The Guilty Generation

So, let's pretend you are a Hollywood producer back in 1931 and you are planning on making a movie about mobsters--Italian mobsters to be precise. So, for the roles of mobsters and family members of the Ricca and Palmero family, who would you pick? Well, unless you were insane, you probably wouldn't pick the British Boris Karloff, Hispanic-American Leo Carrillo or the Waspy Constance Cummings or Robert Young. And, oddly, these are exactly the actors chosen for this film that is a bit like "Little Caesar" and "Romeo & Juliet" merged into one. The only one in the cast that came off as Italian was the English actress Emma Dunn--now SHE seemed like she was cast well as she sounded Italian and was quite effective. Now I am NOT saying that the others were bad--they just didn't seem very Italian.

The film begins with nice-guy Young getting a surprise visit from his dad (Karloff). It seems Karloff is hurt because his architect son has changed his name and wants nothing to do with the family business of killing people and selling bathtub booze. But, despite his charming personality, Young is determined to make it on his own and tells his father to leave.

A bit later, the film shifts to another unhappy child of a different gangster. It seems that Constance wants to be accepted by high society but her thug brother and father (Carrillo) make it really tough. When she throws a fancy party, the brother starts acting tough by throwing people into the pool. When Young stops him, the brother is about to shoot him! Nice family, huh?! Well, it seems that Young knew Cummings when they were kids. This, combined with their angst about their mob families makes their falling in love natural...except the two fathers are rivals bent on killing each other as well as wiping out the other's family! As a result, the Romeo & Juliet angle enters into this fateful romance.

Overall, this is a low-budget but entertaining film from Columbia. It's well worth seeing and a nice reworking of Shakespeare--minus all the olde tyme dialog. However, for fans of Karloff, be forewarned that he's really not in the film that much and I assume he was billed as high as he was due to his recent appearance in "Frankenstein". Regardless, it's a tough little film that I enjoyed.

Some parts of this movie have not survived seventy-five years well, and at times the dialogue limps. Robert Young, as the young lover, speaks in a voice that is annoying in the high register. Constance Cummings is a beautiful young woman and a good actor. Boris Karloff handles his rather small role gracefully, with just an air of lurking menace.

But it is Leo Carrillo, who begins the movie looking like a buffoon and ends the movie as a terrible monster, who owns this movie. I won't give away any details, but the ending, once you realize its inevitability, is a real shocker.

Does Carrillo's performance make the movie worth seeing? Yes, although just barely, and you may need a bit of patience until the movie is worthwhile, but perhaps the mobile camera-work will keep you interested.

A very youthful Robert Young (of "Father Knows Best") plays an architect named "John Smith" who's changed his true name from Marco Ricca in order to sever any ties with his despicable gangster father, Tony Ricca (Boris Karloff). There's a war between the Italian Ricca family and their rivals, the Palmiero family, who are lead by Mike Palmiero (Leo Carrillo). In between mutual tit for tat retaliations of a very GODFATHER-like nature, of course things get even more complicated when John Smith falls in love with crime boss Palmiero's daughter, Maria (Constance Cummings).

This was a moderately enjoyable picture with some fun to be had, though it comes up just a wee bit short of being genuinely "good", and coughs up a rather abrupt and unsatisfying ending that doesn't satisfy our expectations. It's nicely directed most of the time by Rowland V. Lee but tends to lag every now and then. It's Leo Carrillo who is the real draw of the film and he's completely believable as Mike Palmiero. Boris Karloff is a real hoot as an Italian crime leader, but unfortunately has his best scene at the start of the movie and isn't featured very much thereafter. Recommended to be seen, if you can come across a copy. **1/2 out of ****

This is the closest the 1930s got to making THE SOPRANOS. It's a realistic, intelligent and grown-up character driven drama about a gangland boss' journey into the heart of darkness.

Compared with 'the big three' gangster movies of the early thirties, this is closest in character to SCARFACE. It's a dark subject and a dark film. Like me, you might prefer Warner Brothers' less subtle, slightly more 'fun' approach to making these types of film. This is definitely not fun and the main protagonist is, like Paul Muni's Tony (but unlike James Gandolfini's Tony) is not in any way likeable. When you can't like the person you're watching it's usually difficult to engage with the story but here, because of engaging writing, a believable script and good acting, you're immediately transfixed.

Unlike many films of this era, here we have a deep, multi-dimensional character driven drama. The Romeo and Juliet love story is secondary to that of Leo Carillo's psychological descent into megalomania. 'Power corrupts' it is said and Carillo certainly displays this trope as his actions and thoughts begin to lose all grounding in the world around him. This shows how, as the revenge killings escalate, murder becomes normalised and these gangland mobsters' concept of society has slipped out of synchronisation with reality.

The actual plot which runs alongside this fascinating fly on the wall observation of Carillo is the love affair between his daughter and the son of his gangland rival. Constance Cummings and Robert Young (even with comedy moustache) are excellent as the hapless but naively optimistic love-struck pawns in this symphony of hate. They meet at one of Carillo's house parties where Carillo is trying to push his glamorous daughter into high society. He sees his millions and his gaudy, tastelessly opulent mansion as a way in to respectability but to normal folk he's just something to experience like a thrilling fairground ride.

So who is THE GUILTY GENERATION? Like most of the early thirties gangster movies, there's the inevitable preaching. It might seem crass and pointless to have scenes where, in this case journalists are telling us how terrible gangsters are but it's the audience who are, or rather were the guilty generation. Attitudes to law, to the government and to the police were different then. The underworld was seen as sexy, exciting and something even to admire. This film certainly does not glamorise crime and the preachiness is just at the right level.

Overall it's a well made if somewhat somber and sober picture which reflects the mood of the time. If you like SCARFACE, you should like this.

Guilty Generation, The (1931)

*** (out of 4)

Warner had The Public Enemy, Universal had Scarface and Columbia had this little gem from director Rowland V. Lee. A young couple (Robert Young & Constance Cummings) fall in love even though their fathers (Leo Carrillo & Boris Karloff) are rivals of opposite gangs. There's no doubt this lifts the story of Romeo and Juliet and while it starts off a bit shaky there's no denying the final twenty minutes are extremely good as the girl's father finally finds out who the boy's father is. Everyone gives a very good performance but Cummings is the real standout with her delightful charm. Karloff is also very good in his few moments at the start of the film. It's really great that TCM is showing all these rare Columbia films and I can't wait to see what else they have from this period.