"The Gangster" (1947)

[HollywoodGolightly]

 

Just wanted to take a moment and offer a few thoughts on this fairly rare noir from Allied Artists Pictures which has what must be one of the most amazing cast of any noir that comes to mind.

 

The movie stars Belita and Barry Sullivan, who had worked together just one year earlier in Suspense; there's also Akim Tamiroff as a drugstore proprietor, Harry Morgan as a very romantically-minded soda worker, John Ireland as a ne'er-do-well, Elisha Cook Jr., as a (what else?) thug, Charles McGraw, Fifi D'Orsay, and even a small appearance by Shelley Winters, in the first of many noirs she was in early in her career.

 

Dalton Trumbo is said to have had a hand in the screenplay - and it feels that way, too.

 

Regrettably, Belita doesn't get a chance to do any ice-skating.

 

I don't know if it has ever been shown on TCM, but if it hasn't, it sure should.

[ValentineXavier]

Sounds great. I don't believe I've ever seen it, but with a cast like that, it's worth looking for.

[HollywoodGolightly]

It's a lot of fun - you won't regret looking for it.

[Ascotrudgeracer]

Just when you think you've seen every noir...TWICE...something like this pops up!

 

*THANK GOD!*

[HollywoodGolightly]

I think you'll enjoy it, Asco. Barry Sullivan as Shubunka is a very touching performance.

 

And, as I said before, this has one of the most utterly amazing casts of any Poverty Row noir I have ever seen in my life.

[markbeckuaf]

It's a great one! I haven't seen it in ages! A really long time ago, when TNT showed classic films (pre-TCM), they aired this one and that's the last time I saw it! Not sure if TCM ever showed it, but it would be great if they did again, if so!

[HollywoodGolightly]

mark,

I looked it up on the TCM database; there's no articles for it, so I imagine it probably hasn't been shown on TCM.

 

However, it is a Monogram title, and TCM has been able to show those before, so I'd say there is definitely hope.

[redriver]

I'd love to see this, although the notion of Harry Morgan as a romantic ANYTHING is frightening. I even read old pulp novels that are marketed like this. A lot of them are bad. But finding that out is a lot of fun.