User reviews

Written, directed and produced by Sam Fuller, this is a tough, straight-talking, no nonsense film noir. This is like a 1940s noir but it's 1961 instead. So, instead of the boxy cars, of the Forties you have long- finned late 1950s automobiles. Otherwise, it''s the same genre.

You get the same film noir photography: black-and-white with lots of nighttime shots and a lot of tough characters. I just wish they had at least really likable person to root for, but I didn't find any. The "hero," played well by Cliff Robertson, is a tough, revenge-obsessed guy and that's basically the storyline as he tracks down the hoods who beat up and killed his father.

Even though the rest of the cast doesn't have big names, many of the faces are familiar and all are good actors. This is an earlier "Point Blank" film seven years before that came out - same kind of story.

Of the women in here, I found Dolores Dorn the most interesting.

Underworld U.S.A. (1961)

Sam Fuller's movies have an edgy, reckless quality to them, as if lacking propriety. Which is good. What Underworld U.S.A. lacks in subtlety it makes up for in surprise and a kind of sultry sizzle, something very different than more usual "romance" that other crime and noir movies have. There is some second rate acting throughout, but if you accept some of this as "style" and go with the flow, it's click along nicely. In fact, the lack of star power makes the film a hair more everyday, and therefor a hair more realistic in a good way. And the lead male going solo through much of it is first rate, Cliff Robertson.

Not that this is actually believable--it feels contrived all the way--but it has a modern interpersonal selfishness and sometimes cruelty that is fun to watch. The plot? Great enough. But the searing looks, the slaps, the brooding closeups. This is movie-making! Certainly an influence on Tarantino.

As a black and white crime film with a slightly low budget feel, this naturally comes labelled as a film noir. And there are some similarities. But it's also a crime drama, more directly, and it explores (and exploits) the violence of cops and robbers circa 1960. There a lot of unsavory types involved, and some crisp filming. If you like other Sam Fuller films, you'll like this one.

When a young boy witnesses the murder of his father he vows to revenge his death. After reaching manhood he joins the organization that the killers preside over with the intention of fulfilling his death wish. Good action and dialogue kept this story moving right along, even though it was a little corny and the ending was predictable.

From its brisk opening, this dark and seamy underworld drama moves like a well-oiled machine, laying out and glorifying Cliff Robertson's revenge tactics to punish the men who killed his father.

Not unlike John Boorman's "Point Blank" which also featured an almost cyborg-natured Lee Marvin punishing the bigshot criminal overlords who did him wrong, here the pursuit is more humanized but suffers no slack as Robertson gives an extraordinary performance.

With a glinty-eyed, crooked smile and a gleeful look which seems to creep into his face as he torments his victims, Robertson suggests a little of Mel Gibson's instability in the first "Lethal Weapon", but without the looniness. His more understated moments are not only very realistic, but are the epitome of cool. Robertson can definitely smoke cigarettes better than anybody.

Fuller's direction is taut, featuring plenty of creative cinematography and a lot of sequences which are far more ahead of their time than the majority of crime films being made around 1961. As always, Fuller manages to tell his story with both hysteria and pathos. This is definitely a must-see for fans of Don Siegel's work or the crime films of Phil Karlson and Anthony Mann. "Underworld USA" could very well share a double bill with John Flynn's "The Outfit" as well. Superb stuff.

A juvenile delinquent witnesses the murder of his father by mobsters and seeks revenge as an adult. This is a brutal crime drama, with lively direction by Fuller, although he goes a bit overboard with shadows, closeups, and zooms. Robertson is not bad, but seems miscast as the tough guy who, driven by vengeance, singlehandedly takes on the syndicate. The best performances are turned in by the two leading actresses: Dorn (recalling Stella Stevens) as a gangster's moll and Kay (recalling Thelma Ritter) as a mother-figure for Robertson. Also notable are Rust as a ruthless mob henchman and Gates as a federal prosecutor.

