Black Hand

Gene Kelly was a perfectly good dramatic actor(e.g Inherit the Wind,Seagulls Over Sorrento)but it is not good casting asking him to play an earnest young Italian American intent on avenging the death of his father at the hands of New York gang the Black Hand He tries the legal route,aided by a veteran Italian-American cop,played in another bizarre piece of casting by J Carroll Naish,before resorting to a physical confrontation with the bad guys The movie moves briskly and will satisfy those looking for an afternoon's diversion in front of the TV but the acting does not quite pass muster and the bad guys never seem all thar much of a threat Good direction though with some well handled action scenes

When I think of Gene Kelly, I think of "Singing in the Rain" or "An American in Paris," as I imagine most would. I would never expect to see him playing an Italian who comes back from the old country to avenge the death of his father. Casting him as an Italian was way off base. They couldn't find an Italian to play an Italian? This miscasting affects the whole movie.

You should not look for something that resembles "The Godfather" here as there is a similar revenge story. This was done in 1950 and people were obviously more gullible. Imagine that he was able to pick up a lit cigarette with his feet and use it to light a fuse. Imagine that he could do that, without even imagining the fact that he did it in a room full of people. Incredible! The one redeeming part of the movie was the part played by J. Carrol Naish, as a police detective who figures out a way to beat the mob.

Of interest as the predecessor to the films that we all love today about the Mafia.

Although basically an Irishman with Irish parents, Gene Kelly succeeds very well in making a convincing Italian character. It is a great story in which Kelly gets plenty of opportunities to excel in his acrobatics (bur no dancing here!) as he generally insisted on doing his own stunts. Little Italy in New York, in which more Italians lived than in Rome around 1900, is very well recreated with excellent cinematography and photography and comes alive, in all its primitive conditions and circumstances but with the mob no less vicious and insidious than in later Godfather days; and the thriller created is as good a match as any to later New York gangster films. Teresa Celli is even more convincing as the Italian lady of the film, and all other characters are also absolutely right, especially J. Carrol Laish as the intrepid policeman ending up a martyr for not being too careful. The music by Alberto Colombo is also perfect, but I think the prize goes to Paul Vogel for the almost expressive photography.

After his father is murdered for standing up to the mob Johnny Columbo swears to avenge his death. Well entrenched in Little Italy the Mafia uses violence and intimidation to keep the community in its grip and Columbo finds it difficult at first to get assistance in breaking the code of silence that solidify's their grip. When he enlists the help of detective Louis Lorelli things begin to happen and the mob responds harshly.

Gene Kelly in an off type role as Johnny is a slight stretch (it begs for Richard Conti) but convincing enough. It is J. Carroll Naish as intrepid detective Lorelli though that runs away with the film. It's nice to see J. center stage and noble given his career as a venal and craven weakling in many of his films hanging on the edge of scenes, ready to pounce on someone's misfortune.

Workman like director Richard Thorpe more than once allows his scenes to drag in spots but cinematographer Paul Vogels excellent camera work fills the suspense lapses with excellently lit exteriors and some nice subtle tracking work. There are Lang like moments as well with Thorpe eschewing suspense music in favor of silence and ambient noise to heighten scenes but his poor pacing and moments of incredulity prevent the film from reaching full potential.

There is certainly more ugly truth to be found in the film Black Hand that deals with the same topic of the Mafia as the more sophisticated violently romantic Godfather films. Pale in comparison to the production values, vaunted cast and and directing styles of the saga it still delivers moments that rival.

Black Hand (1950)

Sandwiched between his many superb musicals, this straight up drama has Gene Kelly playing an Italian returning home to find out who murdered his father years before. It's very well made—crisp writing and editing, excellent acting, and a kind of mise-en-scene that seems about right for bustling New York.

The pressure Italian mobsters press onto their own neighborhood Italian store owners and merchants is terrible and maddening, of course, and here we are made to feel it as directly as a movie can manage. Besides Kelly, two other actors are just superlative—J. Carol Naish, playing the police detective who eventually goes to Italy to find evidence, and the store owner (whose name I can't find in a hurry). Oddly, both Naish and Kelly are Irish-Americans playing Italians in early 20th Century New York.

The plot is a bit forced, as this kind of large social-issue movie usually ends up doing. The mob (known as the Black Hand) is making life miserable for average folk, and whenever one resists, they end up dying or almost. But somebody has to do something about this, so between the cops (some Italian, some not) and the heroics of one individual (played by Kelly), the thugs are brought down one little notch.

But if you go along with inevitable victory of the little guy over the forces of evil, you'll see a really finely made drama with terrific acting (Kelly is no slouch and Naish is brilliant) and excellent filming (almost inevitable in lat 1940s American cinema). There are lots of other characters, a few chilling scenes, some dreamy idealism, and in all a look at the times with only a slight filter over the harsher reality that is, always, the truth.