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''The Lawbreakers'' is a 1961 American film directed by Joseph M. Newman. Made in a film noir style, the
crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...
is based on the pilot episode of the 1961
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
''
The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American film noir heist film directed by John Huston. Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden and L ...
'' and stars an ensemble cast including
Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...
,
Vera Miles Vera June Miles ( née Ralston, born August 23, 1929) is an American retired actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, most notably as Lila Crane in the classic 1960 film '' Psycho'', reprising the role in the 1983 sequel '' Psycho II ...
, Robert Douglas, and Arch Johnson. The film tells the story of a scheme to double-cross the syndicate and steal its money, and of a police commissioners efforts to investigate homicides that take place as the scheme unfolds while also fighting corruption in the city government and police department.


Plot summary

Allen Bardeman ( Robert Douglas) is a prominent, married lawyer who collects money from the
numbers racket The numbers game, also known as the numbers racket, the Italian lottery, Mafia lottery or the daily number, is a form of illegal gambling or illegal lottery played mostly in poor and working class neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a b ...
for the
syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndicat ...
. His
legal secretary A legal secretary is a particular category of worker within the legal profession. Background In the practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, ...
, Angela Walsh (
Vera Miles Vera June Miles ( née Ralston, born August 23, 1929) is an American retired actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, most notably as Lila Crane in the classic 1960 film '' Psycho'', reprising the role in the 1983 sequel '' Psycho II ...
), is also his mistress, and he provides her with a house of her own, where Sam Henry ( Robert Bailey) – a corrupt
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
administrator who acts as a "bag man" for the syndicate – makes a weekly visit to pick up money from Bardeman. Bardemans lavish lifestyle and tax problems have placed him deeply in debt. Angela urges him to solve his money problems by staging a robbery of the syndicates money, using a man he knows will play the role of armed robber for him. She then visits Ed Rackin (
Ken Lynch Kenneth E. Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was an American radio, film, and television actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been bes ...
), a nightclub owner who looks out for the syndicates local interests and who Henry also visits to collect syndicate numbers proceeds. Their conversation reveals that Bardeman is unaware that they know one another, and that Angela and Rackin are scheming to take Bardemans money after the staged robbery and run off together. Bardeman arranges to have the robbery take place at Angelas house during Henrys weekly visit. During the robbery, Henry unexpectedly pulls a gun on the disguised robber, who shoots and mortally wounds Henry. The robber turns out to be Rackin, who drives off in Henrys car with the money and the dying Henry. When the police find Henrys body at the wheel of his car alongside a road soon afterwards, New York Police Department Captain Matthew Gower (
Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...
) and his homicide squad launch an investigation into his murder. Gower is an idealistic and honest cop and outspoken critic of the corruption he finds all around him in the city government and police force. He has faced repeated reprimands and disciplinary action, including a demotion from deputy inspector to captain, at the hands of the corrupt Police Commissioner James Deane ( David White), who punishes him when he interferes in syndicate activities. When
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
Harold Emshaw (
James Seay James Seay (September 9, 1914 – October 10, 1992) was an American character actor who often played minor supporting roles as government officials. Early years Seay demonstrated an interest in acting at an early age, as he and his mothe ...
), facing pressure from the press to clean up the city government and police department, removes Deane from his position, he appoints Gower as acting commissioner, promoting him over the head of his superior, Chief Inspector Gus Honochek ( Arch Johnson). Gower sets about creating a hand-picked team of honest detectives to work directly under him to investigate organized crime activities, including Sergeant Frank Orte ( Douglas Odney) and the resentful Honochek. Gowers men quickly determine that Henry was a syndicate collector, and observe Rackin meeting Joe Selkin (
Robert H. Harris Robert H. Harris (born Robert H. Hurwitz; July 15, 1911 – November 30, 1981) was an American character actor. Stage A veteran of the Yiddish Art Theater from his teens, Harris made his first Broadway appearance in 1937 in ''Schoolhouse on the ...
), a syndicate troubleshooter, at the airport. They secretly begin to follow Selkin. Selkin visits Bardemans office, accuses Bardeman of stealing the missing money, and orders him to return it by the following morning. After Selkin leaves, Angela comforts the panicky Bardeman. She urges him to call Rackin and tell him to bring the money to Bardeman; she tells Bardeman to threaten to tell Selkin that Rackin has the money if Rackin does not bring it. Bardeman agrees to make the call. Meanwhile, when word of Selkins visit to Bardeman reaches Gower, Gower and Orte begin to suspect that Bardeman is a frontman for the syndicate Rackin visits Bardeman in his law office that evening without bringing the money and pulls a gun on Bardeman. When Bardeman tells Rackin that he has a way of protecting himself from such threats, Rackin shocks him by replying that he knows because Angela told him; it is the first time that Bardeman realizes that Angela and Rackin know one another. Rackin then shoots Bardeman to death and removes the audio tape from a
tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
in Bardemans desk drawer that Angela had told him would be making a recording of the encounter. When Angela arrives at the office the following morning, she enters Bardemans office, sees his body on the floor, checks to make sure the tape is missing, and then collects a second tape recorder that has been running overnight and was hidden under a statue in the office. She then feigns emotional distress and calls the police. That same morning, Selkin, unaware of Bardemans death the evening before, calls Rackin and orders him to kill Bardeman for not delivering the stolen money on time. A delighted Rackin agrees, realizing that the syndicate suspects only Bardeman of having stolen its money, and does not tell Selkin that Bardeman already is dead. Immediately afterwards, Honochek brings Selkin in for questioning. Orte reports to Gower that ballistics evidence shows that the same gun killed both Henry and Bardeman, and Gower hypothesizes that someone else was involved in Henrys murder and then killed Bardeman to avoid having to split the money stolen from Henry. When Honochek reports that Selkin had called Rackin that morning, Gower informs Selkin – much to Selkin's surprise – that Bardeman had been murdered the previous evening and orders Selkin held on suspicion of homicide. Deciding that Rackin is the man who can tie together Bardemans death with syndicate activities, Gower orders Honochek to tail Rackin. Angela telephones Rackin and plays the second audio tape over the phone to him; it clearly incriminates him in Bardemans murder. When he expresses gratitude that she found it instead of the police and asks her to erase or destroy it, she informs him that instead she will give the tape to him, but only if he gives her all of the stolen money. They agree to meet at the train station to exchange the tape for the money. Meanwhile, Ortes questioning of Angelas officemates at Bardemans law firm reveals that she entered his office every morning to retrieve and transcribe audio tapes Bardeman used for dictation, and the tape being missing on the morning Angela found Bardemans body prompts Gower to order that Angela be brought in for further questioning. Before the police can do so, Honochek, tailing Rackin, telephones Gower to report Angela meeting with Rackin at the train station. Gower and Orte immediately drive to the train station and join up with Honochek. When Angela meets Rackin, she admits to him that she had been planning all along to double-cross him as well as Bardeman. She orders him to place the money in a locker at the train station, after which she will place the tape in the same locker. Rackin places the money in the locker, and when Angela exchanges the tape for the money, approaches her threateningly. She throws the locker key at him to force him to retrieve it rather than chase her, then runs off and gets into a taxicab, but two of Gowers detectives stop the cab almost immediately and arrest her. At the train station, Rackin gets the tape from the locker, then runs when he sees Gower, Honochek, and Orte approaching. Cornered, he pulls a gun, and Orte fatally shoots him. Believing that Selkin ordered Rackin to kill Bardeman but unable to prove it with Rackin dead, Gower orders Selkin released. Gower tells Selkin to take word back to the syndicate that with him as police commissioner, organized crime activities were going to become very difficult in the future, and that the syndicate would be wise to pull out of town. Dropping Gower off at his home that evening, Honochek calls Gower "Commissioner" with a smile, demonstrating that Gower has earned his respect as a leader and that he no longer harbors any ill will about Gowers promotion.