Beatrice Kay is wonderful as the supporting actress playing Sandy. Congratulations to Fuller again for getting this performance from a little known actress. A meaningless thriller, very realistic, but pointless. Well written script by Fuller that keeps you entertained. Good editing. After a killing by a car bomb, the killer's line is "Gimme a light!" Ironies, visual and otherwise abound. In the final sequence, Tolly stumbles over a street garbage receptacle with the words "Keep your city clean" The first killing is all in shadow play. Once again a sequence involving a child is top notch. Typical of Fuller.

Cliff Robertson plays Tolly Devlin, an embittered ex-convict who has spent a lifetime tracking down the men who murdered his father. Desirous of handling matters on his own, Devlin pretends to be loyal to both the Mob and the Government, playing one against the other in hopes of flushing out the killers. He learns that the three surviving assassins are employed by a supposedly charitable "cover" operation known as National Projects. To get what he wants, Devlin ingratiates himself with mob boss (and outwardly solid citizen) Conners (Robert Emhardt). What Robertson didn't count on was falling in love with "Cuddles" (Dolores Dorn), which leads to his own downfall - but not before justice is served. Producer/director/writer Fuller based "Underworld U.S.A." on a series of "exposé" articles in The Saturday Evening Post. A prime example of Fuller's tabloid sensibility, the film careens through its plot at a lightning pace showcasing his penchant for fevered, sensationalistic imagery and shocking violence. Though not as good as his earlier crime thriller "Pickup On South Street", or his later masterpieces "Shock Corridor" and "The Naked Kiss", this is prime Fuller for afficianados.

Writer/director Samuel Fuller is not personally attached to the material he presents in Underworld USA in the sense of it being autobiographical. But it is pretty likely, from listening to interviews with him and just from seeing his other work in the noir-esquire realm of motion pictures, that he knew at least the world these characters are in. Or at least he knows what kinds of emotions and what lies underneath certain aspects of lesser pulp fiction- and has a kind of journalistic sensibility that is all his own, telling it like it is from the mean streets of who-knows. It's got an assured eye working the gears, and it by-passes some usual clichés to get at some more interesting bits within some of the conventions. This is in the bones just a tale of revenge, but Fuller wants the little things and moments that make up such a tale, and how the characters can be more realized than might usually be. I liked, for example, early on when Tolly Devlin is 14 and makes a comment to his mother about something in the middle of their conversation- the mother doesn't say anything, but there's a quick, tight close-up of her face to catch the moment. It actually stuck with me longer than I expected, even as the main parts of the scene went along.

Another part that really, really impressed me was when Devlin (Cliff Robertson, not bad at all in a part that gets to stretch his skills somewhat), nearing the end of his prison term, and finally finds one of the men who beat his father to death when he saw when he was 14. The scene is very tense, but somehow very human too, as Tolly has to contend with a dying man that he has to kill with his own hands. Soon, Fuller gets the gears of the story going further, as he vows revenge against the others who committed the crime, making him pull an undercover act to infiltrate the mob to get close to them, particularly Earl Conners (Rober Emhardt, a plum role for him considering all of his TV parts). But he also falls for a woman, Cuddles, played by Dolores Day, and like Fuller's Crimson Kimono, the weight of the main thrust of what Tolly needs is balanced against what he could also have with his possible romantic interest, caught up in the emotional bog he's in.

I liked a lot how Robertson tapped well enough into the character to make him plausible, even sympathetic. He understands what Fuller is going for, a slightly more realistic- or more powerful kind of representation in the midst of the hard-boiled dialog and more complicated scenes- as he's playing a character who actually has a past, a childhood shown as shattered and made as the complete context that he has to contend with as an adult, despite women around him telling him otherwise. I still remember plenty of shots in the film too (not the gun-shots, the camera-work I mean), and this is after having seen the film months ago, and the driving musical score from Harry Sukman (a solid Fuller collaborator). That Fuller extracts a good deal of compelling entertainment out of a premise that seems pretty standard and even slight is remarkable, and ranks among the other fine superlative B-movies he was doing at the time.

I am trying to picture myself as the script writer for Underworld U. S. A., and after watching the entire film, especially the final scene I cannot help but picture "it was a rainy night". The final scene (without providing any spoilers) which I suppose Cliff Robertson had no choice in following the directors instructions, and the screen writers plot, just ruined the film for me. Come on man, talk about over dramatizing. How many kids over the past one hundred (100) years of film making have not attempted to re-enact this final scene for their friends and family to a bustle of hysterical laughter?

