Mad Dog Coll

This is Gene Hackman's first movie role! He is uncredited as a cop opposite Telly Savalas in one scene. Blink and you'll miss it! The beginning of a brilliant career that went unnoticed in this snootier!

Didn't know about Jerry Orbach was in this film, now I wish it would be played on Turner Classic or some place on local cable so we don't have to shell out God knows how much money for a crappy DVD!

Finally, how much more do I have to write about this movie that I haven't seen this is a stupid process here as far as a commentary. This is stupid. Fix this minimum of 10 lines of text nonsense!!! Jeepers!

Okay, this is the 10th line already, sorry folks?

With His "Mad Dog" Face a Natural for the Titular Gangster, Actor John David Chandler Never was Offered a Lead-Role Again (quite odd),

but Did Have a Successful Career Playing Criminals and Especially the Mentally-Ill...He is an Actor that Leaves an Impression.

While the Movie does Feature Many Actors who would Become Well-Known, such as...Jerry Orbach, Telly Savalas, Vincent Gardenia, and an Unaccredited Gene Hackman...

Chandler Still Dominates the Movie, Propped Up by the Support, the Unforgettable Title, and an Overall Violent, Lurid, and a Code-Defying Sociopathic Tone,

it is Chandler that Steals the Spotlight Whenever He is On Screen.

It's a Fantastic First-Film in a Career Spanned to 1998 with a Guest-Spot on "Deep Space Nine".

He Became a Reliable Force of Evil that Enhanced Many Movies & TV and Classically for a Character-Actor, when He Appeared, it's..."Oh Yea That Guy".... What's His Name?

This is Part of the "Untouchables" Run-Off from the Late 50's, Early 60's when these Low-Budget "B" Movies were Raging. There were Dozens.

This One was Hard-to-Find and was Sleeping Waiting to be Discovered.

Reminds of a "Roger Corman" Movie and Just as Good.

Worth a Watch.

As any movie buff knows, the early sixties was the period for gangster biographies, mafia films such as MURDER INC, PORTRAIT OF A MOBSTER, RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND, PAY OR DIE, THE BLACK HAND, KING OF THE ROARING TWENTIES, GEORGE RAFT STORY, THE PURPLE GANG.... And of course this one. Useless to say that John Davis Chandler gives here his best performance as the evil lead. Later in his career, he will never have another lead role, at least as far as I know, only supporting villains - MAJOR DUNDEE, BARQUERO, ONCE A THIEF.... This movie seems to be not widely known, such a shame. He is terrific here. Just terrific. His face, so disturbing face is unforgettable. Is is also his first film, and what a shame that he never played in THE UNTOUCHABLES series, I am sure Desilu productions would have found a supporting villain character for him.

John Chandler would have made a great Joker with his toothy, sneering smile, sniveling voice and angular facial features. I don't know how Cesar Romero was cast for the Batman show on ABC or if they had other actors also on their list. While Cesar was jovial and circus clowny, Chandler would have been creepier, horrifying and too reptilian for the little TV viewers. His Mad Dog is depicted as a woman abuser and rapist. What I liked about this film was the gritty, grimey, sleazy depiction of gangsters as psychopaths and the gold digging women who orbit around them. While Martin Scorsese has built a film career idolizing and romantizing Mafia scum in glossy films, this film zeros in on their repulsive inhumanity.

In the late 1950s into the mid-60s, there were a lot of films which purported to be biographies of famous mobsters, such as Al Capone and George "Pretty Boy" Floyd. "Mad Dog Coll" is one of these movies and it tells the SEMI-true story of Vincent Coll, a sociopath with a penchant for violence.

Before watching this movie, I read up on the real life Coll. Needless to say, the film omits, exaggerates and distorts his life. For example, he was born in Ireland and he and his family immigrated to New York while he was young. This is a very important event...and it's never mentioned in any way during the film! What it does get right is Coll's general style as well as highlighting some of the murders he was known to have been involved with during his short life.

One of the best reasons to watch the movie is to watch the performance of John Davis Chandler as Coll. Chandler had a long and successful career playing the slimiest and scariest of sociopaths...making him perfect for this role. He's scary and believable...and a bit over-the-top!

So is the film worth seeing? Well, it depends a lot on you. If you dislike gangster films or violent movies, skip it. If you want the TRUE story of Coll's life, read Wikipedia! But if you want an enjoyable and creepy crime film...this one is worth seeing. Plus, it gives you a rare chance to see a young Jerry Orbach as one of Coll's henchmen.