''Underworld U.S.A.'' (also known as ''Underworld USA'') is a 1961 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

crime film produced, written, and directed by Samuel Fuller. It tells the story of a 14-year-old boy who goes to enormous lengths to get revenge against the

mobsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization a ...

who beat his father to death. It stars

Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 19 ...

Dolores Dorn Dolores Dorn (March 3, 1934 – October 5, 2019) was an American film and television actress, who was the co-star of '' The Bounty Hunter'' (1954), ''Uncle Vanya'' (1957), ''Underworld U.S.A.'' (1961), and several other films through 1985. On ...

, and

Beatrice Kay Beatrice Kay (April 21, 1907– November 8, 1986) was an American singer, vaudevillian, music hall performer, and stage and film actress. Background Born in New York City as Hannah Beatrice Kuper, Kay performed as Honey Kuper and Honey Day fo ...

Plot

The 14-year-old Tolly Devlin and his mother figure (Beatrice Kay) see four hoods beat his father to death. Tolly vows to avenge his father, but he discovers that Farrar, the one perpetrator he recognized when his father was being beaten, has been arrested and imprisoned for life. Tolly becomes a petty criminal and safecracker. Many years later, during a stint in prison, Tolly discovers that Farrar is on his deathbed in the prison medical ward. Tolly manipulates his way into the room and tricks Farrar into revealing the names of the other three killers before he dies. The remaining killers have risen to be powerful lieutenants in the crime syndicate, so Tolly works his way into their organization. In the process, he saves and then begins a romance with a low-level syndicate money-runner named Cuddles (Dolores Dorn). Becoming a secret informant for the police, Tolly ends up playing both sides in his cagey campaign to bring down the remaining mobsters. Tolly's machinations convince syndicate boss Connors to have each of the three lieutenants murdered by the syndicate's ruthless assassin, Gus. Having accomplished his goal, Tolly plans to go straight and marry Cuddles. The police warn him that without bringing down Connors, he has no chance of getting out alive, but Tolly does not believe them. As Tolly prepares to leave, Gus arrives and informs him that Connors has assigned them to kill Cuddles and several other innocent witnesses. Tolly realizes that Connors must be stopped. He knocks out Gus and turns him in to the police, and then confronts Connors and his men. Tolly kills Connors, but is shot during the struggle. He stumbles into an alley and dies.

Cast

as Tolly Devlin *

as Cuddles *

as Sandy *

Paul Dubov Paul Dubov (October 10, 1918 – September 20, 1979) was an American radio, film and television actor as well as screenwriter. He frequently appeared in the works of Sam Fuller. Among Dubov's radio credits include the 05/02/1953 episode of Guns ...

as Gela *

Robert Emhardt Robert Emhardt (July 24, 1914 – December 26, 1994) was an American character actor who worked on stage, in film and on television. Emhardt was frequently cast as a villain, often a crooked businessman or corrupt politician. Early years E ...

as Earl Connors * Larry Gates as John Driscoll * Richard Rust as Gus Cottahee * Gerald Milton as Gunther * Allan Gruener as Smith

Production

Producer

Ray Stark Raymond Otto Stark (October 3, 1915 – January 17, 2004) was one of the most successful and prolific independent film producers in postwar Hollywood. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most ...

asked Fuller to write and direct a film based on the title of a magazine article written by Joseph F. Dinneen. Fuller also was inspired by a book, ''Here Is to Crime'', by newspaperman Riley Cooper.Fuller, Samuel. ''A Third Face'', Pages 383-384. Alfred A Knopf (2002). An opening scene with a ''Union of Prostitutes'' was deleted by Sam Briskin and other Columbia executives. Fuller's character Tolly is a loner motivated by revenge using the United States government and his own devices to even the score. Fuller heard the reaction of a real-life gangster who reportedly said, "If only ''my'' son would have that kind of affection for ''me''!".

Reception

Critical response

Film critic Dennis Schwartz liked the film, and wrote, "Samuel Fuller's revenge crime thriller is shot in the same brisk and violent manner he shoots his war films. The timely crime film hopes to cash in on the public's thirst for mob stories, as it takes place after the well-covered mob gathering in Apalachin, New York; Fuller based his film on a series of ''exposé'' articles in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'' ... Fuller's violent noir film shows the inhumanity of the soldiers in the war on crime, where neither the syndicate or Tolly react with basic human responses. Their drive to succeed overrides everything, even love. The

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

is shown as stymied without the help of the public coming forth with information or willing to act as witnesses despite the risks, but the lawmen do not play fair by not telling how dangerous it is to be a witness against the mob."

Legacy

A wanted poster of Tolly Devlin appears in a police station in Columbia's film of ''

Sail a Crooked Ship ''Sail a Crooked Ship'' is a 1961 American black-and-white comedy heist film starring Robert Wagner, Dolores Hart, Carolyn Jones, Frankie Avalon, Ernie Kovacs and Frank Gorshin. It was directed by Irving Brecher and was based on the 1960 novel of ...

'' (1961).

Preservation

The

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

preserved ''Underworld U.S.A.'' in 2000.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Samuel Fuller 1961 films 1960s crime thriller films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures films 1960s English-language films Films about organized crime in the United States Films based on newspaper and magazine articles Films directed by Samuel Fuller Films scored by Harry Sukman American neo-noir films 1960s American films