I enjoy Cliff Robertson as an actor, and his supporting cast of Dolores Dorn, Beatrice Kay, and Richard Rust were no slouches either. I am disappointed though in the lack of the director/writer Samuel Fuller's ability to dig deep into the sheer will of his main actor Cliff Robertson, to bring out in his character Tolly Devlin, who witnessed as a fourteen (14) year old teenage boy the gang murder of his own father in a dark alley on New Years Eve. I can only imagine the sheer hate and vengeance this young boy would have carried for more than twenty (20) years and how he would have eventually chosen to get even with his father's four (4) murderers.

I give this film noir a respectable 6 out of 10 IMDB rating and I would have rated it even higher if only the writer/director Samuel Fuller, would have brought out in actor Cliff Robertson's character portrayal of a fourteen (14) year old teenage boy the more desperate search and destroy of the lives of the four (4) gangsters who murdered his father. Instead, Samuel Fuller concentrated too much of the films resolve on that final scene,.... "it was a rainy night".

Edgy Sam Fuller at his best ! Cliff Robertson played his role perfectly. All the characters in this movie were believable as underworld type figures. Movie is raw to the core ! Must see to believe how the real crime underworld operates, trust me I know how it operates.

Underworld U.S.A. is a tough and gritty neo noir thriller directed by Samuel Fuller. It was made at a time when the Hays Code was falling apart.

Cliff Robertson is Tolly Devlin. As a teenager he saw his father, a petty crook being beaten to death by four men. Now has an ex-convict who has done time for safe cracking and just come out of prison. He is after his father's killers and got one of them while he was inside.

Three of the remaining men are now outwardly respectable, however it is all a cover for the main mob they are involved with. The dirty part of the business sells drugs to high school kids. If anyone squeals they will kill their children to shut them up.

Tolly hell bent on revenge ingratiates himself with the mob but he is also working with a federal investigator.

Like other noir films, there are dames. Tolly falls for Cuddles a drug courier. Tolly is also showed some maternal care by Sandy, the girlfriend of his late father.

This is a stark violent film. The henchman are cold blooded killers. Tolly though sees some signs of redemption and love.

So here we have a characterization comparable to Richard Widmark's in Kiss of Death... and yet, obviously, Richard Rust did not receive the promotion one needs to be noticed! But I noticed. And when someone said to me, "Check out Cliff Robertson's white suit", I said, "I didn't even notice him, I was looking at Richard Rust..." Not that everyone else in this film wasn't good, but from the putting on of shades to the turning a zippo in his hand, from his coldness in killing a child to his creepiness in saying he likes lifeguarding for children, from his great profile to his screen presence...here's an ACTOR! As Sadakichi Hartmann said about himself, Richard Rust must have been too great to be noticed. But I saw him. Thank goodness!!

Tolly Devlin is a street kid rolling drunks for cash. He was born in prison with his mother dying there. He witnesses four thugs beating his father to death. He refuses to fink to the cops. As a young man (Cliff Robertson), he relentlessly and remorselessly takes his revenge.

I find the premise very intriguing although the execution could be more compelling. It's a smaller film. It would be more edgy for it to come in the fifties. The violence could be filmed with more impact. Nevertheless, there is a power to his quest for vengeance. As far as brutality, it doesn't get more brutal than running over a little girl although it'd be nice to film the action with more intensity.

Having seen his father beaten to death by four men in the shadows, young tearaway, Tolly Devlin grows up into Cliff Robertson to find out who did it and to get his revenge. To do this he goes undercover and gets involved with the gangster fraternity.

Tough thriller from Samuel Fuller really doesn't pull its punches with men being burnt alive, children killed and much more besides. This is typical Fuller territory and whilst the story stretches credibility just a touch, it's fast moving and the baddies are convincingly unpleasant. Robertson gives a good performance and is not portrayed as whiter than white either which adds to the tension, although the predictable, Hollywood ending is a bit of a let down in an otherwise exciting, gritty film.

