The Gangster (1947)

Overrated and overhyped

Best movie ever!

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It doesn't happen very often, but it did here. The film's narrator and principal character, self-described crime kingpin Shubunka portrayed by Barry Sullivan, winds up dead at the end of the picture. How he gets to tell his story is a bit of a disconnect, but if that's something you can overlook, the ride is worth it.One never knows what you'll get with one of these Poverty Row efforts but this one looks like a keeper, due principally to it's great black and white photography, noir elements and a rather fine supporting cast. Shubunka himself is a conflicted fellow, one might even go so far as to say a bit unbalanced. The overbearing relationship he has with girlfriend Nancy Starr (Belita) contributes to his eventual undoing, though I'm inclined to believe it would have happened anyway, with or without her falling in with rival gangster Cornell (Sheldon Leonard).There's a puzzling side story involving Harry Morgan's soda jerk character Shorty wooing the older Mrs. Olga Ostroleng, her marital status perhaps kept purposely dubious. Shorty's proclamations of worldly conquests fall flat when he fails to win even the slightest peck on the cheek from the frumpy older woman. Unceremoniously dumped by Olga into the alley out her back door, Shorty's fate portends the downfall of the rest of the losers of Neptune Beach, including soda shop owner Jammey (Akim Tamiroff) and gambler Karty (John Ireland), as well as Shubunka himself. For old time cinema fans, stay alert and you'll catch Shelley Winters as the replacement cashier at the soda shop looking completely disinterested in what her boss Jammey has to say.

Smalltime gangster feels heat of competition, while romancing showgirl.The most interesting thing about this crime drama are the visuals. Director Wiles goes all out with the stylized sets—the beachfront, the elevated train, the complex interiors, et al. I guess that's not surprising given his background as an art director. Apparently the King Brothers let him do pretty much what he wanted even on the small budget. The result is arty, but interesting. Then too, maybe you can take those stylized sets as mirroring Shubunka's inner state since he seems not too far from the nuthouse to begin with.Sullivan certainly looks the gangster part. With his high cheekbones and gimlet eyes, he's scary even without the big scar. Plus, he's about as cold and animated as a block of ice. Sullivan's a fine actor so that is no accident, but the characterization seems too extreme to involve us in his fate. On the other hand, Loring's semi-pretty working girl comes across well, as does Belita's glamour girl with her odd facial resemblance to noir icon Gloria Grahame. Like another reviewer, I'm a bit stumped by the seemingly unnecessary subplot with Morgan and D'Orsay. At first I thought the producers probably owed D'Orsay something so she got a tacked-on part. But then I noticed a parallel between Morgan's narcissistic Lothario and Sullivan's narcissistic gangster. Each appears imprisoned by his own limitations. Notice too that Morgan appears trapped by a jail-like fence following D'Orsay' rejection, a possible foreshadowing of Sullivan's downfall. Anyway, it's a thought. But what I really like about the script is how Sullivan's indifference toward Ireland's desperate gambler brings about his own end— a nicely ironic touch. Also, note how the entrepreneurial criminal operations are tied in with corruption at higher levels of politics and big money. That seems unsurprising since both screenwriter Fuchs and the uncredited Trumbo were later blacklisted. In fact, noir appears the favorite genre of many leftist screenwriters, perhaps because of the potential for unhappy endings in a capitalist society.Nonetheless, the movie as a whole comes across more as an object of contemplation than of audience immersion, but certainly continues to have its points of interest.

As a film noir entousiasme, I don't rate this film on the top ten of the genre. But it has some moments. Some great shots by Cinematographer Paul Ivano that would deserve being laminated and hanged on a wall. I'll let you notice them. Also check out a young 24 years old Shelley Winter with a 10 seconds scene as a waitress. In brief a movie carried by cinematography more than acting, by atmosphere more than by a script.

Occasionally Allied Artists was able to produce a first rate serious film unrelated to their usual formularized output.'The Gangster' is an unconventional crime picture that concentrates on the latter end of a racketeer's career,the effects rather than the causes of his persona,his neighborhood of operations,and the people who have been corrupted by his contact. As the protagonist Barry Sullivan essays a suitably morose,hardened individual driven by desperation to hold onto his rapidly crumbling kingdom.Desperate too are the pathetic bystanders who will be effected if this petty prince of rackets should fall to the machinations of a rival mob.Belita is a fashion socialite whom Sullivan uses but cannot love.Akim Tamiroff is terrific as the owner of a seemingly innocuous ice-cream parlor where Sullivan's influence has set in motion the tragic events that follow.Also well-cast are Joan Lorring as an adoring counter girl,John Ireland as a hooked gambler,Harry Morgan as an amusing soda-jerk,and every film buff's "favorite" New York thug,Sheldon Leonard as the leader of the new mob organization.