''Roger Touhy, Gangster'' is a 1944 American gangster film based on the life of Chicago mob figure

Roger Touhy Roger Touhy (September 18, 1898 – December 16, 1959) was an Irish American mob boss and prohibition-era bootlegger from Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. He is best remembered for having been framed for the 1933 faked kidnapping of ...

, directed by

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 '' ...

specialist

Robert Florey Robert Florey (14 September 1900 – 16 May 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor. Born as Robert Fuchs in Paris, he became an orphan at an early age and was then raised in Switzerland. In 1920 he worked a ...

. Parts of the film were shot at

Stateville Correctional Center Stateville Correctional Center (SCC) is a maximum security state prison for men in Crest Hill, Illinois, United States, near Chicago. It is a part of the Illinois Department of Corrections. History Opened in 1925, Stateville was built to ...

near

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. His ...

, where Touhy himself was serving time. Although the story was fictionalized, Touhy successfully sued the studio for

defamation of character Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

. After six years, he won a judgment of $15,000, although Fox was able to profitably distribute the film overseas without legal repercussions.Hedda Hopper, "Looking at Hollywood," ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' February 27, 1943; "The Graphic Little Theater Presents Preston Foster and Lois Andrews in 'Roger Touhy, Last of the Gangsters'," ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' August 8, 1943; "Touhy Lawyer Files New Plea Against Movie," ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' August 12, 1943; "Settle $100,000 Touhy Movie Suit for $15,000," ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' November 2, 1949.

Cast

Preston Foster Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist. Early life Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

as Roger Touhy *

Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made sev ...

as Herman 'Owl' Banghart *

Lois Andrews Lois Andrews (born Lorraine Gourley; March 24, 1924 – April 5, 1968) was an American actress who played in films during the 1940s and early 1950s. She is perhaps best known for her first role in 1943 as the comic strip character Dixie Dugan ...

as Daisy *

Kent Taylor Kent Taylor (born Louis William Weiss; May 11, 1907 – April 11, 1987) was an American actor of film and television. Taylor appeared in more than 110 films, the bulk of them B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s, although he also had roles in more pr ...

as Captain Steve Warren *

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...

as George Carroll * William Post Jr. as Joseph P. Sutton *

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both ''December Bride'' (1954–1959 ...

as Thomas J. 'Smoke' Reardon * Matt Briggs as Cameron *

Moroni Olsen Moroni Olsen (June 27, 1889November 22, 1954) was an American actor. Life and career Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Latter-day Saint parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Martha ( Hoverholst) Olsen, who named him after the Moroni found in the ...

as Riley *

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one ...

as FBI Agent *

Trudy Marshall Gertrude Madeline "Trudy" Marshall (February 14, 1920 – May 23, 2004) was an American actress and model. Early life Marshall was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Madeline (née Brennan) and Frederick Marshall. She studied drama ...

as Sutton's escort * John Archer as FBI Agent * Frank Jenks as Bernard O'Connor * George E. Stone as Icebox Hamilton * Charles Lang as FBI Agent

References

External links

* 1944 films Films directed by Robert Florey 20th Century Fox films Biographical films about American gangsters Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer American crime films 1944 crime films American biographical films 1940s biographical films American black-and-white films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films {{bio-film-stub