The Mob

Robert Parrish's 1951 film is about the extortion racket over dock workers. Off duty, the police officer Johnny Damico witnesses a killing and lets the murderer get away; to recover his standing he goes undercover on the waterfront as a labourer. A trail running from California to New Orleans puts him inside a network in which he cannot work out who serves whom. The film uses the familiar elements of noir: a dark harbour, untrustworthy witnesses and corruption inside the police. The story moves fast and is kept short, with dialogue in the hard style of its period. Broderick Crawford balances the character between crudeness and intelligence. It was overshadowed by more famous films about dock corruption made in the same years. Who it's for: viewers who like noir and crime cinema of the fifties. Who it's not for: anyone expecting an original plot; the film follows familiar patterns.