The Gangster
| The Gangster | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Gordon Wiles |
| Produced by |
Frank King Maurice King |
| Written by | Daniel Fuchs |
| Screenplay by | Daniel Fuchs Dalton Trumbo |
| Based on | Low Company |
| Starring |
Barry Sullivan Belita Joan Lorring Akim Tamiroff |
| Music by | Louis Gruenberg |
| Cinematography | Paul Ivano |
| Edited by | Walter A. Thompson |
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Production
company |
King Brothers Productions
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| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Gangster (aka Low Company) is a 1947 American crime film noir directed by Gordon Wiles. The drama features Barry Sullivan, Belita, Joan Lorring and Akim Tamiroff. The screenplay was written by Daniel Fuchs, based on his novel Low Company (1937).
Shubunka is a racketeer, at odds with Cornell, a rival. Shubunka has a girlfriend, Nancy Starr, a showgirl, and offers protection to a New York beachfront cafe owned by Nick Jammey.
A regular customer, Karty, has gambling debts and has stolen money from his brothers-in-law's garage. He begs Shubunka for help but is refused. Dorothy, the cafe's cashier, quits her job, disillusioned by Shubunka's involvement in the rackets and concern for no one but himself.
Cornell wants to take over Shubunka's rackets. Jammey gives him inside information on Shubunka's organization. After a couple of Cornell's men beat him up on a picnic, Shubunka angrily accuses Nancy of having him set up. Karty has disappeared, meantime, but when his frantic wife appeals to Shubunka for help, he again infuriates Dorothy by saying no.
Karty gets into a fight with Jammey at the cafe and accidentally kills him with a skillet. Cornell mistakenly believes Shubunka to be responsible and goes after him. This time Nancy does betray Shubunka, having been bribed with a Broadway stage offer by Cornell.
Shubunka runs to Dorothy for help, but she declines, calling it just deserts for his unwillingness to help anyone else. With nowhere to hide, Shubunka is killed by Cornell in the street, just before the police arrive to place Cornell under arrest.
Film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, writing, "A Poverty Row crime melodrama that has its moments of traditional crime, but moves along not in the traditional way of tracing the rise and fall of its protagonist. Instead the film noir is more concerned with establishing a forlorn mood and being artistically stylish, as director Gordon Wiles (won an Oscar as art director for the 1931 Transatlantic) creates a theatrical piece that is unnecessarily stagelike and much too pretentious for the modest storyline. It is adapted by screenwriter Daniel Fuchs from his book Low Company, and much of its too arty nature is attributed by rumor to the uncredited role Dalton Trumbo played in the screenplay."
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Wikipedia