The Hoodlum (1951)

★ 6.1 1h 1m IMDb

Drama Thriller Crime

Vincent Lubeck is a vicious ex-convict. His criminal activities are despised by his family, but he uses and abuses them in the course of his crimes. Eventually his own brother must stand up to him.

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Cast

Lawrence Tierney as Vincent Lubeck Died 2002 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA Lawrence Tierney (March 15, 1919 – February 26, 2002) was an American actor, known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and hardened criminals, which mirrored his own frequent brushes with the l...

Allene Roberts as Rosa Died 2019 · Fairfield, Alabama, USA Allene Roberts (September 1, 1928 - May 9, 2019) was an American actress. Born in Fairfield Highlands, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, she starred in twelve movies between 1947 and 1954 and appeared...

Marjorie Riordan as Eileen Died 1984 · Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Lisa Golm as Mrs. Lubeck Died 1964 · Berlin, Germany

Edward Tierney as Johnny Lubeck Died 1983 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Director Max Nosseck

Cast Lawrence Tierney, Allene Roberts, Marjorie Riordan, Lisa Golm, Edward Tierney, Stuart Randall, Angela Stevens, O.Z. Whitehead, Eddie Foster, Tom Hubbard

John Chard 6/10 Nov 24, 2018

Hoodlum Glum!

The Hoodlum is directed by Max Nosseck and written by Sam Neuman and Nat Tanchuck. It stars Lawrence Tierney, Allene Roberts, Marjorie Riordan, Edward Tierney and Lisa Golm. Music is by Darrell Calker and cinematography by Clark Ramsey.

Career criminal Vincent Lubeck (L. Tierney) is paroled five years into a ten year stretch for armed robbery. Moving in with his Mother (Golm) and Brother Johnny (E. Tierney), he goes to work for Johnny pumping gas at the family gas station. Sure enough though, with a bank over the road from the gas station, it's not long before Vincent is up to his old tricks again.

"It's like a kid working in a candy factory. First he tastes everything that comes along, after a while the only thing he touches is the silver wrapped stuff. Then he's sick of that and he looks for something real special - like you!"

Real life tough guy Lawrence Tierney slots seamlessly into another portrayal of a remorseless thug, the actor and the characterisation at home in such a low budget short length (61 minutes) feature. Vincent doesn't care about who he tramples on, he is all about self preservation. Using family and women alike to further his ends, it's the character's traits that give the pic its edgy appeal.

In the mix is sexual menace, bolstered by Calker's imposing music which paints the picture for us. Suicide features, as of course does murder and robbery, so the makers get some good story strands into the hour long play, but they feel like vignettes, with so many promising ideas undeveloped.

Things aren't helped by the poor acting around L. Tierney, while crude back projection and old stock footage shots compound the cheap feel of it all. Ramsey's photography is suitably dark in filters, befitting the story of course, but the key robbery scene is poorly constructed by Nosseck to leave the viewer confused as well as disappointed.

There's still enough to enjoy here for fans of 50s crime or noir in tone pictures, and it's a must for fans of big bad Lawrence, even if ultimately it's just a short sharp shock type filler piece. 6/10