What's in a Title? Crime Films Volume IV Quiz

Answer: Underworld

The underworld is of course a synonym for organized crime, the mob, and so on. So the title of this very early (some argue the first) feature-length crime film is no mystery. Furthermore, a key scene when Rolls Royce is fully embraced by Bull Weed (because he ruffles Buck Mulligan) takes place at the Dreamland Café, which is below street level. In the same scene, Rolls meets Feathers for the first time too.

How does Rolls Royce get his nickname I hear you cry? Bull stops him drinking saying, "That's what makes bums and squealers!" Rolls replies, "I may be a bum but I am no squealer. I might say I am a Rolls-Royce for silence." Cracking stuff.

"Underworld" ushered in a successful period for von Sternberg after a rather disastrous start in cinema. Apparently its success was a surprise to the studio bosses who had practically written the film off. Von Sternberg employed numerous now-common gangster tropes, such as dark alleys, shadows on walls, and most seminally the neon sign that Bull Weed looks up to in awe which reads: "The City Is Yours". The shoot-out towards the end of the film conveys raging violence equal to Peckinpah at his best. Furthermore, the scenes of a man who is resigned to being hung getting news of a possible escape plan is so filled with a topsy-turvy existential crisis that it's painful.

Von Sternberg was somewhat dismissive of "Underworld" once he was an established name and saw it as a technical workout. The plot is indeed flawed, especially by its trite ending. Nevertheless, the technical brilliance gives the plot an engaging dynamism, and makes it a treat to watch.

Answer: Kid Galahad

Ward Guisenberry is a bellhop at a party who grabs Nick's attention when he floors the boxer who knocked out Nick's champ. As the Kid's career takes off, journalists mention that Ward Guisenberry is no name for a star. Ward had punched the boxer in defense of Nick's girlfriend, Fluff, spurring her to name him Galahad, so Nick christens him Kid Galahad.

The plot of "Kid Galahad" is nothing to write home about, but with Edward G. Robinson as Nick Donati, Bette Davis as Fluff, Humphrey Bogart as Turkey Morgan and Michael Curtiz ("Angels with Dirty Faces", "Casablanca", "Mildred Pierce") at the helm, it could hardly be a dud.

Answer: The Roaring Twenties

"The Roaring Twenties" actually spans fourteen years from immediately prior to Prohibition to just after its demise. Of course, many gangster films are set during Prohibition since it was then that organized crime thrived and spread, but few give the overview provided by "The Roaring Twenties".

Eddie is played by James Cagney and is a bit softer than many of his tough guy personas. The real baddie is George, played by Humphrey Bogart. The naïve college-educated good-guy Lloyd is played by Jeffrey Lynn. It was the last film to see Bogart and Cagney together, unfortunately.

Another key character in "The Roaring Twenties" is Jean Sherman, played by Priscilla Lane. While still a schoolgirl, Jean writes to Eddie (Cagney) when he's in the trenches. He later falls in love with her but although she pretends to feel the same way, she really has eyes for somebody else. Priscilla Lane's career never really hit the heights despite a couple of great roles other than this one, such as in Hitchcock's 1942 "Saboteur", and alongside Cary Grant in 1944's "Arsenic and Old Lace".

Answer: The Lavender Hill Mob

Pendlebury moves into the very la-di-da lodging house in Lavender Hill (South London) where Holland already lives. The two strike up a friendship and Pendlebury shows Holland around the foundry where he makes cheap tacky souvenirs. Holland has long been devising a plan to rob the gold bullion he diligently delivers every day for the bank, and the visit puts the last piece of the puzzle in place. Later, Holland organizes a booze-up for the newly-formed gang in private function room at the very respectable Thread Needle Restaurant. In the Prince Albert Room there is the City Bankers Association, in the Empress of India room the Society of Global Metaphysics, and in the Tower Room is the Lavender Hill Mob.

The comedy of "The Lavender Hill Mob" mostly lies in the idea of two very middle class, impeccably trustworthy gents pulling off the biggest UK crime on record. A chase scene late in the film is particularly amusing as the pair hoodwink the dim-witted police.

Answer: Rififi

According to film scholar Ginette Vincendeau, "Rififi" means trouble, and the original French title, "Du Rififi Chez les Hommes" implies men of the underworld. In the film there is a night club scene in which a song called "Rififi" is performed. Here's a snippet of the English subtitles for the song: "It's not a word used normally, not one you'll find in a dictionary. Rififi. It's the word on the street, for tough guys it's no mean feat. Rififi. Don't dwell on it, it's not so bizarre, it's simply just a fracas. Rififi."

