CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

mark.waltz When a cop drops a name, it usually isn't a racketeer's. However, in the case of humiliated officer Broderick Crawford, he's willing to make an exception. Taking on an undercover assignment after allowing a killer to escape because of a fake badge, Crawford manipulates his way onto the rackets of the waterfront where his name dropping gets him an introduction to the big man. Making both friends with the mob and enemies with the law, he manages to get away with his plan, but will his luck continue?Great atmosphere provides for an intriguing crime drama that truly is one of the better film noir of the early 1950's. Toss in future Oscar Winner Ernest Borgnine along with recent winner Crawford, here on the right side of the law as opposed to his memorable characters in All the King's Men and Born Yesterday.Nobody is who they appear to be in this, with lots of shady characters who are really cops and a few on the opposite. A sassy screenplay is filled with delightfully macho tough dialog that keeps dropping feminine comments about various characters who are dropped down a peg or two by various low-lives.While there are a few women involved in the plot, there isn't an unnecessary romantic plot to pad this out needlessly. This is definitely a guy's film and is clever and complex without being pretentious. Look for Richard Kiley and Charles Bronson.

woodway77 Consistent with its simplistic title, "The Mob" is a straightforward cops vs. mob story starring the reliably tough Broderick Crawford. He goes undercover among the longshoremen after being 'suspended' from his police-detective job. He's trying to find the big cheese controlling extortion and payoffs on the docks, and meets up with several shady (or actually criminal) characters along the way. Crawford is his usual no-nonsense self, working his way into the scene with an abrasive coating over a good-cop personality. Neville Brand and Ernest Borgnine have a few scenes as mobsters, and Crawford's dockside pal is played by Richard Kiley. The only confusing part for me was that the TCM description stated that Crawford's character goes "from California to New Orleans" to discover the mob crime, but as far as I can tell, he leaves "town" (wherever that is) briefly, then returns by ship in his undercover mode to the place where he started. Overall, a good-quality crime-fighter movie, worth watching on Saturday night for a B/W movie fan.

John T. Ryan Broderick Crawford won the Oscar for Best Performance for ALL THE KING'S MEN(Columbia, 1949). This crime drama, THE MOB, was undoubtedly planned as a vehicle tailor made for him. We see that this film is classified as Film Noir, of which it does seem to have the dark, brooding and the impossible situations for there to be any successful conclusion/happy ending. But this ending is sort of up beat, and it's even one that would fit as the fade-out finale of one of the Chester Morris/Columbia Pictures' BOSTON BLACKIE entries.The beginning of the movie is done in a somewhat slowly revealing, deliberate and methodical scene that keeps the audience guessing about the integrity of main character,Police Detective,Johnny Damico(Broderick Crawford). His quick paced banter with a jeweler over a diamond ring and its value is just vague enough to lead us to believing It to be some sort of shady deal. Ultimately we learn that Det. Damico and Mr.Jeweler are well acquainted, even friends. The Detective is shown to be a man and an Officr of the Law who has good, decent beliefs and behaviour.Quite by accident, Det. Damico runs into an on-view shooting. The shooter identifies self as a Police Detective Lieutennant and presents Shield and ID to Damico. It is dark, rainy and the "Lieutennant" manages to split from the scene.After all is found out, the Police Commissioner assigns the Detective to go underground to ferret out the cause of recent killings, including including that of the real Police Lt. whose shield was used by the unknown killer.At this point, the story really takes off as Damico feigns the role of a trouble making bad guy from New Orleans. The undercover role takes him to the Waterfront and taking the position as a Longshoreman.Now at this point, it appears that the film was a story of Labor Racketeering and the corruption that flows from the scene of such an unsavory operation. It sort of resembles, ever so briefly, the not yet made ON THE WATERFRONT(Columbia,1954).But no dice, once again the Director and production shifts gears and the storyline skews toward resemblance to the Detective Stories that populated the Pulp Magazines and those Radio Dramas which were adapted from the Pulps.Once again, we see a variant on the theme as the new source of inspiration appears to be the Comic Book cops-n-robbers story as exemplified by Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT.* The chase and the eventual revealing of the Hide-Out HQ and, especially the true identity of the Underworld big shot are especially reminiscent of an Eisner written and illustrated story.But, then again, we see another aspect of this story in the inclusion of some ultra modern,"Super Scientific",electronic crime-bustin' technology. They seem to take a queue from the James Cagney starring film, WHITE HEAT (Warner Brothers 1949). At a late point in the story, tracking a vehicle via the use of infra red light and pinpointing a location by radio Tri Angulation is introduced.The film has an interesting cast of people who DON'T look like movie stars. They look very ordinary and much like a cast of characters that you would see in the real world. But that does not mean that there was not talent on display. The Acting Abilities of the cast members are super abundant, as shown by the rise in prominence of so many of the players in the subsequent years.So, we are treated to performances by the likes of: Mary Kierman, Richard Kiley,Otto Hulett,Matt Crowley**,Neville Brand, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Frank DeKova, Lawrence Dobkin and others.And, please don't you think that it the purpose of this writer to pan or degrade this film, far from it. The only thing that I can say is: "Hey 'MOB', where have you been all my Life?"* Much like THE SPIRIT, this offers its moments of levity and the Story is propelled along at a good clip, powered by some clever, witty and even funny dialog.** Is this the same Matt Crowley who enjoyed a fine career as a Radio Actor, portraying among others, BUCK ROGERS? ADDENDUM: 9/23/09. The answer is (after all this time is a most emphatic "YES!" It turns out that the multi-media actor was active in Radio (BUCK ROGERS), the Movies (THE MOB), Broadway Stage (THE FRONT PAGE)as well as a multitude of TV Shots too numerous to list here.

wes-connors Broderick Crawford is terrific as a police detective going undercover as a longshoreman. The film begins with Mr. Crawford, while off-duty, investigating a shooting; when he arrives, he's told to watch the victim by another detective - only to be left holding the victim (so to speak). After his "error", he is assigned to undercover as longshoreman at a mob-infested dock, and locate dangerous mob boss "Blackie".On the docks, the film really takes off - the story gets very exciting, with hardly a misstep. The camera is a sharp match for the players and script. Note, Ernest Borgnine throws a swell party. Broderick says "Oh, please…" like he was born yesterday. "The Mob" has enough twists and turns to keep the interest brewing... to a tight ending. ******* The Mob (1951) Robert Parrish ~ Broderick Crawford, Richard Kiley, Ernest Borgnine