Underworld (1927-28)

 

Underworld is a film about jealousy and rivalry and redemption, all couched within the tale of the world of gangsters in Chicago. By the way, it’s not one of the films within the more recent series about a war between vampires and werewolves that, astonishingly, already has five episodes! No, this 1927 film with the same title tells the story of the weirdly nicknamed “Bull” Weed, who fancies himself the king of the underworld. He faces off against his rival, the also strangely nicknamed “Buck” Mulligan, who always wears a flower in his lapel from his florist shop. Bull rescues an alcoholic former lawyer from being ridiculed by Buck, and the lawyer, nicknamed “Rolls Royce,” sobers up and starts helping Bull in his campaign to take control of the city. In case you don’t think there are enough silly nicknames yet, meet Bull’s girlfriend, “Feathers,” who always has some feathers attached to some part of her wardrobe. I suppose it’s an easy way to remember a character, but there aren’t truly all that many that you’d need to recall in order to follow the plot. Bull (played with scenery chewing intensity by George Bancroft) gets convicted of murdering Buck for trying to assault Feathers, and while he’s in prison waiting for his execution, Feathers (the lovely and understated Evelyn Brent) and Rolls Royce (the suave and handsome Clive Brook) become romantically involved. This, despite, Rolls Royce’s assertion to her that “I’m not interested in women,” a claim he seems to back up by having quite a few affectations that are rather clearly coded as being gay at the time. Lots of accusations of infidelity and betrayal follow, but the ending is almost pure Hollywood and, frankly, a bit of a letdown after what has transpired in the 80 minutes or so of the film. Underworld features the beautiful cinematography that’s become associated with the movies of director Josef von Sternberg. He was masterful at using close-ups and two shots, a talent he would use to great effect in his films with the luminous Marlene Dietrich. One montage in this early gangster film shows a series of faces of drunken revelers at the criminals’ annual ball, a strange event indeed, and we get a brief glimpse into the psyche of each participant on the screen. The closeups of the three leads (Bancroft, Brent, and Brook) also give each of them moments to shine even though they do seem to embody rather different acting styles. Movies like Underworld helped to create the template for later gangster films, and you can see echoes of its influence all the way through to the film noir of the 1940s and 1950s.

Oscar Win: Best Original Story