Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art and Block Cinema (Venue Partner)
40 Arts Circle Drive
Northwestern University
847 491 4000
This event has passed.
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Underworld U.S.A.
- When
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Monday Nov 2, 2009 (8pm)
- Where
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Directions: On the south end of Northwestern University's campus, just off Sheridan Road. Free parking at NU after 4 pm weekdays and all day weekends. Near the CTA Purple Line Davis and Foster stops and the Metra Davis stop.
- Price
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$4 with NU Wildcard and 65+; $6 general admission
- Links
“Chronicling the travails of bitter ex-con Tolly, who has vowed to hunt down the gangsters responsible for his father's murder, Sam Fuller's Underworld U.S.A. (1961) follows a pretty standard revenge plot. But the conventional story is bolstered by Fuller's trademark dialogue (a campy mix of sensationalist overstatement and pulp-style absurdity) and the surprisingly childlike persona of his protagonist. The film is rife with the pessimism that Fuller developed in the '60s (the gangsters push dope on children, teenage girls are kidnapped for prostitution rings), and the somber outlook suits him well.”
Suzanne Niemoth, Flavorpill
As a young boy, Tolly Devlin saw his father viciously murdered by gangsters. Years later in prison, he discovers the identities of the killers and learns that they are rapidly rising in the ranks of the criminal hierarchy. As he sets out for revenge, he dangerously plays the government and organized crime off each other. A B-movie only in terms of budget and studio backing, and based on a series of stories in The Saturday Evening Post, Underworld U.S.A. is as high-pitched, sensational, and chilling as only a Sam Fuller film can be.
