Dalbert Pringle For starters - I'm sorry to say, but I just cannot take any movie seriously where its femme fatale goes around by no other name but "Cuddles" (or, when not being called "Cuddles", she is frequently being referred to (even in her presence) as "The Broad").But, besides that, this low-budget, 1961, Crime/Revenge picture repeatedly fell far too short of my expectations far too often. And, before long, it became something of a predictable bore.Yes. There were some interesting frame-ups and ruthlessly violent moments in Underworld USA that briefly held my attention. But, right from the start, I took a strong disliking towards the story's protagonist, Tolly Devlin. And, that alone, significantly reduced my chances of ever caring about Tolly's tiresome, self-centred predicament as he tirelessly sought out vengeance for the beating death of his father by 4 low-life thugs.Right from the start (at the age of 14), Tolly was already a despicable, thieving, little street-rat who heartlessly rolled drunks just for a handful of change.So, by the time Tolly had reached adulthood and was on a full-fledged mission of revenge over his father's death (who was nothing but a drunk & a two-bit thief, himself), I just couldn't have given a bloody damn about the unrelenting nature of his "modus operandi" as he recklessly sought out his own idea of poetic justice. I just wanted to see Tolly dead (just like the rest of the street-dirt who prevailed in the story).Because it was so painfully obvious to see that Underworld USA was filmed on a mighty tight budget its story was, often-times, unintentionally quite funny, especially during scenes shot on actual city streets. Whether it was night or day, these avenues were always conspicuously void of both people and cars.The one scene in Underworld USA that really killed me was when Gus (a vicious thug without as much as a trace of conscience) deliberately runs down a child on a downtown, residential street, in broad daylight. To be sure, this was definitely one of those priceless movie-moments that really has to be seen for it to be fully appreciated in all of its total b-grade cheesiness.Anyways - I guess that I was just expecting a little too much from this film. And so, in the long run, I certainly felt that I got double-crossed and grossly short-changed in the final deal.

kenjha A juvenile delinquent witnesses the murder of his father by mobsters and seeks revenge as an adult. This is a brutal crime drama, with lively direction by Fuller, although he goes a bit overboard with shadows, closeups, and zooms. Robertson is not bad, but seems miscast as the tough guy who, driven by vengeance, singlehandedly takes on the syndicate. The best performances are turned in by the two leading actresses: Dorn (recalling Stella Stevens) as a gangster's moll and Kay (recalling Thelma Ritter) as a mother-figure for Robertson. Also notable are Rust as a ruthless mob henchman and Gates as a federal prosecutor.

MisterWhiplash Writer/director Samuel Fuller is not personally attached to the material he presents in Underworld USA in the sense of it being autobiographical. But it is pretty likely, from listening to interviews with him and just from seeing his other work in the noir-esquire realm of motion pictures, that he knew at least the world these characters are in. Or at least he knows what kinds of emotions and what lies underneath certain aspects of lesser pulp fiction- and has a kind of journalistic sensibility that is all his own, telling it like it is from the mean streets of who-knows. It's got an assured eye working the gears, and it by-passes some usual clichés to get at some more interesting bits within some of the conventions. This is in the bones just a tale of revenge, but Fuller wants the little things and moments that make up such a tale, and how the characters can be more realized than might usually be. I liked, for example, early on when Tolly Devlin is 14 and makes a comment to his mother about something in the middle of their conversation- the mother doesn't say anything, but there's a quick, tight close-up of her face to catch the moment. It actually stuck with me longer than I expected, even as the main parts of the scene went along.Another part that really, really impressed me was when Devlin (Cliff Robertson, not bad at all in a part that gets to stretch his skills somewhat), nearing the end of his prison term, and finally finds one of the men who beat his father to death when he saw when he was 14. The scene is very tense, but somehow very human too, as Tolly has to contend with a dying man that he has to kill with his own hands. Soon, Fuller gets the gears of the story going further, as he vows revenge against the others who committed the crime, making him pull an undercover act to infiltrate the mob to get close to them, particularly Earl Conners (Rober Emhardt, a plum role for him considering all of his TV parts). But he also falls for a woman, Cuddles, played by Dolores Day, and like Fuller's Crimson Kimono, the weight of the main thrust of what Tolly needs is balanced against what he could also have with his possible romantic interest, caught up in the emotional bog he's in.I liked a lot how Robertson tapped well enough into the character to make him plausible, even sympathetic. He understands what Fuller is going for, a slightly more realistic- or more powerful kind of representation in the midst of the hard-boiled dialog and more complicated scenes- as he's playing a character who actually has a past, a childhood shown as shattered and made as the complete context that he has to contend with as an adult, despite women around him telling him otherwise. I still remember plenty of shots in the film too (not the gun-shots, the camera-work I mean), and this is after having seen the film months ago, and the driving musical score from Harry Sukman (a solid Fuller collaborator). That Fuller extracts a good deal of compelling entertainment out of a premise that seems pretty standard and even slight is remarkable, and ranks among the other fine superlative B-movies he was doing at the time.

allar100 Make no mistake, I do recognize that Roger Corman has put out more crap than anybody else out there, but her is the fundamental differance between him and Fuller. Fuller actually writes and directs good films. And I'm not talking about cheesy good pictures, but actually good that if they were made by any more well know director, would be hailed as brillient. Underworld USA is no exception. Fuller takes a simple story and makes it an interesting piece of drama. Personally I would classify this as a film noir, but due to the whole debate of the existence of film noir, I'll call this a drama or neo nior. Anyway, beautiful cinematography as always great script, and good direction. Could have had some better acting, but when you are working on super low budget, and only have 10-15 days to make a film, there are going to be some natural sacrifices. Anyway, must see for Fuller fans.