''Queen of the Mob'' is a 1940 American film (also known as ''The Woman from Hell''), directed by James P. Hogan. The source material here was a book attributed to

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

Director

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...

entitled ''Persons in Hiding''. The events are loosely based on the

kidnapping of Edward Bremer The kidnapping of Edward Bremer was the last major criminal enterprise of the Barker-Karpis gang. Though successful in netting the gang a large ransom, it brought down the full force of the FBI on the gang, resulting in the death or capture of i ...

by the Barker-Karpis gang, which Hoover believed to have been led by

Ma Barker Kate Barker (born Arizona Donnie Clark; October 8, 1873 – January 16, 1935), better known as Ma Barker (and sometimes known as Arizona Barker and Arrie Barker), was the mother of several American criminals who ran the Barker–Karpis Gang ...

. The names of the persons involved and other details of events were changed at the request of the FBI.Hardy, Philip (ed), ''The BFI Companion to Crime'', British Film Institute, 1997, p.42.

Plot

Infamous Ma Webster rules her clan of mobsters – mainly consisting of her three more or less criminally inclined sons – with an iron hand and without mercy. She is the terror of Centre City. She refuses to let anyone else handle the planning of all the clan's robberies, much to George Frost's dismay. George is the only clan member who isn't related to Ma Webster. George protests and makes a fuss about this, but to no avail. Ma and her sons Eddie, Charlie and Tom team up with George on Christmas Eve itself to rob the Centre City bank. They are warned, however, by Bert, Ma's more lawful son, who studies law and disdains the criminal behaviour of the rest of his family. Bert urges his mother and his brothers to get out of town to prevent them from being arrested for previous crimes the police and the FBI have found evidence of. Ma listens to Bert and takes the gang on a crime spree across several states. This tour gives the gang a heap of cash, including $300,000 in ransom for a kidnapping, as well as cash from various robberies. Since Ma and the gang are well aware that the cash they have received had been tagged by the FBI, and that the serial numbers of the bills are probably registered, they meet up with a shady character called Pan to make an exchange for unmarked ones. They get $100,000 in cash for the bounty, but the temptation of keeping their bounty is to strong, and they kill Pan and leave. What they don't know is that the FBI has a list of all the bills in Pan's possession, found in his coat pocket. Soon the Feds are in the gang's tracks again. Two federal agents are assigned to the case: Scott Langham and Ross Waring. These two agents track the gang down to a small town in the south of the United States, where they have taken refuge and Ma is posing as a socialite. When the agents come to town, Ma and the gang flee, and are forced to hide in cheap hotels around the country. The following Christmas holiday Ma returns to Centre City to visit her son Bert and his newborn baby. When she is away from the rest of the gang, they decide to do another robbery on their own. They hold up a store, but fail, with the result that Charlie is shot and killed and Tom is arrested. When Tom's trial comes up, Bert represents him, and convinces him to plead guilty and agree to return on his own free will to the city where they committed the kidnapping. The gang is split because of difference in opinion, and when George tries to leave to go his own way, Ma and Eddie kill him. They also contract another gang leader, Stitch Torey, and his men to help Tom escape from his incarceration. Stitch's gang fails in the attempt to free Tom, and most of the gang members are killed. Ma and Eddie are the only ones left of the original gang, and they have adopted a low profile. Eddie works in a cannery to support them both and Ma has become quite neighborly. But Eddie grows restless and careless. He sets up a hideout for some thugs he is hoping to join in a new robbery. He steals some cans from the workplace and gives them to the thugs. They in turn manage to crash their car on the way back with the cans, and the police get involved. When the police find Eddie's fingerprints on the cans they know he is nearby. On Christmas Eve Federal agents storm Ma and Eddie's home. A shoot-out ensues, in which Eddie is killed. Ma eventually surrenders herself to the police.

Cast

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...

as Agent Scott Langham *

Blanche Yurka Blanche Yurka (born Blanch Jurka, June 19, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American stage and film actress and director. She was an opera singer with minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera and later became a stage actress, making her Broadway deb ...

as Ma Webster * J. Carrol Naish as George Frost *

Jeanne Cagney Jeanne Carolyn Cagney (March 25, 1919 – December 7, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Early years Born in New York City, Cagney and her four older brothers were raised by her widowed mother Carolyn Elizabeth Cag ...

as Ethel Webster * William Henry as Bert Webster *

Richard Denning Richard Denning (March 27, 1914 – October 11, 1998) was an American actor who starred in science fiction films of the 1950s, including '' Unknown Island'' (1948), '' Creature from the Black Lagoon'' ( 1954), '' Target Earth'' (1954), '' Day ...

as Charlie Webster * Paul Kelly as Tom Webster *

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

as Mrs. Emily Sturgis *

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 Eddie Webster *

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...

as Agent Ross Waring *

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects ...

as Mr. Reier Uncredited players include: Neil Hamilton, Leona Roberts,

Mary Treen Mary Treen (born Mary Louise Summers, March 27, 1907 – July 20, 1989) was an American film and television actress. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in the Hollywood of the 1 ...

Paul Fix Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career b ...

Edward Gargan Edward Gargan (July 17, 1902 – February 19, 1964) was an American film and television actor. Career He was born of Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York. He was the elder brother of actor William Gargan. As soon as he had left college, he wen ...

and

Robert Ryan Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

(in his second film).

References

External links

* {{James P. Hogan 1940 films Films directed by James Patrick Hogan Paramount Pictures films Films about Ma Barker American crime drama films 1940 crime drama films 1940s English-language films American black-and-white films 1940s American films