Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Spikeopath The Mob is directed by Robert Parish and adapted to screenplay by William Bowers from the novel written by Ferguson Findley. It stars Broderick Crawford, Betty Buehler, Richard Kiley, Otto Hulett, Matt Crowley, Neville Brand, Ernest Borgnine and Jean Alexander. Music is by George Duning and cinematography by Joseph Walker.Cop Johnny Damico (Crawford) is fooled by a mob killer during the slaying of a witness and is chastised by his superiors. Sent undercover to infiltrate the waterfront organisation to flush out the killer, Damico faces danger at every turn.He's a cop who is hell bent on atoning for what could basically be a career ruining error. It's this core essence that really oils the pistons of this tough and under seen slice of crime cinema. Awash with characters so shifty it's hard to locate a moral compass in the mix, director Robert Parrish (Cry Danger) takes a standard under cover plot and elevates it to a riveting tale of corruption, paranoia and the search for redemption at any cost.William Bowers' script positively pings with the sort of dialogue you could cut a joint of beef with, with most of it spat from the mouth of the excellent Crawford. No matter what the situation, what the danger, Damico has a quip or a put down to always exude a calm and carefree menace, he literally is a sardonic miserablist who is unflappable. It's a wonderful characterisation that's helped enormously by a screenplay that contains some surprises, with a nifty plot line standing out that sees Damico hired by the mob to enact a hit on himself! Wonderful.Parrish keeps the atmosphere side of things on the boil, always ensuring that Damico could be snuffed out at any moment, while Walker's (The Velvet Touch) photography is tight to the plotting. Around Crawford are a raft of familiar faces from film noir, with the villain roll call considerably boosted by Borgine and Brand. From the quite excellent opening murder played out in the nighttime rain, story unfolds in a whirl of sarcasm, set-ups, machismo, stand-offs and mobster machinations. The Mob, under seen and under valued, add it to your "to see lists", especially if you be a fan of Brod Crawford. 8/10

ccthemovieman-1 This was a good film because (1) it was fairly fast-moving; (2) had some humorous and clever dialog; (3) was nicely photographed; (4) and had solid acting. It's tough to ask for a whole lot more.I'm surprised this film has never been issued on VHS or DVD, at least not to my knowledge. It has well-known actors: Broderick Crawford, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Kiley, Neville Brand and others.The beginning was very original. Our cop hero, "Johnny Damico" (Crawford) comes across a killing and stops a man in the pouring rain who is standing over a dead body. The upright man has a gun in his hand. Damico stops him, but the man pleads "Don't shoot; I'm a cop" and shows him his badge. "Okay," says Damico, and hands the man back his badge and gun. He then tells him to go over to the nearby drug store and phone this one in while he stays with the body. That's the last our man sees the "cop" who, it turns out, had a fake badge and really was the killer. Unfortunately, the good guy never really got much of a look on the bad guy, too.Damico, being spared walking the beat for the rest of his life or being demoted to kindergarten monitor - or just plain being kicked out of the force for his (understandable) mistake - is given the option of atoning by infiltrating the local longshoreman's union and getting the goods on the big mobster in town. That part is nothing new in films but it was interesting to see how Crawford talked his way deeper and deeper into the mob.Also, the characters in this film were colorful. The amount of wisecracks, insults and the like also added greatly to the enjoyment of this film. There were excellent film-noir-type lines in here.Yet, this movie had more of a straight drama or crime film than "noir." The only thing that was odd was when one of the "dames" in here told Crawford a couple of times how cute he was. Broderick Crawford "cute?" Now, there's a first!

