The Gangster (1947)

The Gangster is an odd film for a film noir. It depicts the downfall of a gangster, Shubunka, who loved his girlfriend but never learned to trust her. Even though it shows a life of crime and the consequences, it could almost be called a love story gone horribly wrong, too. I say “almost” because the gangster’s story is mostly noir, with all its crime, murder, intimidation, and betrayal. It just so happens that the biggest betrayal comes from the gangster’s girlfriend, Nancy Starr.

(This article about The Gangster contains more spoilers.)

The Gangster is undoubtedly a low-budget film. If there had been a category called C film, The Gangster could be placed in it. The film starts with voice-over narration by Shubunka (played by Barry Sullivan). He’s at home, reminiscing about Neptune Beach, a fictitious amusement park and beach location in New York City. All the concessions are controlled by Shubunka, something he is very proud of, although he admits he had to fight his way, literally, to the top and stay there. Even now, there is always someone else in the gangster world who is willing to take him down.

Nick Jammey arrives at an ice cream parlor on Neptune Beach owned by Shubunka and run by Shorty. Jammey asks Shorty about how to find Shubunka. Someone has trashed the Bath Avenue location, and the people responsible want to talk to Shubunka. Shorty doesn’t know anything about Shubunka’s whereabouts, so Jammey calls him from a pay phone in the ice cream parlor.

Shubunka can’t meet with Jammey because he has an appointment. Jammey rightly guesses that Shubunka has a date with a showgirl. It seems Shubunka is letting his affection for this showgirl, Nancy Starr, get in the way of his illegal business activities, something Jammey tries to warn Shubunka about.

Frank Karty also needs to talk to Shubunka. Karty is already desperate, and he cannot find Shubunka or get in touch with him. He roughs up Shorty out of mounting frustration.

Shubunka goes to Nancy Starr’s dressing room to ask her for a date, but she puts him off. He follows Nancy on the subway and finds out that she is not going to her sister’s, as she claimed. She is meeting a Mr. Beaumont. When Shubunka shows up to confront Nancy, she tells him that Beaumont is a Broadway agent. He is still there when Beaumont finally shows up with his girlfriend. Shubunka apparently has no reason to doubt Nancy.

Shubunka returns to the ice cream parlor and intimidates Shorty, who is taking a lot of the grief for Shubunka’s jealousy and other people’s desperation. One of the cashiers, Dorothy, quits because she is afraid to work for Shubunka. Shubunka gives Dorothy his “coming-up-through-the-ranks” speech. The shot of the two of them talking in the ice cream parlor feels topsy turvy because of the black-and-white tiles on the ceiling. These tiles, which are usually on the floor, not the ceiling, seem to bear down on them and make Shubunka’s speech even more unsettling. Shubunka intimidates Dorothy and doesn’t succeed in changing her mind about him or about quitting.

In his first appearance in the film, Frank Karty came across as a bum looking for a handout, but he is really a certified public accountant (CPA). He has embezzled money from his bosses, his brothers-in-law, and needs money to pay them back. Shubunka refuses to give him any because he knows that Karty lost all the money gambling, and Karty doesn’t seem to have quit gambling—or drinking.

Cornell and his men are the ones responsible for trashing the Bath Avenue location. They threaten Jammey, who is forced to accept an invitation to lunch with Cornell et al. Cornell wants Jammey to work for him, but Jammey doesn’t want to betray Shubunka. Jammey is in a difficult spot: He runs Shubunka’s businesses and knows a lot about the daily operations and finances. He is valuable as a trusted employee, but he can also be blackmailed and used as a pawn.

Nancy and Shubunka go to the beach at Plum Point and pick out a rather isolated spot where they can be alone. Two of Cornell’s men show up and attack Shubunka. After they leave, Shubunka asks Nancy if she set the whole thing up, but she denies it. Viewers are in the same position as Shubunka by now. Is he being overly jealous and suspicious, or is he right to suspect that everyone, not just Cornell, is out to trick him out of his money?

Frank Karty kills Nick Jammey because of his desperate need for money. If Karty cannot get money directly from Shubunka, Jammey is the next logical person to ask or, in this case, to take it from. Karty is now in worse trouble because Cornell wanted Jammey to work for him, and he threatened to kill Shubunka if anything happened to Jammey. It’s likely that he won’t think twice about killing Karty.

