The Underworld Story

Duryea, who has slapped more faces in movies than anyone else, get slapped around himself for a change.

Dan Duryea knocks it out of the park as a newspaperman who maybe sort of grows a conscience. What makes it so good is that not only does he sell the growing inner conflict, he does it with a sharp tongue and quick wit. One of his best performances coupled with a good script is more than enough to make a great film. The plotting has a few stumbles, but nothing that significantly harms the experience.

I wish Cy Endfield and Stanley Cortez had collaborated on more noirs because this looked fantastic.

This low rent "Ace in the Hole" can't decide if it wants to be cynical or sentimental, and Duryea--who usually gets the tone right--is lost and confused in the lead. Marshall phones it in, and it doesn't help that Mary Stevens, a white actress, is cast in the role of an unjustly accused black maid (I guess there's a white woman in the part so we know for sure she's unjustly accused.) The only bright spots are Da Silva's merry gang lord and the regal presence of Frieda Inescort in a small role.