Josef Sternberg's Underworld is a compelling story of three people. Bull Weed is a crude gangster with a penchant for helping people; we see him kill, and yet we still find redeeming virtues. Rolls Royce is an attorney driven to Skid Row by his alcoholism, lifted out of his misery by Bull. Finally, Feathers McCoy winces when Bull introduces her to Rolls Royce as his girl, a small moment that tells us all we need to know; and she doesn't answer when Rolls Royce asks her what she was doing when Bull rescued her. There are also three central scenes in the film: the early scene in the speakeasy, when Buck Mulligan (another gangster) tries to humiliate Rolls Royce; the hypnotic scene of the gangsters' ball, a surreal and sinister gathering of the underworld elite; and the exciting final shootout. The Alloy Orchestra track that comes with the Criterion DVD fits the dark mood of the film perfectly.
Review of Underworld
