The Mob (1951)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Robert Parrish

Writers:

William Bowers (writer)
Ferguson Findley (novel)

Release Date:

17 October 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

The coldest crew since "The killers"

Plot:

Police detective Damico, outwitted by mob killer Blackie Clay, is nominally suspended; actually he goes undercover (as Tim Flynn...

Plot Keywords:

Undercover | Gangster | Murder | Dockyard | Based On Novel

Cast

Broderick Crawford	...	Johnny Damico
Betty Buehler	...	Mary Kiernan
Richard Kiley	...	Thomas 'Tom' Clancy
Otto Hulett	...	Police Lt. Banks
Matt Crowley	...	Smoothie, Bartender / Blackie Clegg
Neville Brand	...	Gunner, Castro henchman
Ernest Borgnine	...	Joe Castro
Walter Klavun	...	Police Sgt. Bennion
Lynn Baggett	...	Mrs. Peggy Clancy (as Lynne Baggett)
Jean Alexander	...	Doris Clancy
Ralph Dumke	...	Police Commissioner
John Marley	...	Tony

Also Known As:

Remember That Face (UK)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:(Banned) (1952) | Sweden:15

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In scenes set in a pawn shop and an all-night diner (apparently shot in interiors on standing street sets), actors' frosty breath can be seen even though they're supposed to be inside real businesses that would presumably have been heated.

Quotes:

Johnny Damico: Who are the girls?
Thomas Clancy: Would you know any more if I gave you the names? They're women.

Good quality cops vs. mob picture

Consistent with its simplistic title, "The Mob" is a straightforward cops vs. mob story starring the reliably tough Broderick Crawford. He goes undercover among the longshoremen after being 'suspended' from his police-detective job. He's trying to find the big cheese controlling extortion and payoffs on the docks, and meets up with several shady (or actually criminal) characters along the way. Crawford is his usual no-nonsense self, working his way into the scene with an abrasive coating over a good-cop personality. Neville Brand and Ernest Borgnine have a few scenes as mobsters, and Crawford's dockside pal is played by Richard Kiley. The only confusing part for me was that the TCM description stated that Crawford's character goes "from California to New Orleans" to discover the mob crime, but as far as I can tell, he leaves "town" (wherever that is) briefly, then returns by ship in his undercover mode to the place where he started. Overall, a good-quality crime-fighter movie, worth watching on Saturday night for a B/W movie fan.