Underworld (Paramount, 1927). Very Fine+. Title Lobby Card (11" X 14").. ...

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Underworld (Paramount, 1927). Very Fine+. Title Lobby Card (11" X 14").
Predating such genre classics as Little Caesar and The Public Enemy, this landmark picture is widely considered to be the first modern American gangster film, setting the stage for many significant movies to follow. Directed by Josef von Sternberg, with a script by Ben Hecht - who would script another gangster classic, Scarface, several years later - the movie is about Bull Weed, a brutal crime boss eventually brought low by his own weaknesses. Starring George Bancroft as Weed, Clive Brook as "Rolls Royce," a derelict who becomes Weed's confidante, and Evelyn Brent as "Feathers" McCoy, Weed's girlfriend. When one considers the enormous popularity of gangster pictures in the 1930s, and the considerable influence those films had on the film noir movement of the 1940s, it's impossible to overestimate the importance of this film, as the foundation upon which virtually all the rest was laid. Actors like James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, George Raft, and Paul Muni, all of whom, to one degree or another, built their early careers on portrayals of tough guys and criminals, owe a debt to this groundbreaking film. This nearly flawless lobby card makes its Heritage debut for the second time in fifteen years. It shows a single pinhole in each corner, and a minor scuff within the right border. Paper from this film is very rarely offered, especially in such pristine condition. From the Wood Hall Collection.


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