The Underworld Story *** (1950, Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Gale Storm, Mary Anderson, Howard Da Silva) – Classic Movie Review 3657

Excellent, telling performances from Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Gale Storm, Mary Anderson and Howard Da Silva spark director Cy Endfield’s gritty 1950 crime drama thriller The Underworld Story, based on a story by Craig Rice.

Duryea stars as an unethical journalist called Mike Reese, who is the kind of reporter who does anything for self publicity, regardless of ethics. When he loses his job with a big city paper, no one else will hire him. So, with money borrowed from a gangster, he buys himself a half share in a New England small-town newspaper, The Lakewood Gazette, owned by Catherine Harris (Storm).

When a story breaks about a black maid named Molly Rankin (Anderson) confessing to the murder of her mistress, Duryea’s suspicions are aroused by the open-and-shut nature of the case and he discovers dirty deeds are afoot in the little town. Reese turns the story into a media circus and his reporting is back in the spotlight. Naturally, in a story about the misuse of the power of the press, greed leads to injustice.

Director Endfield lifts this solidly produced crime tale above its station, with the help of intelligence and angry attitude in the script (screenplay by Henry Blankfort; adaptation by Cy Endfield) and striking black and white images by cinematographer Stanley Cortez.

In one of his last roles before he was blacklisted in 1951, Howard Da Silva plays the loud-mouthed gangster Carl Durham. He did not work in feature films again until he was cleared of any charges in 1960 and appeared in his 1961 Bafta-nominated performance in David and Lisa.

Also in the cast are Michael O’Shea as District Attorney Ralph Munsey, Gar Moore, Melville Cooper, Frieda Inescort, Art Baker, Harry Shannon, Alan Hale Jr, Stephen Dunne, Roland Winters, Sue England, Lewis J Russell, Frances Chaney, Phil Arnold, Edward Van Sloan, Robert Coogan, Jean Dean and Dick Foote.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3657
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