizes the screenplay in its September 24 issue as a "Good Crime Meller For Action Fans" ("Meller" being industry slang for a melodrama) but a "fair dualler" for general audiences.[https://archive.org/details/filmbulletin195119film/page/n573/mode/2up "'The Mob' Good Crime Meller for Action Fans"], 'Film Bulletin', September 24, 1951, p. 12. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 18, 2022. The semimonthly trade periodical, which had a targeted readership of predominantly theater owners or "exhibitors", does find some fault with the plot's lack of clarity, namely that it does not establish for moviegoers the crime boss's ultimate goals. Nevertheless, 'Film Bulletin' states that Columbia's crime story "will please the dyed in the wool action fans with its rugged narrative of skullduggery along the waterfront, terse dialogue and the frank brutality of the several physical encounters."
'Photoplay', the leading movie fan magazine in the United States in 1951, also recommends the film in its October issue, citing most notably the drama's sustained levels of suspense and action.[https://archive.org/details/photoplayjuldec100macf_6/page/n351/mode/2up "The Mob (Columbia)"], 'Photoplay', October 1951, p. 32. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 18, 2022. Describing the feature as "gutsy and fisticuffy", 'Photoplay' informs its readers, "Suspense rides throughout the action-packed story and the scientific methods of police in action should prove frightfully discouraging to the on-the-lam set everywhere.
Later reactions to the film
In the decades after the release of 'The Mob', reviewers' opinions of the film appear to be more mixed than those found in the print media in 1951. Hollywood screenwriter Carl Macek in the 1979 publication 'Film Noir: The Encyclopedia Reference to the American Style' describes the transformative performance of the film's star, noting that "Crawford takes the simple role of Johnny Damico and converts it into a noir characterization of toughness and vulgarity."Macek, Carl. [https://archive.org/details/filmnoir00alai/page/188/mode/2up?q=vulgarity "The Mob (1951)"]; entry in third edition of the 1979 compendium 'Film Noir: The Encyclopedia Reference to the American Style' edited by Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press, 1992, pp. 189-190. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 17, 2022. . Macek, however, categorizes 'The Mob' as largely a "rehash" of the content and "staccato pacing" of pre-World War II urban crime pictures. Later, in 1984, film historian Spencer Selby reinforces that view in his book 'Dark City: The Film Noir', describing 'The Mob' as "About as close as noir ever came to resurrecting the 1930s gangster film."Selby, Spencer. [https://archive.org/details/darkcityfilmnoir0000selb/page/162/mode/2up "The Mob (1951) Columbia"], 'Dark City: The Film Noir'. Chicago and London: St. James Press, 1984, p. 163. Retrieved via Internet Archive, January 17, 2022. .Film critic Dennis Schwartz in his 2002 online assessment also compliments Crawford's performance and other elements of the production, although he rates the screenplay overall as "ordinary" with an all-too-tidy conclusion:
References
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