Cast

*
Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...
as Captain/Police Commissioner Matthew Gower *
Vera Miles Vera June Miles ( née Ralston, born August 23, 1929) is an American retired actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, most notably as Lila Crane in the classic 1960 film '' Psycho'', reprising the role in the 1983 sequel '' Psycho II ...
as Angela Walsh * Robert Douglas as Allen Bardeman * Arch Johnson as Chief Inspector Gus Honochek * Douglas Odney as Sergeant/Lieutenant Frank Orte *
Robert H. Harris Robert H. Harris (born Robert H. Hurwitz; July 15, 1911 – November 30, 1981) was an American character actor. Stage A veteran of the Yiddish Art Theater from his teens, Harris made his first Broadway appearance in 1937 in ''Schoolhouse on the ...
as Joe Selkin *
Ken Lynch Kenneth E. Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was an American radio, film, and television actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been bes ...
as Ed Rackin * Robert Bailey as Sam Henry * Mary Lawrence as Marian Gower *
James Seay James Seay (September 9, 1914 – October 10, 1992) was an American character actor who often played minor supporting roles as government officials. Early years Seay demonstrated an interest in acting at an early age, as he and his mothe ...
as Mayor Harold Emshaw * Marianne Stewart as Rose Wardell *
Jay Adler Jay Adler (August 4, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American actor in theater, television, and film. Early life Born in New York City, he was the eldest son of actors Jacob and Sara Adler, and the brother of five actor siblings, including st ...
as Abe Hirsch *
John Zaremba John Zaremba (October 22, 1908 – December 15, 1986) was an American actor most noted for supporting roles on science fiction films and television series. The Chicago-born Zaremba was a journalist for the ''Grand Rapids Press'' and ''Chicago T ...
as Sergeant John Ervine * David White as Police Commissioner James Deane


