The Hoodlum

The Hoodlum
1951 - Jack Schwarz Productions
Directed By Max Nosseck



SYNOPSIS

Recidivist Vincent Lubeck (Lawrence Tierney) gets released from prison and is back with his family for the first time in 5 years. His brother (Edward Tierney) gives him a job at his gas station. It's right across the street from a bank, and Vincent quickly hatches a plan with some criminal friends to take an armored truck. The plan goes off perfectly, but his friends turn on him and now the cops are closing in on Vincent.



MY THOUGHTS

A low-rent film noir that succeeds despite its limits.

Noir could easily work or a shoe-string budget as long as the story and characters were strong. B-movie studios like Republic and Monogram made many successful film noir, as did smaller fly-by-night studios. Jack Schwarz Productions was only around for a short time, though the film was distributed for release by United Artists.
The smaller the studio, the shorter the production schedule... so film noir tended to look less 'arty.' The exotic camera angles and extreme lighting of more artier noir did not appear, and The Hoodlum was no exception.

Lawrence Tierney was the perfect, dynamic actor to bring Vincent Lubeck to life.
During a time where actors got black and brown-listed due to their political beliefs, Tierney was practically brown listed for his drunkenness, brawling and odd behavior. He really WAS the tough thug he played on screen and no one wanted to work with him. Even though he made a splash in big films like Dillinger and Born To Kill, he found himself in so-so films for c-grade studios.
In his later years, he made the cast of Reservoir Dogs squirm, and the cast and crew of Seinfeld never want him back (he was Elaine's dad - once and only once.)

Tierney's real life brother Edward plays the same brotherly role in the film. He's not as dynamic of an actor, but you can definitely tell they're related, and that adds something.

The film is a well-paced hour long tale that is a must see for noir fans.