I don't know that all of these would be under the radar for the board membership but a few of them might be. I think the author limits himself by stopping at the early seventies though..

John Farr
Classic "Under the Radar" gangster movies.
Crime has not just been good to the criminals; it's been awfully good to Hollywood as well.

It so happens I just finished watching Josef Von Sternberg's "Underworld" (1927), the first in a compilation of three silent classics from famed director Josef Von Sternberg, now out via the esteemed Criterion Collection. For those unfamiliar with Von Sternberg, he would become best known later as the director who launched Marlene Dietrich's career in "The Blue Angel" (1930) and "Morocco" (1930).

Basically a love triangle involving a crime boss (George Bancroft), the alcoholic former lawyer he saves from the gutter (Clive Brook), and the girl torn between the two men (Evelyn Brent), the movie also features lots of rat-tat-tat action as the mobster rids himself of a key criminal rival.

When the film debuted in 1927, at a moment when gangsters were still riding high off the spoils of Prohibition, the movie was not only daring but timely, and fueled by strong word-of-mouth, soon audiences were overwhelming theatres to such an extent that show times had to be added to satisfy demand.

The burgeoning film industry, then as now, knew a good (and profitable) thing when they saw it, and since then, the gangster film has been pretty much an ongoing staple of Hollywood.

Re-examining the phenomenon of the gangster picture made me realize all over again its influence, staying power, and sheer vastness.

Just think of all the permutations: the pioneering sound pictures at Warner Brothers that made stars of Robinson and Cagney; the advent of film noir post World War Two; the heist film, the private eye film, the prison drama, and later, the ethnic gangster films, portraying the Mafia or organized criminal elements tied to other races and nationalities. And of course, this doesn't even count the rich store of excellent gangster films made overseas. ("Rififi", anyone?)

Perusing the AFI list of top American gangster pictures, I noted that practically every film is thoroughly engrained in the national consciousness: the first two "Godfather" pictures appear (1972/1974), as well as both iterations of "Scarface" (1932/1983), Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde"(1967), Scorsese's "Goodfellas" (1990), and Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994). Glaringly, the list omits the seminal Bogart/Robinson outing, "Key Largo" (1948) and Kazan's racketeering classic "On The Waterfront" (1954), but redeems itself somewhat by including Cagney's late career masterpiece, "White Heat" (1949).

While it's hard to argue with the AFI's choices, the overwhelming familiarity of most of their picks made me want to compile a list of ten quintessential American gangster pictures that could fall under the radar of curious movie fans wanting to dig further into this incredibly rich, varied and enduring movie genre.

Note: I've limited myself to American films made from the dawn of sound up to roughly the time of "The Godfather." Not one of these titles made the AFI list, but in my opinion, all rival the quality of the classics that did...

List of ten under the radar mob movies

I agree that the author limited himself by stopping when he did.

American films changed so drastically right around the time period that ends the list.

With all due respect, almost any film before the Godfather would just be too dated for modern gangster film fan to really enjoy.

Doesn't say much for the modern gangster film fan.

We've watched bloodier things on the evening news than what was allowed to be shown in pre GF gangster films.

And that makes the newer films better??

The older films concentrated more on character development; that is generally lacking in many newer movies and taking a back seat to special effects.

What are you looking for, 'Freddy and Jason meet the Godfather'?

In my opinion, the absolute Golden Age of the Gangster Film in America is definitely pre-1950.

The logo for this very board has bullet holes and a handgun as one of the letters.



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The second tier of this forum is dedicated to Scarface.


I think we'd all be a little less than truthful to say/think that the over the top violence(for 1983) didn't play a big part in the post theatrical success of this film.

great cast, great directing, great adapting the original story and GREAT scenes of just brutal violence.


These films are about violent men who live and die by the gun. I just have a hard time thinking that pre-GF films could have as much impact NOW as they did when they were released.

The onscreen violence and profanity have been depicted in modern gangster films. The dialogue in pre -GF gangster films seems quaint.

Spam removed

Even though it's a little corny after all these years I thought New Jack City was a great gangster movie.

King of New York with Christopher Walken is one of the better ones.

Has anyone seen the movie Brother about a Japanese gangster setting up business in LA?

Yes, it is.

I always refer to both "King of New York" and "State of Grace" as the "lost" gangster films of 1990. Both of those movies were released the EXACT same week (in September 1990) as "Goodfellas," and were, naturally, overlooked.

The other gangster film in 1990 was an obscure little picture called "The Godfather, Part III."

Yes I saw that. I enjoyed it. Weird little mix between art and ultraviolence.

"Luca, I'm a little worried about this Jason fellow. I want you to go to the abandoned summer camp, nose around and uh,, see what you can learn."