Background and production

In the spring and summer of 1961,
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
broadcast a television series in the United States entitled ''
The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American film noir heist film directed by John Huston. Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden and L ...
''. Produced by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...
in a film noir style, it was a gritty, hard-boiled
police drama The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...
starring
Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...
, Arch Johnson, and William Smith (billed as "Bill Smith") as detectives in the police force of an unnamed city in the
Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
specializing in investigating the activities of organized crime. Although inspired by the acclaimed 1950 film ''
The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American film noir heist film directed by John Huston. Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden and L ...
'', which in turn had been based on the 1949
W. R. Burnett William Riley Burnett (November 25, 1899 April 25, 1982) was an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for the crime novel ''Little Caesar'', the film adaptation of which is considered the first of the classic American gangster ...
novel of the same name, the television series had nothing in common with either the film or the novel other than its title, using new characters and storylines. Premiering on April 2, 1961, it drew mediocre ratings, and ABC cancelled it after airing its thirteenth episode on June 25, 1961.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 64.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 63. MGM Television filmed ''The Asphalt Jungle''s pilot episode, "The Lady and the Lawyer", in 1960. ABC aired it as the series second episode on April 9, 1961. Unlike other episodes of ''The Asphalt Jungle'', it did not include Smith or his Sergeant Danny Keller character as the third featured detective alongside Gower and Honochek, instead featuring Douglas Odney as Sergeant Frank Orte, although it used the series standard opening credits that included Smith. Anticipating the shows cancellation and deciding to create a theatrical film for distribution in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, MGM Television shot an additional 30 minutes of footage using the same cast and crew as "The Lady and the Lawyer."
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...
used the additional footage to re-edit and expand "The Lady and the Lawyer" to create ''The Lawbreakers'' as a 79-minute theatrical film, which, like "The Lady and the Lawyer," included Odney and his Orte character and did not include Smith or his Keller character.Noir Worth Watching: The Lawbreakers (1961)
/ref> ''The Lawbreakers'' was released in Europe and elsewhere in 1961 after the cancellation of ''The Asphalt Jungle''; for example, it was released in August 1961 in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, and it eventually was released on various dates in such countries as
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and Sweden. Duke Ellington wrote the theme music for ''The Asphalt Jungle'' television series, and it was used in "The Lady and the Lawyer"; music by
Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...
replaced it in ''The Lawbreakers''. Otherwise, production credits for ''The Lawbreakers'' were the same as those for "The Lady and the Lawyer". Intended from the outset for theatrical release in Europe rather than the United States, ''The Lawbreakers'' is considerably more violent and risqué than domestic American films of the era and far more so than any episode of ''The Asphalt Jungle'' television series. The additional footage shot for the film includes scantily clad prostitutes and showgirls and a striptease performance by a woman on the stage at Rackins nightclub, which could not have aired on American television in 1961 and probably would not have been included in a domestic American film.


Legacy and critical response

Never released theatrically in the United States, ''The Lawbreakers'' has been almost entirely forgotten there and is one of the most obscure of Joseph M. Newmans movies. Apparently, its only showing in the United States was a single broadcast on
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
on
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...
over 40 years after its European release.mikegrost.com The Films of Joseph M. Newman: The Lawbreakers
/ref> The American Film Institute does not include ''The Lawbreakers'' in its Catalog of Feature Films. In recent years, ''The Lawbreakers'' has been exhibited at the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and has received favorable reviews from online film bloggers, who have described it as tightly edited and directed, providing an informative and thorough depiction of the operations of both organized crime and the police, and featuring a surprisingly talented cast of character actors, considering its origin as a television series episode. Vera Miles performance as a film noir ''femme fatale'' and Joseph M. Newmans direction have been singled out for praise.Mystery*File: Movie Review: THE LAWBREAKERS (1961)
/ref>


See also

* List of American films of 1961


References


External links

* * *
''The Lawbreakers'' (complete theatrical film) on YouTube''The Asphalt Jungle'' pilot episode "The Lady and the Lawyer" (basis for ''The Lawbreakers'') on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawbreakers, The 1961 films 1961 crime films American crime films American black-and-white films 1960s English-language films Film noir Films scored by Johnny Mandel Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Joseph M. Newman Films edited from television programs American neo-noir films 1960s American films