''Black Hand'' is a 1950 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

directed by

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Biography Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, Richard Thorpe began his en ...

and starring

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

as an Italian immigrant fighting against the

Black Hand Black Hand or The Black Hand may refer to: Extortionists and underground groups * Black Hand (anarchism) (''La Mano Negra''), a presumed secret, anarchist organization based in the Andalusian region of Spain during the early 1880s * Black Hand (e ...

extortion racket in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the first decade of the 20th century.

Plot

The film opens in 1900 as Roberto Colombo, an Italian-American attorney living in the

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...

section of New York City, is killed by gangsters as he meets with a police officer to give information about an attempt to extort money from him. His widow and son return to Italy where his widow dies. In 1908, his son Giovanni Colombo (Gene Kelly) returns to New York City, determined to conduct a vendetta against the men who killed his father. He meets up with childhood friend Isabella Gomboli (Teresa Celli) and police detective Louis Lorelli (J. Carrol Naish), both of whom try to dissuade him. After the man that Giovanni Colombo had hoped would tell him about his father's killers is murdered, Giovanni and Isabella work to rally people in Little Italy against the Black Hand racket, but that movement is dealt a set-back when Giovanni is attacked and his leg is broken. Recovering from his injury, Giovanni decides to study law as his father had, with the help of Isabella, with whom he has fallen in love. But when Lorelli shows them evidence uncovered after a bombing of a local store, Giovanni puts his studies on hold to help track down the perpetrators. The trial that results comes to nothing when a key witness is intimidated and refuses to testify, but the defendant is ultimately deported when police in Naples identify him as a fugitive from justice there. Following the deportation, Lorelli travels to Italy to examine photographs of Italian criminals at large, in an attempt to identify other New York City gangsters that could be deported to Italy. He is attacked and killed in Italy, but only after he has mailed a list with the results of his research back to Giovanni in New York City. In an attempt to prevent this list from getting to authorities, gangsters kidnap Isabella's young brother. Giovanni is captured trying to save the boy, and reveals to the gangsters where they can find the list after they threaten to cripple the boy. After the gangsters get the list and the boy is released, Giovanni escapes and saves the list by igniting a bomb that he finds in the gangsters' hideout.

Cast

as Giovanni E. "Johnny" Columbo *

J. Carrol Naish Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 credits during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Naish received two Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in the films '' Sahara ...

as Louis Lorelli * Teresa Celli as Isabella Gomboli *

Marc Lawrence Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence. Early life Lawrence w ...

as Caesar Xavier Serpi *

Frank Puglia Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian-American film actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. ...

as Carlo Sabballera *

Barry Kelley Edward Barry Kelley (August 19, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in '' Oklahoma!'' on Broadway. His l ...

as Police Captain Thompson *

Mario Siletti Mario Giovanni Siletti (22 July 1903 – 19 April 1964) was an Italian actor. He was born in Turin. He performed in more than 160 films from 1932 to 1964. He began appearing in American films no later than 1946. From 1962 to 1964, he also portra ...

as Benny Danetta / Nino * Carl Milletaire as George Allani / Tomasino *

Peter Brocco Carl Peter Brocco (January 16, 1903 – December 20, 1992) was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 credits, notably ''Spartacus'' (1960) and '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), during his career spanning over 60 ...

as Roberto Columbo * Eleonora von Mendelssohn as Maria Columbo * Grazia Narciso as Mrs. Danetta * Maurice Samuels as Moriani * Burk Symon as Judge *

Bert Freed Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 – August 2, 1994) was an American character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo. Life and career Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending P ...

as Prosecutor *

Mimi Aguglia Mimi Aguglia (21 December 1884 – 31 July 1970) was an Italian actress, born Girolama Aguglia in Palermo, Sicily, while her mother, actress Giuseppina Aguglia, was playing Desdemona in ''Othello''. Biography She was born in the wings of t ...

as Mrs. Sabballera

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $772,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $438,000 elsewhere; it recorded a loss of $55,000.

Critical response

Film critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

praised Kelly's and Naish's work, while questioning the screenplay, "In his first 'straight' role in a picture—away from dancing and singing, that is—Mr. Kelly is eminently forceful as a young Italian-American who aspires to help his neighbors rid themselves of the bands of terrorists and extortionists which are fearfully known as 'the Black Hand.' And Mr. Naish is equally impressive as an Italian detective on the New York police force who joins in the youthful zealot's campaign to wipe out this terrifying scourge. One might tactfully question the simplicity of the plot, prepared by Luther Davis, as a wee bit theatrical." Film critic Dennis Schwartz discussed the background of the film in his review: "Somewhat engaging early Mafia film that's based on a true story, when that infamous organization was known as the Black Hand. The Black Hand is 'based on the real-life story of

Joseph Petrosino Joseph Petrosino (born Giuseppe Petrosino, ; August 30, 1860 – March 12, 1909) was an Italian-born New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer who was a pioneer in the fight against organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) ...

, a New York City police lieutenant who traveled to Palermo, Italy, to investigate the Mafia. He was shot and killed by snipers on the evening of March 12, 1909.' In the movie, Irish-American J. Carrol Naish plays the heroic Italian-American lieutenant's character. Director Richard Thorpe (''

Night Must Fall ''Night Must Fall'' is a play, a psychological thriller, by Emlyn Williams, first performed in 1935. There have been three film adaptations, '' Night Must Fall'' (1937); a 1954 adaptation on the television anthology series ''Ponds Theater'' sta ...

''/'' Malaya''/''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...

'') sets a dark mood, while Irish-American hoofer Gene Kelly plays a brave Italian-American immigrant out to avenge his father's death by the Mafia, at the turn of the 20th century. It's a rare dramatic role for Kelly, who seems to be at home in this genre."Schwartz, Dennis
. ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'', film review, August 3, 2010. Accessed: August 15, 2013.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Hand 1950 films 1950 crime films American crime films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Film noir Films about immigration to the United States Mafia films Films about Italian-American organized crime Films set in Naples Films set in New York City Films set in the 1900s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1950s historical films American historical films Films directed by Richard Thorpe 1950s American films