Underworld U.S.A.

Black and white, 35 mm
USA, 1961, 99 min
Section: Tribute to Samuel Fuller

Synopsis

At the end of the 1950s Columbia Studios approached Sam Fuller about shooting a film based on a newspaper article that had caught the eye of producer Ray Stark. The story was about gangsters expanding their sphere of activity beyond the borders of New York and Chicago, but what especially intrigued Fuller was the fact that important members of the gang had transformed themselves from brutal cut-throats into model citizens who pay their taxes on time. This fundamental shift in the criminals’ approach to their livelihoods corresponds to the two decades separating the moment when young Tolly Devlin witnesses the brutal murder of his father and the moment when, after years spent in correctional institutions, adult Tolly (Cliff Robertson) is ready to exact revenge on the trio of killers, today feared leaders of the underworld. In the context of Fuller’s filmography, this dark gangster saga is considered something of a continuation of Pickup on South Street, not only where character typology is concerned (the arrogant, asocial lead who goes exclusively after his own goals), but also through the depiction of violence beyond what was common at the time the films were made. Fuller presents his story of revenge, prophetically set in an impersonal world where organized crime is tantamount to a legitimate business, in his typical style – a left hook to the senses via aggressive camera movements and spellbinding black-and-white visual compositions.