The Hoodlum *** (1951 Lawrence Tierney, Allene Roberts, Marjorie Riordan) – Classic Movie Review 8,951

The 1951 film noir crime drama The Hoodlum stars Lawrence Tierney as a vicious jail parolee who pursues his life of crime again. Tierney’s real-life brother Edward plays the ex-con’s brother, who must do something.

Director Max Nosseck’s 1951 black and white film noir crime drama The Hoodlum stars Lawrence Tierney, still fresh from Nosseck’s hit film Dillinger (1945), as act-of-compassion jail parolee Vincent Lubeck, a vicious ex-convict who pursues his life of crime again, masterminding an armoured car robbery, and betraying his family. Now his brother must do something.

Nosseck’s B-movie bank-heist thriller is modestly effective, with a quick pace and effective crime detail, as well as a robust tone with some violence and adult thematic elements, of course tame by today’s standards. It stands out just a little from all the routine B-movie crime dramas of the era.

Lawrence Tierney’s real-life brother Edward plays his brother, Johnny Lubeck. The pairing certainly works to the film’s advantage. It also stars Liza Golm as Mrs Lubeck and Allene Roberts as Rosa.

Also in the cast are Stuart Randall, Marjorie Riordan, Tom Hubbard, Eddie Foster, Angela Stevens [Ann Zika], O Z Whitehead, John De Simone, Richard Barron, Rudy Rama and Gene Roth.

A new print was premiered at the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences on 21 May 1999.

The Hoodlum is directed by Max Nosseck, runs 62 minutes, is made by Jack Schwarz Productions, is released by Eagle-Lion Classics (1951) (US) and General Film Distributors (GFD) (1951) (UK), is written by Sam Neuman (story and screenplay) and Nat Tanchuck (story and screenplay), is shot in black and white by Clark Ramsey, is produced by Jack Schwarz (executive producer) and Maurice Kosloff (producer), and scored by Darrell Calker, with Art Direction by Fred Preble.

Allene Roberts died on 9 May 2019 in Huntsville, Alabama, aged 90. She made a small number of movies, and lived a spiritual life in Hollywood, turning down roles unsuited to her moral standards, and gave 10 per cent of her earnings to her Baptist church. Though it relishes and glamorises the criminal way of life, the Hoodlum is nevertheless a moral movie.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8,951

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