''Portrait of a Mobster'' is a 1961 American crime film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring

Vic Morrow Victor Morrow (born Victor Morozoff; February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982) was an American actor. He came to prominence as one of the leads of the ABC drama series '' Combat!'' (1962–1967), which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstand ...

Leslie Parrish Leslie Parrish (born Marjorie Hellen; March 13, 1935) is an American actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer. She worked under her birth name for six years, changing it in 1959. Early life As a child, Parrish lived in Massachu ...

and Ray Danton repeating his role as 'Legs' Diamond.PORTRAIT OF A MOBSTER, Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 28, Iss. 324, (January 1, 1961): p. 99.

Plot

Up-and-coming racketeer

Dutch Schultz Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster. Based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, he made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the n ...

joins the

Legs Diamond Jack "Legs" Diamond (possibly born John Thomas Diamond, though disputed; July 10, 1897 – December 18, 1931), also known as Gentleman Jack, was an Irish American gangster in Philadelphia and New York City during the Prohibition era. A bootle ...

gang in

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

-era New York. A bootlegger named Murphy is murdered by Dutch, who falls for the dead man's daughter, Iris. Iris marries her fiancé, Frank Brennan, a police detective. They need money and Frank accepts payoffs from Dutch, who is forming a gang of his own. After getting rid of Legs, Mad Dog Coll and others standing in his way, Dutch again makes a play for Iris, but she learns that he killed her father and begins to drink. Frank vows to reform and win her back. Betraying his pal Bo to the mob, Dutch discovers that a hit has been put out on himself as well. While fighting for his life, he is shot by Bo by mistake and is killed.

Score

Howard Jackson compiled the score from White Heat and four other

Max Steiner Maximilian Raoul Steiner (May 10, 1888 – December 28, 1971) was an Austrian composer and conductor who emigrated to America and went on to become one of Hollywood's greatest musical composers. Steiner was a child prodigy who conducted ...

scores.

Cast

as Iris Murphy *

Peter Breck Joseph Peter Breck (March 13, 1929 – February 6, 2012) was an American character actor. The rugged, dark-haired Breck played the gambler and gunfighter Doc Holliday on the ABC/Warner Bros. Television series ''Maverick'' as well as Victoria Bar ...

as Frank Brennan *

Norman Alden Norman Alden (born Norman Adelberg, September 13, 1924 – July 27, 2012) was an American character actor who performed in television programs and motion pictures. He first appeared on television on ''The 20th Century Fox Hour'' in 1957. He ...

as Bo Wetzel * Robert McQueeney as Michael Ferris *

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 Lieutenant D. Corbin * Stephen Roberts as Guthrie *

Joseph Gallison Joseph Gallison is an American actor who worked on television soap operas for twenty-seven years. He is probably best known for his role as Dr. Neil Curtis on '' Days of Our Lives'' (1974-1991). Early years Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Galli ...

as Vincent Coll *

Frank DeKova Frank de Kova (March 17, 1910 – October 15, 1981) was an American character actor in films, stage, and TV. Biography De Kova was born in New York City. He was a teacher at a school in New York before joining a Shakespeare repertory group. He ...

as Anthony Parazzo * Ray Danton as "Legs" Diamond *

as "Mad Dog" Coll * Larry J. Blake as John Murphy *

Harry Holcombe Harry John Holcombe (November 11, 1906 - September 15, 1987) was an American actor and radio director. He was perhaps best remembered as the grandfather in the Country Time commercials, playing the role for almost a decade. Holcombe also played ...

as Capt. Bayridge * Frances Morris as Louise Murphy *

Gil Perkins Gilbert Vincent Perkins (24 August 1907 – 28 March 1999) was an Australian film and television actor. Early life As a teenager, Perkins was a trackman and an athlete. He ran away from home at a young age and joined the crew of a Norwe ...

as Joe Murdoch * Jon Kowal asLou Rhodes * Arthur Tenen as Steve Matryck * Eddie Hanley as Matty Krause *

Joe Turkel Joseph Turkel (July 15, 1927 – June 27, 2022) was an American character actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s. He is known for his roles in Stanley Kubrick's films '' The Killing'', ''Paths ...

as Joe Noe *

Anthony Eisley Anthony Eisley (January 19, 1925 – January 29, 2003) was an American actor best known as one of the detective leads, Tracy Steele, in the ABC/Warner Brothers television series '' Hawaiian Eye''. Early in his career, he was credited as Fred Eis ...

as Legal Advisor *

Poncie Ponce Poncie Ponce (born Ponciano Tabac Ponce; April 10, 1933 – July 19, 2013) was an American actor, musician and stand-up comedian. Born in Maui, Hawaii, he moved to Los Angeles, where from 1959–1963 he played the role of cab driver Kazuo Kim in ...

as Master of Ceremonies

References

External links

* 1961 films Films directed by Joseph Pevney Warner Bros. films American black-and-white films Films set in the 1920s Films set in New York City Films about Jewish-American organized crime Crime films based on actual events 1961 crime drama films Films about the Irish Mob Cultural depictions of Dutch Schultz Cultural depictions of Legs Diamond Cultural depictions of Mad Dog Coll 1960s English-language films {{1960s-crime-drama-film-stub