Samuel Fuller was a man ahead of his time. making such films as pickup on south street, naked kiss, Shock Corridor, and this film. fuller works were tough as hell for there time. They also had a wonderful oddness about them. He seemed to take a simple clichéd story and make something wonderful and strange out of them.

Underworld USA is a story of revenge. Tolly Devlin A 14 year old boy witness his father beaten to death by four men. Tolly voles revenge. Fast forward 20 years later. Tolly is doing a five year bit and finds one of the men who did his dad In. the man is old and dying. But tolly git's the names from the dieing man of the other three thugs who killed his father . What ensues for the rest of the film is a interesting and creative story of revenge.

As always in Fuller work the woman play a important part. Beatrice Kay's plays sandy. She is a mother figure to Tolly. She is not able to have children so she Surrounds her self with baby dolls. The scenes with her and the dolls are great. They are bizarre and eerie but also heart breaking at the same time. Beatrice Kay plays sandy the ex hooker who falls for Tolly after he comes to her rescue.Cliff Robertson plays Tolly and gives a great performance.

Underworld USA is one of Fuller more underrated films. It was made after his classic pickup on south street and before his great later work of naked kiss and shock corridor. But while not as good as those films underworld USA is a great piece of noir and a most for any Fuller fan.

A pretty good gangster thriller from director Samuel Fuller. This one starts off on a dramatic footing as a kid witnesses his father get killed by a group of gangster goons. The story then effectively skips to the future, where the kid has turned into Cliff Robertson and it turns out that his own special dish of revenge is one that gets served at a very cold temperature indeed. What follows is a kind of undercover story in which Robertson gets close to the villains responsible for the murder, working his way through them one at a time. There's plenty of suspense along the way alongside larger than life characterisations.

I had seen this movie only once before, and that was 20 years ago. A lot of the concerns of his masterpiece, "The Naked Kiss," are addressed in it. In some ways, it's more horrifying because it is about what it says it's about: the underworld and, more to the point, the USA. "The Naked Kiss" is, to me, a great movie and also a parable.

(As to Fuller's "best": In terms of polish, it's probably "Pickup on South Street." That movie has most of his eccentricities but uses major stars and is suspenseful and exciting.) Cliff Robertson does a fine job here as the single-minded man out to avenge his father's killing. Dolores Dorn is touching as the girl from the underworld with whom he becomes involved.

The supporting cast could scarcely be better. Paul Duboy is perfect as the slimy Gelo. Richard Rust is shockingly effective as the underworld henchman.

But Beatrice Kay is the standout. She plays the tough female who almost always appears in Fuller's films. (Thelma Ritter's Mo, in "Pickup on South Street, is the most poignant.) We believe that this gal is tough. We also believe that she has a soft side.

When I was too young to appreciate it, an older friend gave me a paperback book about actresses in b-movies, called "Dames." On the cover is a shot from this film: Dorn and Kay are leaning on each other. Kay looks tough as a guard dog and Dorn has bandages over one eye.

The movie is filled with Fuller's most important concerns: At one point, a rooftop swimming pool is pointed out. It is, one character tells another, for the fat cats -- and now and then for underprivileged children. The hypocrisy of some so-called charity is addressed here. So is Fuller's concern for the well-being of children.

I don't think this is out on DVD. You need to find it on VHS. It's absolutely a must.

This gritty Samuel Fuller Post-Noir has a teenage hood trained by his hoodlum father while raised by a bar-owning lush with a heart of gold, setting up your basic revenge tale since the kid witnessed his old man beaten and killed in a shadow-filled alley by four men - but only actually sees one of them...

And thus grows into a contentedly crooked Cliff Robertson, whose Tolly Devlin, serving time, finds that one recognized killer dying in jail, of natural causes, but not before naming names so that, when Tully gets out, the body count vengeance trail begins...

Sadly, this intriguing set-up gets distracted by those titular UNDERWORLD crime-bosses, making deals that matter very little to the overall plotline: What should have remained tighter to Robertson's dogged perspective loses steam, focus...

