MissSimonetta Contrary to popular belief, the gangster picture only grew more popular with the coming of sound and did not originate there. Underworld (1927) is not the first gangster movie made in Hollywood but it is one of the most seminal. It brings all the images and tropes we associate with the Jazz Age/Great Depression impression of the genre to the forefront: gunfights in the dark, brassy molls, and speakeasies flowing with booze and jazz music.The story is simple, a love triangle with rather flat characterizations, but it's forgivable because everything is played with such grand style and flair. The performances are strong, with Evelyn Brent, Clive Brook, and the shamefully underrated George Bancroft bringing much to their one-note characters. Von Sternberg's direction and Bert Glennon's cinematography are just gorgeous, elevating the gritty urban setting to almost Gothic levels in the moody black and white lighting.A great gangster flick, one I actually prefer to the Oscar-nominated The Racket from the same year. It has Thomas Meighan, yes, but not nearly as much atmosphere.

kidboots "Underworld" put gangster movies on the map and established Chicago as the city where they all hung out. Ben Hecht had never written a movie before but he based the sparse 18 page synopsis on a dozen years experience on such Chicago dailies as "The Journal", "The Daily News" and "The Tribune". Even though he had had a Broadway flop with "The Egotist" in 1923, his credentials on crime were second to none. Sternberg's and Hecht's Chicago was dreamlike - "a great city in the dead of night". They also both had a hand in Bull Weed's creation - the last of a dying breed of old style gangsters, he didn't seem to have much of a gang, except "Slippy" (Larry Semon, making one of his last screen appearances) and seemed to work alone. The early establishing scenes were probably Hecht's and Bull's fall and redemption were the creation of Sternberg. In the early scenes Bull Weed's capers have an earthy humour that is not exactly in keeping with Sternberg's heavy symbolism. To Hecht and other 1920s press buddies gangsters were there to be cultivated and admired, a gangster pal was almost a status symbol.In the late twenties George Bancroft was every movie goers idea of what a real gangster was like - the hearty handshake, the brutal camaraderie and the cunningness involved in putting a rival gangster "on the spot" - these traits shaped the Bancroft "gangster" and sound added the gruff, rasping voice which perfected his characterization. Unfortunately he started to believe he really was invincible so his star quickly faded.The combined narrative and visuals made an extraordinary impact. Bull Weed is seen by a drunken tramp pulling a robbery at 2 in the morning. "The great Bull Weed closing another account". Bull observes under the tramp's attire that there is a lot of finesse and takes him under his wing. He goes by the name of "Rolls Royce" (Clive Brook) - "I'm a Rolls Royce for silence" but Bull nicknames him "The Professor", puts him up in the old hide-out and easily makes a gentleman of him - "see these books, he's read them all - he likes to read"!!! These crooks look the real deal - rival gang boss Mulligan (Fred Kohlar) is just a seething mass of brutality, he desperately wants to get even with Bull for making him look a fool at a speakeasy when he had been trying to belittle Rolls Royce into picking up a $10 bill he had placed in a spittoon.He now sees his chance at the "Gangster's Ball" when "Feathers" McCoy (Evelyn Brent) is to be crowned queen. The sheer brutality of some of the scenes would have had a shocking impact on audiences of the day, countered with some extraordinary visuals - a robbery that is shown through a jewelry store window and when Bull comes through the darkened door after the violent scene between "Feathers" and Mulligan, just a cloud of smoke in the dark is enough to show Mulligan has got his come-uppance.In the talkies Clive Brook was very "stiff upper lip" and didn't seem to give his roles much dimension but his "Rolls Royce" performance could not be bettered. He is both "Feathers" and Bull's conscience, their better selves and is the reason for "Feathers" redemption. Bull is to be hanged for the murder of Mulligan but the word on the street is that "The Professor" and "Feathers" are pretty hot and heavy. Rolls Royce arranges a breakout which goes wrong. Bull does escape but is left to fight it out in a blazing, bloody battle with the police, his parting words - "It took me one hour to find out what I needed to know my entire life".George Bancroft, Evelyn Brent and Clive Brook were all at the peak of their professional careers at this time. Brent gave most of her characters a sultry, world weary air and she was hotly in demand - before gangster's molls became too cute and wisecracking!!!

timmy_501 There's a card at the start of this that explains that Underworld popularized the gangster film and it's easy to see many of the conventions that would define this popular genre on display here. Von Sternberg's film emphasizes the romantic elements of the criminal lifestyle by minimizing the on screen violence (no innocent victims) and playing up the honor of the thieves with scenes such as the one in which all the city's criminals call a truce and attend a party in formal attire. There's also a love triangle between Bull Weed, the crime boss, his girl Feathers and the bookish alcoholic turned right hand man, Rolls Royce. The film is written by Ben Hecht, who recycled some of these ideas for Scarface a few years later; anyone who has seen that film will remember the sign that reads "The world is yours," which also appears here in slightly less dramatic form as well as scenes involving a gangster holing up in an apartment for a shootout with a huge number of police being common to both. Fortunately, Von Sternberg decided to interfere with Hecht's work, as all indications (especially this film's vast superiority to the later film) point towards his having greatly improved the script. While the story is pretty standard stuff, especially in light of all the familiar gangster films that would come later, Von Sternberg's direction is quite remarkable. The director's previous film The Salvation Hunters (1925) features some ambitious techniques but it also had pacing issues and an abrupt ending, neither of which mar Underworld. This plot unfolds at an admirably even pace, particularly in a scene in which a robbery committed by Bull is edited to intersect with a romantic dalliance between Rolls Royce and Feathers. Then there are the experimental/Impressionistic techniques Von Sternberg utilizes such as a shot from Rolls Royce's perspective, some superimpositions, and a quick montage at a party, all of which greatly complement the action without calling too much attention to themselves. Even at this early stage in his career, Von Sternberg was known for his sense of composition and mastery of visual techniques, both of which are in full effect here. This great film has recently become available on DVD from Criterion, with a really impressive transfer, a choice between two scores: one jaunty and upbeat and the other more somber, and a nice "visual essay" by UCLA professor Janet Bergstrom providing some historical context. Highly recommended.

rdjeffers Monday, October 18, 7pm, The Paramount, Seattle"Attila, the Hun, at the gates of Rome." A drunk (Clive Brook) stumbles onto a bank robbery "...in the dead of night" and the gangster committing the crime snatches him from the street. Impressed by his resolute character when humiliated and threatened with violence, Bull Weed (George Bancroft) nicknames the derelict "Rolls Royce" and offers to put him "on his feet." The gangster's moll Feathers (Evelyn Brent) and his new man fall in love and engage in a struggle over happiness, or loyalty to their friend, as the coming battle envelops them.Film critic Andrew Sarris described the setting of Underworld, directed by master realist Josef von Sternberg, as "festive criminality." Brook delivers a career performance as the sage with nothing to lose, opposite Bancroft's archetypal thug. Comedian Larry Semon is also featured in a rare dramatic role. Based on an original story by Hollywood legend Ben Hecht Underworld won the first Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.