Underworld (1927)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Underworld |
| Original title | Underworld |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1927 |
| length | 105 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Josef von Sternberg |
| script |
Charles Furthman Howard Hawks Robert N. Lee Josef von Sternberg |
| production | Hector Turnbull |
| music | Robert Israel |
| camera | Bert Glennon |
| cut | E. Lloyd Sheldon |
| occupation | |
| |
Underworld is an American drama from 1927. The screenplay of the silent film is based on a story by Ben Hecht .
action
Bull Weed is a well-known criminal and king of the underworld. On the run after a bank robbery, he meets the alcoholic and ex-lawyer Rolls Royce, whom he gets a job and takes him off the street. When there is a confrontation with the quick-tempered gangster Buck Mulligan, Bull Weed stands protectively in front of his pupils. Gradually, Rolls Royce is privy to the criminal machinations and becomes Bull Weed's right-hand man. With cunning and cunning, the two try to blame Buck Mulligan for an attack on a jeweler. Rolls Royce keeps the keys and guards the gangster's hideout, which is equipped with a secret passage, where he sometimes has to keep Bull Weed's friend Feathers company. The two fall in love.
At a big ball of the underworld greats, Rolls Royce dances with Feathers without being asked and angered his mentor. Buck Mulligan later tries to rape Feathers. Bull Weed rescues his fiancée and pursues and kills Mulligan. He is arrested and sentenced to death for the murder. Although after Bull Weed's death the way would be free for a future together for Feathers and Rolls Royce, the two decide to remain loyal and plan a rescue operation. This plan fails, however, and Bull Weed believes it has been betrayed by his two closest confidants. He can free himself, rushes to the hiding place and wants revenge on both of them. The unsuspecting Feathers leads the police to the hideout, where there is a violent shooting. However, the entrenched Bull Weed and Feathers cannot escape, as only Rolls Royce has the key to the secret passage. When Rolls Royce appears, he is shot by the rampaging Bull Weed, but manages to get into the hiding place unnoticed by the police. Bull Weed realizes that the two didn't want to betray him and decides to surrender. Before that, he enables Rolls Royce and Feathers to escape through the secret passage.
criticism
The lexicon of the international film about the film: “Early gangster film with melodramatic accents, in which a gangster is portrayed as an outcast and a loser for the first time. Less interested in harshness and brutality than in conveying feelings and the fear of loneliness, which makes it appear extremely differentiated and almost 'modern' even today. "
Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times praised the extraordinary presentation. The film is imperative.
Dave Kehr from Chicago Reader thinks the film is a milestone, an effective piece of work.
Channel 4 sees the film as a great silent film with a considerable influence on the crime dramas of the early 1930s.
Awards
At the first Academy Awards in 1929 , Ben Hecht was awarded the Oscar for Best Original Story.
background
The world premiere took place on August 20, 1927. The film was first shown in Germany in 1928. After the Second World War he appeared on February 1, 1969 in a TV premiere on the third program of the WDR .
Original director Arthur Rossen has been fired from Paramount Pictures . Josef von Sternberg was hired as a replacement. The studio expected the film to be a failure. Ben Hecht did not want to have his name mentioned either. But word of mouth made the film a hit.
Web links
- Underworld in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Underworld. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Critique of the New York Times (Eng.)
- ↑ Critique of the Chicago Reader
- ↑ Review of Channel 4 (Eng.)
- ↑ Entry in the IMDb