LAW OF THE UNDERWORLD is a grade-B gangster film that is little more than a promising premise. Chester Morris stars as Gene Fillmore, an "honorable gangster" whose strategy is to keep a low criminal profile, directing his gang to carry out well-planned robberies that avoid the need to use violence. He keeps his men on a tight leash to make sure they stay out of troubleand jail.
So far, Gene's system has been successful. None of his high-society friends (including the newly-appointed district attorney, played by Walter Abel) has any idea that he is anything other than a fun-loving playboy. In fact, the D.A. tries to elicit Gene's help in a crusade to wipe out crime. He declines the invitation. It might have made a more interesting story if he'd done otherwise!
One of Gene's underlings, Rockey (played by the appropriately creepy Eduardo Ciannelli), chafes at Gene's "play-it-safe" approach to crime. In a play to become top dog, he has sown the seeds of dissent with some of the other members of the gang, convincing them that Gene is too weak to be their leader. The ruthless Rockey is also having an affair with Gene's girl, a nightclub singer named Dorothy (played by a miscast Lee Patrick).
Gene's "honorable thief" character is put to the test when an innocent young couple (Anne Shirley and Richard Bond) are drawn into his nest of criminals. The youngsters have stolen back the money that Rockey had stolen from them, at gunpoint, a short time earlier. They are told that they themselves are now guilty of theft and will go to jail unless they agree to participate as decoys in a jewel robbery. During the heist, Rockey shoots a couple of people, and the D.A. is out for blood.
Back at the gang's nightclub hangout, Rockey and Gene square off, with Gene killing Rockey in self defense. Chanteuse Dorothy is enraged to see her man dead. In revenge, she lies to the gang in order to get them to turn on Gene. She then tips off the police, who raid the nightclub and arrest the young couple, though they fail to find Gene. Will honorable-gangster Gene let the young innocents take the rap for him? The outcome is pretty obvious, especially if you know the kind of character Chester Morris usually plays.
The plot of LAW OF THE UNDERWORLD is full of holes and gaps in credibility, which undermines the conflict and suspense that might have made this a neat little crime story. Among the major head-scratching moments is the scene where Rockey holds up the young couple in Central Park. A police officer walks right up to them in the middle of the robbery and the kids say nothing, even though the girl had just said something about wishing a policeman would come along. It's also pretty hard to accept that nightclub singer Dorothy would prefer churlish, snarling Rockey to loving, generous (and much better-looking) Gene. Those are just two of many logistical gaffes to be found in the film. Additional liabilities are flaccid direction by Lew Landers and a patchy script by Bert Granet and Edmund L. Hartman.
Among the few positive elements to be found in LAW OF THE UNDERWORLD are the performances of the always-watchable Chester Morris (I wish he'd been given better material to work with) and especially Eduardo Ciannelli, who shows himself to be the master of the sadistic sneer.
Don't waste your time with this one unless you're a devoted fan of the genre.
So far, Gene's system has been successful. None of his high-society friends (including the newly-appointed district attorney, played by Walter Abel) has any idea that he is anything other than a fun-loving playboy. In fact, the D.A. tries to elicit Gene's help in a crusade to wipe out crime. He declines the invitation. It might have made a more interesting story if he'd done otherwise!
One of Gene's underlings, Rockey (played by the appropriately creepy Eduardo Ciannelli), chafes at Gene's "play-it-safe" approach to crime. In a play to become top dog, he has sown the seeds of dissent with some of the other members of the gang, convincing them that Gene is too weak to be their leader. The ruthless Rockey is also having an affair with Gene's girl, a nightclub singer named Dorothy (played by a miscast Lee Patrick).
Gene's "honorable thief" character is put to the test when an innocent young couple (Anne Shirley and Richard Bond) are drawn into his nest of criminals. The youngsters have stolen back the money that Rockey had stolen from them, at gunpoint, a short time earlier. They are told that they themselves are now guilty of theft and will go to jail unless they agree to participate as decoys in a jewel robbery. During the heist, Rockey shoots a couple of people, and the D.A. is out for blood.
Back at the gang's nightclub hangout, Rockey and Gene square off, with Gene killing Rockey in self defense. Chanteuse Dorothy is enraged to see her man dead. In revenge, she lies to the gang in order to get them to turn on Gene. She then tips off the police, who raid the nightclub and arrest the young couple, though they fail to find Gene. Will honorable-gangster Gene let the young innocents take the rap for him? The outcome is pretty obvious, especially if you know the kind of character Chester Morris usually plays.
The plot of LAW OF THE UNDERWORLD is full of holes and gaps in credibility, which undermines the conflict and suspense that might have made this a neat little crime story. Among the major head-scratching moments is the scene where Rockey holds up the young couple in Central Park. A police officer walks right up to them in the middle of the robbery and the kids say nothing, even though the girl had just said something about wishing a policeman would come along. It's also pretty hard to accept that nightclub singer Dorothy would prefer churlish, snarling Rockey to loving, generous (and much better-looking) Gene. Those are just two of many logistical gaffes to be found in the film. Additional liabilities are flaccid direction by Lew Landers and a patchy script by Bert Granet and Edmund L. Hartman.
Among the few positive elements to be found in LAW OF THE UNDERWORLD are the performances of the always-watchable Chester Morris (I wish he'd been given better material to work with) and especially Eduardo Ciannelli, who shows himself to be the master of the sadistic sneer.
Don't waste your time with this one unless you're a devoted fan of the genre.