Shubunka wants to leave town with Nancy, but she refuses to go. She betrays him and his intentions to his business/criminal rival Cornell. She tells Shubunka that she wanted to love him, but he kept pushing her away with his jealousy. Cornell doesn’t even bother to kill him because now he has nothing. Instead, Cornell asks him, “Whaddya know, Shubunka? Who’ve you got?”

Shubunka has nowhere to go. The only person left in the city who knows him is Dorothy, the former employee who hates him, but he goes to her apartment anyway. Dorothy tells Shubunka that Karty confessed to the police. It is now common knowledge that Nick Jammey is dead, murdered. Cornell will be furious, and even though he has no use for Shubunka, he will kill him anyway.

Shubunka’s sad story doesn’t follow Hollywood’s production code of the 1940s and 1950s, in which crime is not supposed to pay and criminals were expected to face the consequences on the silver screen. Crime does not pay, at least not for Shubunka and Nick Jammey. But Cornell is now in charge of all the Neptune Beach concessions and their profits. Crime pays for Cornell, at least.

Cornell is played by Sheldon Leonard, who would produce many sitcoms, including The Dick Van Dyke Show, in the 1960s. But here, he is pitch perfect as the menacing gangster. Leonard played the role of the bad guy in many films noir, and he is perfectly believable as Cornell, a man who uses violence to get what he wants—and succeeds at it.

The Gangster was produced by Frank King and Maurice King of King Brothers Productions. A feature on the DVD for the film Gorgo (which they also produced) describes the King brothers as the gangsters of the film industry. Wikipedia describes the King brothers’ involvement in gambling at a time when gambling was illegal in the United States and considered seedier than it is today. This probably is one explanation for it being a prominent theme in many films noir. Maybe The Gangster didn’t meet the Hollywood’s production code, but perhaps it was an exaggerated description of true life for the King Brothers.

November 25, 1947, release date  •  Directed by Gordon Wiles  •  Screenplay by Daniel Fuchs and Dalton Trumbo  •  Based on the novel Low Company, by Daniel Fuchs  •  Music by Louis Gruenberg  •  Edited by Walter A. Thompson  •  Cinematography by Paul Ivano

Barry Sullivan as Shubunka  •  Belita as Nancy Starr  •  Joan Lorring as Dorothy, the cashier  •  Akim Tamiroff as Nick Jammey •  Harry Morgan as Shorty  •  John Ireland as Karty  •  Sheldon Leonard as Cornell  •  Fifi D’Orsay as Mrs. Ostroleng  •  Virginia Christine as Mrs. Karty  •  Elisha Cook Jr. as Oval  •  Ted Hecht as Swain  •  Leif Erickson as Beaumont  •  Charles McGraw as Douglas  •  John Kellogg as Sterling  •  Shelley Winters as Hazel, the new cashier

Distributed by Allied Artists Productions, Inc.  •  Produced by King Brothers Productions

From Film Noir to Comedy: Woman on the Run (1950) to The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966)

I ended my last blog article, about Woman on the Run, with the observation that three of the actors in that film—Ross Elliott, Steven Geray, and Joan Shawlee—had guest appearances or supporting roles in my favorite classic sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show. I decided this time to give each of these three actors a shoutout and highlight their appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show. It’s also my way of celebrating Dick Van Dyke’s recent birthday. He turned ninety-nine years young on December 13, 2024.

Click here to see my article about Woman on the Run.

Ross Elliott

I was a fan of Ross Elliott before I knew his name and before I knew he was the same actor in Woman on the Run and on The Dick Van Dyke Show. I saw him first on The Dick Van Dyke Show. The first couple of times that I saw Woman on the Run, I knew that he looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. It took one or two more viewings of the film before I made the connection.

Here he is, as Frank Johnson in Woman on the Run, the witness to a murder who goes on the run to avoid testifying against a cold-blooded killer.

And here he is as Dr. Philip Nevins, the psychiatrist in “The Brave and the Backache” (season 3, episode 20) on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Rob Petrie (played by Dick Van Dyke) knows Dr. Nevins from his commute to work on the train from New Rochelle, New York, to New York City, but he wants to see Dr. Nevins professionally because of what he thinks are his psychosomatic reactions to his wife Laura’s suggestions that they spend a weekend at Lake Sisseemanunu.

Ross Elliott apparently did such a good job playing a psychiatrist that he came back two seasons later as Dr. Phil Ridley in “Uhny Uftz” (season 5, episode 3). This time, Rob Petrie consults him because he has seen, or thinks he saw, a flying saucer when he was working late one night at his office in New York City.

