The Purple Gang is a 1960 American period crime film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Barry Sullivan, Robert Blake and Jody Lawrance.[1] It portrays the activities of The Purple Gang bootlegging organization in Detroit in the 1920s
| The Purple Gang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Frank McDonald |
| Written by | Jack DeWitt |
| Produced by | Lindsley Parsons |
| Starring | Barry Sullivan Robert Blake Jody Lawrance |
| Cinematography | Ellis W. Carter |
| Edited by | Maurice Wright |
| Music by | Paul Dunlap |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editA fictionalized account of The Purple Gang as they smuggled liquor in 1920s Detroit, Michigan.
Cast
edit- Barry Sullivan as Police Lt. William P. Harley
- Robert Blake as William Joseph 'Honeyboy' Willard
- Elaine Edwards as Gladys Harley
- Marc Cavell as Henry Abel 'Hank' Smith
- Jody Lawrance as Joan MacNamara
- Suzanne Ridgway as Daisy
- Joe Turkel as Eddie Olsen
- Victor Creatore as Al Olsen
- Paul Dubov as Thomas Allen 'Killer' Burke
- Ray Boyle as Tom Olsen
- Kathleen Lockhart as Nun
- Nestor Paiva as Laurence Orlofsky
- Lou Krugman as Dr. Riordan
- Robert Anderson as Police Commissioner
- Mauritz Hugo as Licovetti
- James Roosevelt as Himself in Prologue[2]
Production
editThe Purple Gang was directed by Frank McDonald and was produced by Lindsley Parsons under the company Lindsley Parsons Productions, Inc.[2] The film details the formation of The Purple Gang and their criminal operations in Detroit, Michigan. It left out that the majority of The Purple Gang was Jewish.[3] The film opened with newsreels and Congressman James Roosevelt, the son of Franklin D. Roosevelt, saying that "despite its entertainment value, the film points out that only by an awakened citizenry can crime be successfully fought."[3][4] Roosevelt's introduction is followed by a statement that explains the plot of the film. 1930s newsreel footage is interspersed throughout the film.[2] The Los Angeles Evening Citizen News said that the film's narration "adds a convincing documentary flavor to the picture."[5] The narration was provided by Barry Sullivan as his character Bill Harley.[2]
Release
editThe film was released on January 5, 1960 by Allied Artists.[6] It was released on VHS in 1992 and on DVD in 2011 through the Warner Archive Collection.[7][8]
Reception
editGlenn Erickson of DVD Talk said, "The obvious hook with the true facts of The Purple Gang is the teen angle: in 1959 movie screens were awash with juvenile delinquency pictures. But the script as written sticks with gangster clichés, not adolescent angst."[8] Dave Kehr of The New York Times wrote, "Produced by the cash-strapped independent Allied Artists, the film employs a minimally rendered period setting to provide cover for a more or less frank admiration (at least, up until the last reel) of youth in revolt: teenagers with tommy guns."[9]
References
edit- ^ Stanfield p.136
- ^ a b c d "The Purple Gang". AFI. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ a b "The Purple Gang". The Mob Museum. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ "Forward by Roosevelt". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Hollywood, California. November 16, 1959 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Redelings, Lowell E. (March 10, 1960). "The First Run Films in Review". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Hollywood, California – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Purple Gang". Trakt. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ The Purple Gang. OCLC 36023653. Retrieved February 10, 2021 – via WorldCat.
- ^ a b Erickson, Glenn (October 3, 2011). "The Purple Gang". DVD Talk. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ Kehr, Dave (August 12, 2011). "How Crimes Have Changed". The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
Bibliography
edit- Stanfield, Peter. The Cool and the Crazy: Pop Fifties Cinema. Rutgers University Press, 2015.