The Enforcer

Humphrey Bogart was famous for portraying tough loners and hard-bitten antiheroes, but in this 1951 cop drama he stars as crusading district attorney Martin Ferguson, who takes on a murder-for-hire gang and its intimidating boss, Albert Mendoza (Everett Sloane). Zero Mostel is superb as Big Babe Lazick, a sweaty, neurotic hood who is browbeaten by both the mob enforcer and the cops, with Ted de Corsia costarring as Joseph Rico, the brutal second-in-command terrified to testify against Mendoza. Although inspired by the real-life case against Murder Inc., this is a fictionalized version of events that brings the post-war attitude and style of film noir to the gangster drama, with its shadowy urban settings and atmosphere of social corruption. Although the flashback structure somewhat weakens the tension, this is a well-made film, overall, that marks the shift in the gangster genre in the 1950s to the big-business underworld of syndicate crime. Bretaigne Windust is credited as director, but Raoul Walsh—veteran of tough thrillers such as High Sierra and White Heat—took over and delivered the standout opening act and dynamic finale. Because it was an independent production, The Enforcer is not as well-known as many other Bogart movies. Re-released on DVD and debuting on Blu-ray with a very good transfer, this is a treat for classic film fans. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)