''Portrait of a Mobster'' is a 1961 American

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Joseph Pevney Joseph Pevney (September 15, 1911 – May 18, 2008) was an American film and television director. Biography Born in New York City, Pevney made his debut in vaudeville as a boy soprano in 1924. Although he hated vaudeville, he loved the thea ...

and starring Vic Morrow, Leslie Parrish and

Ray Danton Ray Danton (born Raymond Caplan; September 19, 1931 – February 11, 1992) was an American radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies ''The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamo ...

repeating his role as 'Legs' Diamond.PORTRAIT OF A MOBSTER, Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 28, Iss. 324, (January 1, 1961): p. 99.

Plot

Up-and-coming racketeer

Dutch Schultz Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. He made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the n ...

joins the

Legs Diamond Jack "Legs" Diamond (possibly born John Thomas Diamond, though disputed; July 10, 1897 – December 18, 1931), also known as John Nolan and Gentleman Jack, was an Irish Americans, Irish-American gangster in Philadelphia and New York City during ...

gang in

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

-era

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. A bootlegger named Murphy is murdered by Dutch, who falls for the dead man's daughter, Iris. Iris marries her fiancé, Frank Brennan, a police detective. They need money and Frank accepts payoffs from Dutch, who is forming a gang of his own. After getting rid of Legs, Mad Dog Coll and others standing in his way, Dutch again makes a play for Iris, but she learns that he killed her father and begins to drink. Frank vows to reform and win her back. Betraying his pal Bo to the mob, Dutch discovers that a hit has been put out on himself as well. While fighting for his life, he is shot by Bo by mistake and is killed.

Cast

* Vic Morrow as

* Leslie Parrish as Iris Murphy * Peter Breck as Frank Brennan *

Norman Alden Norman Alden ( Adelberg; September 13, 1924 – July 27, 2012) was an American character actor who performed in television programs and motion pictures. He first appeared on television on '' The 20th Century Fox Hour'' in 1957. He provided ...

as Bo Wetzel * Robert McQueeney as Michael Ferris * Ken Lynch as Lieutenant D. Corbin * Stephen Roberts as Guthrie * Joseph Gallison as Vincent Coll * Frank DeKova as Anthony Parazzo *

as "Legs" Diamond * Joseph Gallison as "Mad Dog" Coll * Larry J. Blake as John Murphy *

Harry Holcombe Harry John Holcombe (November 11, 1906 – September 15, 1987) was an American actor and radio director. He was perhaps best remembered as the grandfather in the Country Time commercials, playing the role for almost a decade. Holcombe also pla ...

as Capt. Bayridge * Frances Morris as Louise Murphy * Gil Perkins as Joe Murdoch * Jon Kowal asLou Rhodes * Arthur Tenen as Steve Matryck * Eddie Hanley as Matty Krause * Joe Turkel as Joe Noe * Anthony Eisley as Legal Advisor * Poncie Ponce as Master of Ceremonies

Score

Howard Jackson compiled the score from White Heat and four other

Max Steiner Maximilian Raoul Steiner (10 May 1888 – 28 December 1971) was an Austrian composer and conductor who emigrated to America and became one of cinema of the United States, Hollywood's greatest musical composers. Steiner was a child prodi ...

scores.

References

External links

* 1961 films Films directed by Joseph Pevney Warner Bros. films American black-and-white films Films set in the 1920s Films set in New York City Films about Jewish-American organized crime Crime films based on actual events 1961 crime drama films Films about the Irish Mob Cultural depictions of Dutch Schultz Cultural depictions of Legs Diamond Cultural depictions of Mad Dog Coll 1960s English-language films English-language crime drama films {{1960s-crime-drama-film-stub