Larry Gates - Driscoll; Gerald Milton - Gunther; Allan Gruener - Smith; David Kent - Tolly at 12; Tina Rome - Woman; Sally Mills - Connie; Robert Lieb - Officer; Neyle Morrow - Barney; Henry Norell - Prison Doctor; Peter Brocco - Vic Farrar; Bernie Hamilton - Investigator; Bob Hopkins - Drunk; Tom London - Drunk; Jerry Mann - Cashier; Rickie Sorenson - Harry; Charles Starrett - Investigator; Audrey Swanson - Mother; James Bacon - Newspaperman; Donald Gamble - Boy; Dave Fresco - Convict; Donald Douglas - Man
Credit
Robert A. Peterson - Art Director, Bernice Pontrelli - Costume Designer, Samuel Fuller - Director, Jerome Thoms - Editor, Harry Sukman - Composer (Music Score), Ben Lane - Makeup, Hal Mohr - Cinematographer, Samuel Fuller - Producer, William F. Calvert - Set Designer, Samuel Fuller - Screenwriter, Joseph Dineen - Book Author
Underworld U.S.A. (also known as Underwold USA) is a 1961film noir produced, written and directed by Samuel Fuller. It tells the story of a fourteen-year-old boy who goes to enormous lengths to get revenge against the mobsters who beat his father to death. It stars Cliff Robertson, Dolores Dorn, and Beatrice Kay.
Fourteen-year-old Tolly Devlin sees four hoods beat his father to death. Twenty years later, the killers have risen to the top of the crime syndicate. Ever since his adolescence, Tolly's (Cliff Robertson plays him as an adult) goal has been to avenge his father. Tolly has even become a criminal and gotten himself sent to prison so that he could get close to one of the perpetrators. Tolly becomes as vindictive and sadistic as the men he is after. He rejects the two relationships that could redeem him, his mother-figure (Beatrice Kay) and his moll (Dolores Dorn) in favor of cold, hard vengeance.
Becoming a secret informant for the government, Tolly ends up playing both sides against the middle in his cagey campaign to bring down the remaining mobsters. Tolly's nihilistic vendetta eventually robs him of his own humanity (and more).
In 2009 Empire Magazine named it #8 in a poll of the 20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen* (*Probably)
Production
Producer Ray Stark asked Fuller to write a direct a film based on the title of a magazine article of the title written by Joseph F. Dinneen. Fuller also was inspired by a book, Here Is to Crime, by newspaperman Riley Cooper.[1]
An opening scene with a Union of Prostitutes was deleted by Sam Briskin and other Columbia executives.[2] Fuller's character Tolly is a loner motivated by revenge using the United States Government as well as his own devices to even the score. Fuller heard the reaction of a real life gangster who reportedly said "If only my son would have that kind of affection for me!".[3]
References
^ pp.383-384 Fuller, Samuel A Third Face Alfred A Knopf (2002)