John T. Ryan Broderick Crawford won the Oscar for Best Performance for ALL THE KING'S MEN(Columbia, 1949). This crime drama, THE MOB, was undoubtedly planned as a vehicle tailor made for him. We see that this film is classified as Film Noir, of which it does seem to have the dark, brooding and the impossible situations for there to be any successful conclusion/happy ending. But this ending is sort of up beat, and it's even one that would fit as the fade-out finale of one of the Chester Morris/Columbia Pictures' BOSTON BLACKIE entries.The beginning of the movie is done in a somewhat slowly revealing, deliberate and methodical scene that keeps the audience guessing about the integrity of main character,Police Detective,Johnny Damico(Broderick Crawford). His quick paced banter with a jeweler over a diamond ring and its value is just vague enough to lead us to believing It to be some sort of shady deal. Ultimately we learn that Det. Damico and Mr.Jeweler are well acquainted, even friends. The Detective is shown to be a man and an Officr of the Law who has good, decent beliefs and behaviour.Quite by accident, Det. Damico runs into an on-view shooting. The shooter identifies self as a Police Detective Lieutennant and presents Shield and ID to Damico. It is dark, rainy and the "Lieutennant" manages to split from the scene.After all is found out, the Police Commissioner assigns the Detective to go underground to ferret out the cause of recent killings, including including that of the real Police Lt. whose shield was used by the unknown killer.At this point, the story really takes off as Damico feigns the role of a trouble making bad guy from New Orleans. The undercover role takes him to the Waterfront and taking the position as a Longshoreman.Now at this point, it appears that the film was a story of Labor Racketeering and the corruption that flows from the scene of such an unsavory operation. It sort of resembles, ever so briefly, the not yet made ON THE WATERFRONT(Columbia,1954).But no dice, once again the Director and production shifts gears and the storyline skews toward resemblance to the Detective Stories that populated the Pulp Magazines and those Radio Dramas which were adapted from the Pulps.Once again, we see a variant on the theme as the new source of inspiration appears to be the Comic Book cops-n-robbers story as exemplified by Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT.* The chase and the eventual revealing of the Hide-Out HQ and, especially the true identity of the Underworld big shot are especially reminiscent of an Eisner written and illustrated story.But, then again, we see another aspect of this story in the inclusion of some ultra modern,"Super Scientific",electronic crime-bustin' technology. They seem to take a queue from the James Cagney starring film, WHITE HEAT (Warner Brothers 1949). At a late point in the story, tracking a vehicle via the use of infra red light and pinpointing a location by radio Tri Angulation is introduced.The film has an interesting cast of people who DON'T look like movie stars. They look very ordinary and much like a cast of characters that you would see in the real world. But that does not mean that there was not talent on display. The Acting Abilities of the cast members are super abundant, as shown by the rise in prominence of so many of the players in the subsequent years.So, we are treated to performances by the likes of: Mary Kierman, Richard Kiley,Otto Hulett,Matt Crowley**,Neville Brand, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Frank DeKova, Lawrence Dobkin and others.And, please don't you think that it the purpose of this writer to pan or degrade this film, far from it. The only thing that I can say is: "Hey 'MOB', where have you been all my Life?"* Much like THE SPIRIT, this offers its moments of levity and the Story is propelled along at a good clip, powered by some clever, witty and even funny dialog.** Is this the same Matt Crowley who enjoyed a fine career as a Radio Actor, portraying among others, BUCK ROGERS? ADDENDUM: 9/23/09. The answer is (after all this time is a most emphatic "YES!" It turns out that the multi-media actor was active in Radio (BUCK ROGERS), the Movies (THE MOB), Broadway Stage (THE FRONT PAGE)as well as a multitude of TV Shots too numerous to list here.

wes-connors Broderick Crawford is terrific as a police detective going undercover as a longshoreman. The film begins with Mr. Crawford, while off-duty, investigating a shooting; when he arrives, he's told to watch the victim by another detective - only to be left holding the victim (so to speak). After his "error", he is assigned to undercover as longshoreman at a mob-infested dock, and locate dangerous mob boss "Blackie".On the docks, the film really takes off - the story gets very exciting, with hardly a misstep. The camera is a sharp match for the players and script. Note, Ernest Borgnine throws a swell party. Broderick says "Oh, please…" like he was born yesterday. "The Mob" has enough twists and turns to keep the interest brewing... to a tight ending. ******* The Mob (1951) Robert Parrish ~ Broderick Crawford, Richard Kiley, Ernest Borgnine