State of Grace is also definitely a good one indeed. Especially the film score which has a nice sentiment. And Sean Penn is a good actor.

Yeah, State of Grace was great. And even though it's fictional, a lot of the plot is based on what really went on in the Westies. Gary Oldman and Ed Harris' characters are obviously based on Mickey Featherstone and Jimmy Coonan, the leaders of the Westies in the 70s.

I saw it after seeing the boxcover and hearing some good things about it.


Kind of interesting story (had not seen (m)any gangster films from Asian American perspective). Novelty wore off during the film.
Had some good scenes but overall not a good film.

EDIT----The film I saw was called "Baby"..NOT Brother...

Baby was about Asian american gangster in LA..so I got confused..

Bluehill Avenue
Lower budget but quite fun.

Looks pretty good Lilo.

Some tremendous facial hair on show

What are you looking for, 'Freddy and Jason meet the Godfather'?

Cleaver?

Have you seen any of Takeshi Kitano's other films? If you're not familiar with him, he's both the director and the star of Brother (and the Takeshi from the TV show Takeshi's Castle), and that film is interesting because it basically lifts the mix of deadpan violence and naturalistic humour direct from his previous Japanese crime films - Violent Cop, Boiling Point, Sonatine, Fireworks - and places it into the 'what if' scenario of a more Hollywood setting. You should find the 'weird little mix between art and ultraviolence' even more satisfying and altogether singular in the other four films I've mentioned.

As for the topic in general, I'll vouch for these films* in no particular order that may or may not be familiar; add them to your list at any rate:

The Funeral (Abel Ferrara, 1996, USA)
Gomorra (Matteo Garone, 2008, Italy)
The Long Good Friday (John Mackenzie, 1990, UK)
Brighton Rock (John Boulting, 1947, UK)
The Enforcer / Murder Inc. (Bretaigne Windust, 1950, USA)
The Outfit (John Flynn, 1974, USA)
Performance (Nicolas Roeg & Donald Cammell, 1970, UK)
Sexy Beast (Jonathan Glazer, 2000, UK)
Shoot the Pianist (Francois Truffaut, 1960, France)
Suicide Kings (Peter O'Fallon, 1997, USA)
Diva (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1981, France) <<< add this to the French thread too
Gangster No. 1 (Paul McGuigan, 2000, UK / Germany)
Get Carter (Mike Hodges, 1971, UK)


* I'll have no doubt left many out; I just did a search for all instances of 'crime', 'gangster' and 'noir' on my Excel spreadsheet.

I haven't seen any of his other films but I have heard of him. I will put Violent Cop on the list as I've heard good things about it.

I agree with SC and pizzaboy. Love a lot of pre-1950 gangster flicks.

Some old classics you might enjoy:

"This Gun For Hire"...Alan Ladd
"Blast Of Silence"...(actually from 1960 I think)
"The Asphalt Jungle"...Sterling Hayden
"Out Of The Past"...Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas
Anything with Humphrey Bogart as a gangster...
This next one doesn't qualify cuz it was done in late 60's, but "Point Blank" with Lee Marvin is classic. Was remade as "Payback" with Mel Gibson.

Check any of those out if you're interested.
Also, what you have to realize is that movies made before Joe Valachi testified about the Mafia, no one in the general public, especially Hollywood, had any idea what the inner workings of LCN was all about.

IDK if anyone cares, but here is a list of Mafia/gangster movies that I own. Some are blu-ray, some are regular dvd. I am trying to slowly build up my collection...

"The Godfather Trilogy" box set
"The Sopranos" complete box set
"Once Upon A Time In America" 2-disc set
"Donnie Brasco"
"American Gangster"
"Eastern Promises"
"A History Of Violence"
"Public Enemies"
"French Connection I & II"
"Mean Streets"
"Bugsy"
"Casino"
"Cotton Club"
"The Departed"
"Goodfellas"
"Heat"
"Miller's Crossing"
"Pulp Fiction"
"Road To Perdition"
"Get Shorty"
"Analyze This"

Seen them all except the Cotton club. That's quite al collection, most of them I have myself.

You need to add a Bronx Tale, State of Grace and King of New York to them and then you have about all the gangsters flicks you need.

Damn! I forgot to put in Bronx Tale cuz my dad borrowed it. I have King Of New York on my Amazon wish list. One of these days...

I also want get both Scarface movies and some of the old Cagney films, just for historical purposes.

How could I forget Scarface?! Going to commit seppuku...

Whoa there, Sonny! Don't go overboard. It was an honest mistake, I'm sure! LOL

Oh yeah, I forgot I have "Mobsters" too. The one with Christian Slater and Patrick Dempsey.