"Rififi" follows the conventions of the classic heist film, i.e. it's split into three parts: the plan, the execution, the aftermath. The pièce de résistance is undoubtedly the carrying out of the job itself. Incredibly, there is a stretch of half an hour (almost to the second) in which there is no dialogue. It's eventually broken by the Tony le Stéphanois character uttering "No!". There's no music for over twenty minutes of this, so all we hear are "natural" sounds, above all the tools the gang are using in the robbery.

César the Italian safecracker is played by Dassin, although that wasn't the plan. The Italian actor who was set to play the role never turned up, so Dassin said: "I put on the moustache and did it myself!".

Answer: Coffy

The nurse is called Ms Coffin, nicknamed Coffy, and as we hear immediately in the lyrics to the theme song, the allusion to skin colour is obvious.

Coffy is played by the nonpareil Pam Grier in one of her toughest vigilante roles. Coffy really is the epitome of a liberated, head-strong black woman, albeit in a slightly cartoonish style. She doesn't hesitate to use her sexual allure to entrap the baddies either, and guess what? The baddies fall for it every time! Fabulous.

"Lovely But Deadly" (1981) was a sort-of remake of "Coffy", although the heroine had become a white cheerleader who was also a martial arts expert. As good as that sounds, it doesn't hold a candle to "Coffy".

Answer: Magnum Force

At the end of the opening credits, "Dirty" Harry's pistol points straight at us (the audience) and we hear Harry/Clint Eastwood say, "This is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and it could blow your head clean off. Do you feel lucky?" The little speech is a variation on a chunk of dialogue from the film "Dirty Harry" (1971), to which "Magnum Force" is a sequel. Clint Eastwood did five "Dirty Harry" films in the title role before retiring the character. Eastwood said he wished to avoid his age making the character ridiculous.

Like all the "Dirty Harry" films, "Magnum Force" has some clumsy diatribe, annoying catch-phrases, wooden acting, and some very silly scenarios (the plane hijacking springs to mind), but it's great fun. The music score by Lalo Shifrin is fantastic, as are the locations, and the car chases and shoot-outs are thrilling.

Interestingly, in the final showdown Harry takes on the bad eggs after losing his signature Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum.

Answer: Juice

The title of "Juice" refers to a term meaning credibility amongst hoodlums. At the end of the film one lad is told "you've got the juice now" by an onlooker, although he has been through so much he doesn't appreciate such an accolade.

The plot of "Juice" is nothing to write home about, and at times it looks like a cheap hip-hop music video, but the performances of the four members of The Wrecking Crew (amongst others) really make the film. In particular, Tupac Shakur's macho posturing as Bishop really impresses. Unfortunately, Tupac's real-life demise a few years later revealed how vulnerable those who get involved in gangs really are.

Answer: Snatch

The verb to snatch means both to steal (thus the snatch means the initial robbery), and to abduct. Various people are abducted, held hostage and held to ransom in the film.

"Snatch" has a sub-plot which revolves around illegal boxing and match-fixing. One of the boxers is played by heartthrob Brad Pitt in an unusual role as an Irish Traveller for which he sports an incredibly convincing accent and cant.

Guy Ritchie's "Snatch" gets everything right for a British comedy crime flick: it's extremely violent yet also very funny, and complicated enough to keep you guessing but not so complex that you give up caring. Furthermore, the array of characters caricatured by their accents, lingos, and modus operandi showcases cosmopolitan London.

Answer: American Hustle

One of the dictionary definitions of to hustle is to live off illegally gained income, as the two main characters of the film do. It also means to rush and hurry somebody, as the FBI agent Richard DiMaso in the film does, which often jeopardises the whole operation.

"American Hustle" is based on real-life events surrounding the ABSCAM operation carried out by the FBI in the late 1970s. The film boasts some fantastic performances and is hugely entertaining. It's by no means a straight-forward comedy, but it's practically impossible not to become fond of the tragicomic character Irving Rosenfeld (Bale), and equally difficult to like Bradley Cooper as FBI Agent Richard DiMaso. In fact, DiMaso's immediate superior, fuddy-duddy Stoddard Thorsen (played by comedian Louis C.K.), is much more likeable.