Yet is made up for NOT by his character, dealing with melodramatic (and somewhat pointless) ingenue Dolores Dorn, looked-after by experienced surrogate-mother Beatrice Kay (aptly channeling Thelma Ritter from Fuller's PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET), whose creepy doll collection adds to the director's surreal 1960's arthouse-aesthetic that'd continue with SHOCK THERAPY and THE NAKED KISS...

But the scene-stealer is a coldly handsome thug/shooter played by Richard Rust as Gus, chain-smoking while killing left and right, narrowing-down what would have been a far less effective crime-thriller without him -- a reminder to the audience of what's the unapologetic heartless of the matter.

Anyone who doesn't realize that Sam Fuller used The Count Of Monte Cristo as his inspiration for Underworld USA has not read too much classical literature. Or seen any of the film adaptations of same. Nevertheless the imprint of Alexander Dumas's classic French novel is unmistakable.

Young David Kent suffers the loss of his father who was beaten to death at the hands of four thugs. Later on he takes up a life of crime and goes to jail. By now he's an adult and played by Cliff Robertson. One of the four thugs who murdered dad is dying in the prison hospital and confesses and names to Robertson his accomplices.

After that Robertson works as methodically as Edmond Dantes now the Count Of Monte Cristo working his way into the confidences of the mob bosses who were back in the day the same thugs who killed his old man. He makes a lot of alliances of convenience, one being a hooker played by Dolores Dorn, another being a special federal prosecutor played by Larry Gates.

Robertson is fine as the old style kind of hoodlum that would have found a home in the Warner Brothers gangster flicks of the Thirties. However for my book Dolores Dorn got her career role in Underworld USA. She registers as both tough and fragile at the same time and she does bring out the humanity in Robertson.

As for how it ends, don't think of The Count Of Monte Crist, rather if you've seen the great James Cagney/Humphrey Bogart film The Roaring Twenties than you know how Underworld USA ends.

Sam Fuller did a great job with his cast and Underworld USA is a classic noir/gangster thriller not to be missed.

A 1961 film noir from Samuel Fuller starring Cliff Robertson. A boy witnesses his father being beaten to death by shadowy figures in a dark alley. The murder is so indelibly ingrained in his psyche, he vows to get revenge. Once a man, he intentionally gets incarcerated (learning to be an ace safe-cracker) & makes his way to one of the intended men, who's dying in the infirmary & w/a desire to die w/a clean slate he divulges the remaining names of the perpetrators. For the rest of the film, Robertson, using any means he can, infiltrates the organization which now houses his father's murderers & begins eliminating them one by one (even using a woman involved w/a tangential figure to finger one of them). His only means of human tether is a woman, played by Beatrice Kay, who raised him after a fashion, who implores him to abandon his road to ruin but like night follows day, Robertson's committed to get even. Fuller as always weaves a tale of human frailty taken to the edge as they reach a goal they may not like (witness the reporter in Shock Corridor willing to trade his very sanity for a great story) once they get there.

Sam Fuller seems to have spared all expense with this low-budget indy which is glaringly short on people and automobiles for a contemporary urban mob film.

As a teen Tolly Devlin witnesses his father being beat to death in an alley. Swearing vengeance on all involved he does a bid in a reformatory before graduating to the state pen where he sadistically offs his first victim. Upon release he falls for a dame, dupes a police inspector and exacts revenge on the drug pushing scum now living the high life as respectable citizens.

Part of my enjoyment of watching a Fuller film is the way he stretches his budget. A low ratio of filmed takes can contribute to inconsistent performances that suffer from his occasional prosaic and stilted dialogue which is the case with Underworld. The Desilu style sets look like they were borrowed without permission after everyone went home and some of the props in the commissioner's office look like some of Fuller's "Big Red One war memorabilia from his den. He can't afford major stars but Cliff Robertson gives a highly credible performance as Devlin and its nice to see perennial minor character actor Robert Emhardt in a more substantial role as the mob kingpin.

It is for his tenacity to see his vision through with near complete independence that I am willing to cut Fuller some slack but in Underworld USA he gets sloppy with his editing and montage and his pacing becomes erratic in an environment that's glaringly artificial. It deserves to be whacked.