Hoodlum Empire
1952 film by Joseph Kane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hoodlum Empire is a 1952 American crime film noir directed by Joseph Kane starring Brian Donlevy, Claire Trevor, Forrest Tucker, Vera Ralston, Luther Adler and John Russell.[2] It was inspired by the Kefauver Committee hearings dealing with organized crime.[3]
Bob Considine
| Hoodlum Empire | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Joseph Kane |
| Screenplay by | Bruce Manning Bob Considine |
| Story by | Bob Considine |
| Produced by | Herbert J. Yates |
| Starring | Brian Donlevy Claire Trevor Forrest Tucker Vera Ralston Luther Adler John Russell |
| Cinematography | Reggie Lanning |
| Edited by | Richard L. Van Enger |
| Music by | Nathan Scott |
Production company | Republic Pictures |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
Former gangster Joe Gray, a World War II hero, now leads a respectable life. When he is summoned to appear before a grand jury to testify against organized-crime activities, his former mobster colleagues try to stop him.
Cast
- Brian Donlevy as Senator Bill Stephens
- Claire Trevor as Connie Williams
- Forrest Tucker as Charley Pignatalli
- Vera Ralston as Marte Dufour
- Luther Adler as Nick Mancani
- John Russell as Joe Gray
- Gene Lockhart as Senator Tower
- Grant Withers as Rev. Simon Andrews
- Taylor Holmes as Benjamin Lawton
- Roy Barcroft as Louis Draper
- William Murphy as Pete Dailey
- Richard Jaeckel as Ted Dawson
- Don Beddoe as Senator Blake
- Roy Roberts as Chief Thales
- Richard Benedict as Tanner
- Phillip Pine as Louis "Louie" Barretti
- Damian O'Flynn as Ralph Foster
- Pat Flaherty as Mikkelson
Reception
In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic A. H. Weiler wrote: "[I]t is a familiar format Bob Considine and Bruce Manning have used to fashion a workmanlike, sometimes brisk but hardly inspired script. ... Their efforts to prove that crime should not pay are worth while. But 'Hoodlum Empire'—even up to its climax, when justice triumphs with a bang—is still play acting, which is not nearly as effective as the facts that obviously inspired it."[1]
