Underworld U.S.A.

Samuel Fuller's crime film, built on revenge. As a child Tolly witnesses his father being beaten to death in the street by four men. He does not see their faces but hears their voices. He gives his whole life to finding those four: he goes to prison, finds one of them inside, and infiltrates the organisation when he gets out. The hard thing about the film is Tolly himself. He is not a hero; revenge turns him into someone who uses everyone around him. The woman who helps him and the police are both instruments to him. Fuller also shows the organisation unusually: the mob here is not a street gang but a company with an office and accounts. The executives wear suits, business is discussed in meetings, and the violence is subcontracted outside. The hard journalistic manner is Fuller's known line: short scenes, sharp cuts, and a telling that does not explain. Cliff Robertson plays Tolly. An important example for anyone who likes 1960s American crime cinema and films that stand apart within the genre for their hardness. For a viewer wanting a sympathetic hero, the film does not provide one and the ending contains no consolation.