Big, blustery George Bancroft was in his mid-40s when he became a film star, breaking out in 1927 with a linchpin performance as mob boss "Bull Weed" in Underworld, Josef von Sternberg's prototypical gangster film. Bancroft was third-billed under dependably wooden Clive Brook, fluttery leading lady Evelyn Brent, and he stole the show with his powerhouse portrayal of a hoodlum with a heart.
I hadn’t seen Underworld
before, but I knew enough about it to be intrigued. For starters, it was
directed by virtuoso filmmaker Josef von Sternberg, a man of remarkable cinematic ingenuity who is mostly remembered today for
having discovered Marlene Dietrich and stage-managed her rise to stardom. Also of
interest when considering the subject of outlaws on film, Underworld was, to quote its introductory title, “…unusually bold both in subject matter and in
treatment at the time it was made. It introduced a fashion for gangster
pictures.” Specifically, the film, a runaway hit on release, is credited with establishing many
conventions for what would become the gangster genre a few years later, in the
early sound era. Another attraction Underworld
held for me was that genius costume designer Travis
Banton, who would become Paramount’s Chief Designer and go on to mentor Edith Head, costumed the film. For leading lady Evelyn Brent, starring as “Feathers McCoy," he created an endless variety of trendsetting feather-bedecked hats, wraps, jackets and dresses, enough to fill at least one extra-large closet. And so, early last week I sat down to watch Underworld for the first time and begin my post for the Classic Movie Blog Association's Fall 2018 OUTLAWS Blogathon.
