Underworld (1960)

Movie
German title	Underworld
Original title	Murder Inc.
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1960
length	103 minutes
Rod
Director	Burt Balaban Stuart Rosenberg
script	Mel Barr Irve Tunick Burton Turkus Sid Feather
production	Burt Balaban
music	Frank De Vol
camera	Gayne Rescher
cut	Ralph Rosenblum
occupation
Stuart Whitman : Joey Collins May Britt : Eadie Collins Henry "Harry" Morgan : Burton Turkus Peter Falk : Abe Reles David J. Stewart : Lepke Simon Oakland : Lt. Detective William Flaherty Tobin Sarah Vaughan : nightclub singer Morey Amsterdam : Walter Sage Eli Mintz : Joe Rosen Joseph Bernard : Mendy Weiss Warren Finnerty : Bug Workman Vincent Gardenia : Lazlo Helen Waters : Mrs. Rose Corsi Leon B. Stevens : Loughran Howard Smith : Albert Anastasia

Underworld is an American feature film from 1960. The film describes the story of the real Murder, Inc. , an organization of contract killers that carried out murders for the National Crime Syndicate . Stuart Whitman , May Britt , Henry Morgan , Peter Falk , and Simon Oakland play the most important roles. Peter Falk was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in this film .

action

Abe Reles and Bug Workman, two New York hit men of Jewish origin from the Brownsville district of Brooklyn , meet the high-ranking gangster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter , who recruits them as hit men for the National Crime Syndicate.

The first job is the murder of Walter Sag, a hotelier who refused to pass profits from gambling machines on to Lepke. Reles forces singer Joey Collins to help him get close to Sage. Reles and his companion murder Sage. Reles threatens Joey and his wife Eadie, who witnessed the murder. Reles later brutally raped Eadie.

Reles committed further murders for Lepke in the following years. Prosecutor Burton Turkus manages to get some witnesses to testify against the gangsters, which causes Reles to get scared too. To avoid the execution, he decides to give evidence as well. Reles is taken into protective custody, but the murderers manage to get into his room and throw him out the window, which causes his death. On the basis of his and other witness statements, Lepke can ultimately be sentenced and executed.

background

• Falk plays Abe Reles , a hit man who probably murdered 30 people without ever being convicted. For Falk the role meant a career breakthrough.

• The film Der Tiger (The Enforcer) with Humphrey Bogart , who dealt with Murder, Inc. , had already been shot in 1951 .

Reviews

• The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther wrote a negative review of the film. He only took Peter Falk's performance out of criticism. The pace of the narration is too lengthy and the film as a whole is boring

• In 2005, film expert John McCarty praised Peter Falk's performance. Falk would dominate the film as Daniel Day-Lewis would dominate Gangs of New York .

Film awards and nominations

Falk was nominated for the Oscar for best supporting actor, but had to admit defeat to Peter Ustinov (in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus ).

Web links

• Underworld in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Murder Inc. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved June 4, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Murders In The United States: Crimes, Killers And Victims Of The Twentieth Century . McFarland & Company ,, ISBN 0-7864-2075-8 .
3. ^ Peter Falk : Just One More Thing . Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2006, p. 76.
4. ↑ Bosley Crowther : Screen: 'Murder, Inc.': Story of Brooklyn Mob Retold at the Victoria . In: The New York Times , June 29, 1960. Retrieved January 31, 2009. 
5. ^ John McCarty: Bullets Over Hollywood: The American Gangster Picture from the Silents to "The Sopranos". Da Capo Press, 2005, ISBN 0-306-81429-3 , pp. 212-213.
6. ^ 1960 Academy Award Winners . In: Filmsite.org . Retrieved February 2, 2009.