The Mob
directed by Robert Parrish
directed by Robert Parrish
This 1951 film is more crime film than noir. The leading man, Broderick Crawford, was a tad overweight, had a drinking problem, and wasn't handsome or dashing. Crawford was however a fine actor who, despite being in B-films or secondary roles for much of his career, won the Oscar for Best Actor in the 1949 movie, All The King's Men, where he played a thinly veiled fictionalized version of Louisiana governor Huey Long.
Crawford brought energy and intelligence to his roles. Crawford's hangdog looks could evoke audience sympathy, even when he was playing bad guys.
In The Mob , Crawford is Johnny Damico, a homicide detective in an unnamed city, who wants his jeweler to lower the price for a engagement ring for Johnny's fiancee, Mary (Betty Buehler). The jeweler is initially unmoved by Johnny's pleas but finally gives Johnny a slight discount for Mary's sake.
It's a rainy night. There is a shooting. Johnny orders the man with the gun in his hand to drop it. The man complies but says he's a cop and holds up a valid detective's badge.
Johnny relaxes and checks on the dead man, who the other detective says was a criminal. The other detective leaves to report the shooting while a crowd gathers. Critically, Johnny never sees the other detective's face.
After verifying the man lying in a pool of blood is indeed dead, Johnny goes to compare notes with the other cop only to learn the detective has vanished. According to the shopkeeper the detective didn't use the phone but just left.
The man who displayed the detective badge was no detective.
The dead man was a witness against the mob.
The fake detective was a mob killer who only had a detective's badge because he had murdered that detective the same night. Damico let a murderer AND cop-killer walk free. And Damico can't even identify the man.
Obviously the police commissioner and Damico's direct boss are upset with him. After some yelling, some snide comments about Damico's intelligence, and some more yelling, they have a new assignment for Damico.
What do you know about the waterfront, Damico?
Not very much sir.
That doesn't surprise me at all.
Damico will go undercover in New Orleans with a newly created criminal resume that should satisfy any nosy criminals.
After proving his bona fides, Damico will return and get longshoreman waterfront employment as tough guy "Tim Flynn". As Flynn, Damico will work his way up the ladder and identify the waterfront boss. The cops think Mr. Big is somebody named Blackie Clegg (Matt Crowley) but that's all they know.
Damico must survive by his wits while battling corrupt brutal cops, headstrong thugs, rival agencies, cryptic bartenders, competitive co-workers, and suspicious mobsters who think they can sniff out informers or agents. I liked the ending but this is not the genre's best.
The Mob has comedy. It also featured future luminaries such as Ernest Borgnine, Neville Brand, and Charles Bronson. Damico can be a sad sack but he never stops trying, making him the hero.
