I was in the mood for a classic black-and-white film noir that I hadn’t seen and selected Underworld USA (1961) because it was a Samuel Fuller film (of Pickup On South Street and Shock Corridor), which he directed, wrote and produced. On a New Year’s Eve in the back alleys of a city, a young delinquent named Tolly watches his criminal father get beaten to death by four men, represented in trademark noir lighting by a shadowy scene of violence cast against a wall. As Tolly grows up from orphanages to prisons being a safe cracker, played now by Cliff Robertson, his quest for revenge takes shape when he meets one of the killers in prison. This sets him up upon release for a plan where he inserts himself into the criminal organisation of dope pushers and vice while manipulating the gang leaders and the district attorney investigating them, all of which is to serve his own form of retribution. This is the youngest I’ve seen Cliff Robertson as a lead in movies and he gives the character a charismatic though mean and surly kick. Beatrice Kay plays his father’s girlfriend who is the only thing he has close to family, Dolores Dorn is an alcoholic dame who is mixed up with the gang, and Larry Gates is the DA out to legally bring the organisation to justice. Richard Rust also makes an impression as the outfit’s hitman who usually puts on his shades before he kills someone. Even though the film is from the early 60s, there’s still a charge and aura of menace to the violence (it was still Rated R in Australia). Fuller keeps it moving, using effective camera moves and close ups to give scenes an impact, and often drawing on ironic juxtaposition with advertising slogans (“Clean sports make for a clean America”). A satisfying thriller with effective characterisation and a documentary feel in some moments, which threatens to stray into ‘war on crime’ propaganda but never does due to the dark revenge mission of the main character. Rented on iTunes. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 