An uneasy mix of fact, fiction and melodrama that purports to explain and expose the rise of organised crime in America. Real names are used for those that had - at that point in time (1960) - died.
Hollywood's relationship with the mob is an interesting one. Not just the host of obvious stories that could be turned in to easy box office or TV shows, but also the way the mob was used by the Hollywood studios to get what they wanted. Which was usually getting a film made with as few problems as possible. One of the ways the "Cali Crew" earned a few extra dollars was controlling extras (sometimes through crooked unions) - because without extras no film can be made.
The fact that they put money in gangsters pockets makes any condemnation rather dubious.
Falk seems to represent a whole group of (real life) mad killers who did the dirty work for the big bosses. Morality to one side, these mad killers built the mob by wiping out those awkward souls that didn't want to play ball and to prove they meant business.
Ironically Falk (in his debut role!) has a certain charisma that doesn't really fit the role totally and this weakens him as a gangster/killer who simply "takes what he wants" - and that includes women! The film starts well enough and involves the fairly common theme of the innocent (or the more innocent) being dragged in because of debt or social situation. Of headline interest, David J Stewart plays Lepke a gangster that gets double crossed by the authorities (or his own side if you want to believe that version of history) and gets the electric chair.
This isn't a spoiler because this is a side plot. Indeed several of the side-plots have their own film - Lepke (with Tony Curtis) being the most obvious.
While just about keeping ahead of cheap melodrama and cliché the film has too much baggage. The most heavy being the portrayal of the police as honest as the day is long (oh yeah!) There is also a tragic romance (involving May Britt - who later married Sammy Davis Junior) which seems to take over the production at the half way point.
By the 1960's America had had enough of rackets and petty criminals that wanted to pick everyone's pockets. While the mob carry on today, the harsh light of publicity has made their job harder - you can't run secret societies when everyone knows about them. This film makes a statement that these people are no longer welcome and "something must be done." Because of this there is no real grand climax - the film just ends at a point of minor poetic justice.
Hollywood's relationship with the mob is an interesting one. Not just the host of obvious stories that could be turned in to easy box office or TV shows, but also the way the mob was used by the Hollywood studios to get what they wanted. Which was usually getting a film made with as few problems as possible. One of the ways the "Cali Crew" earned a few extra dollars was controlling extras (sometimes through crooked unions) - because without extras no film can be made.
The fact that they put money in gangsters pockets makes any condemnation rather dubious.
Falk seems to represent a whole group of (real life) mad killers who did the dirty work for the big bosses. Morality to one side, these mad killers built the mob by wiping out those awkward souls that didn't want to play ball and to prove they meant business.
Ironically Falk (in his debut role!) has a certain charisma that doesn't really fit the role totally and this weakens him as a gangster/killer who simply "takes what he wants" - and that includes women! The film starts well enough and involves the fairly common theme of the innocent (or the more innocent) being dragged in because of debt or social situation. Of headline interest, David J Stewart plays Lepke a gangster that gets double crossed by the authorities (or his own side if you want to believe that version of history) and gets the electric chair.
This isn't a spoiler because this is a side plot. Indeed several of the side-plots have their own film - Lepke (with Tony Curtis) being the most obvious.
While just about keeping ahead of cheap melodrama and cliché the film has too much baggage. The most heavy being the portrayal of the police as honest as the day is long (oh yeah!) There is also a tragic romance (involving May Britt - who later married Sammy Davis Junior) which seems to take over the production at the half way point.
By the 1960's America had had enough of rackets and petty criminals that wanted to pick everyone's pockets. While the mob carry on today, the harsh light of publicity has made their job harder - you can't run secret societies when everyone knows about them. This film makes a statement that these people are no longer welcome and "something must be done." Because of this there is no real grand climax - the film just ends at a point of minor poetic justice.