The portrayal of the psychiatrist is handled with so much humor, as one would expect from a sitcom, and Ross Elliott is wonderful and sympathetic in both roles. Rob Petrie is not psychosomatic and he is not suffering from hallucinations, but viewers don’t know that until the end of both episodes. The warmth and compassion for Rob’s predicaments really come through in both the writing and in Ross Elliott’s portrayals.

Steven Geray

Steven Geray is a familiar face to film noir fans because he had many supporting roles in many films noir. In Woman on the Run, he plays Frank Johnson’s doctor, Dr. Arnold Hohler. It’s a small part, but it’s a memorable one because Geray plays a sympathetic doctor who helps Eleanor Johnson get some prescription medicine to her husband, even though the doctor has been warned by the police about helping a fugitive witness to a murder.

But Steven Geray could play comedy, too. He plays the Petries’ neighbor, Mr. Gerard, in “The Man from My Uncle” (season 5, episode 27). Mr. Gerard’s nephew is a wanted criminal, and federal agents are assigned to track him. They want to use the Petrie home as a base of operations, and their son Richie’s bedroom is the perfect spot to put Mr. Gerard’s house under surveillance. The agents hope that the nephew will pay a visit to his uncle. When Mr. Gerard shows up at the Petries’ front door, worried about what his nephew might do next, he delivers some of the funniest lines in the episode.

Joan Shawlee

Joan Shawlee has only a bit part in Woman on the Run. She goes by her maiden name in the credits: Joan Fulton. The part is so small that her character doesn’t even have a name; the credits describe her as the tipsy blonde in the bar. The bar is Sullivan’s Grotto, where Eleanor Johnson discovers that her husband still loves her and where viewers discover that Danny Legget is falling in love with Eleanor. Joan Shawlee is the one who tells Eleanor Johnson, “It’s no use looking, honey. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.”

Ross Elliott and Steven Geray make brief guest appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show, but Joan Shawlee had a supporting role as one of two actresses who played Pickles Sorrell, Buddy Sorrell’s wife. She really has a chance to shine in “Divorce” (season 2, episode 28). Her comedic talent is on full display when she and Buddy get Rob enmeshed in an argument that threatens their marriage.

Joan Shawlee is the reason to see this episode. She is hilarious as the wife who still loves her husband and who wants Rob to intervene and prevent Buddy Sorrell from splitting up with her.

Another good reason to see this episode (and the entire Dick Van Dyke Show series) is the writing. Each character has a unique personality, and all are given a chance to show off their talents. Even when I was a kid watching reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show, I always noticed that the closing credits included a line for “Script Continuity, Marjorie Mullen.” I didn’t know what it meant, but I did notice that the episodes were never disjointed, that the overall series had a reassuring sense of place and time and consistency. The attention to detail really paid off.

Now, as an adult, I can catch some minor inconsistencies, but they never did anything to diminish my love for the series. One example is the difference in the psychiatrist’s name in the two episodes featuring Ross Elliott: Dr. Philip Nevins and Dr. Phil Ridley. Only a fan like me would probably even notice such a detail, but it sticks out in a show as well written as The Dick Van Dyke Show. And in the modern days of binge watching!

But this is a digression, believe me. Both The Dick Van Dyke Show and Woman on the Run are well worth the time. Both are wonderfully written, and both stand up so well to the test of time.

The Dick Van Dyke Show Credits

October 3, 1961, to June 1, 1966, broadcast dates  •  Written by Carl Reiner, Frank Tarloff (as David Adler), John Whedon, Sheldon Keller, Howard Merrill, Martin Ragaway, Bill Persky, Sam Denoff, Garry Marshall, Jerry Belson, Caral Kleinschmitt, Dale McRaven, Rick Mittleman  •  Directed by Sheldon Leonard, John Rich, Jerry Paris, Howard Morris, Alan Rafkin  •  Opening theme song by Earle Hagen  •  Series created by Carl Reiner

Dick Van Dyke as Robert Petrie  •  Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie  •  Rose Marie as Sally Rogers  •  Morey Amsterdam as Buddy Sorrell  •  Ross Elliott as Dr. Philip Nevins and as Dr. Phil Ridley   •  Steven Geray as Mr. Girard  •  Joan Shawlee as Pickles Sorrell

Produced by Calvada Productions  •  Broadcast by CBS

Woman on the Run Credits

November 29, 1950 (New York City), release date  •  Directed by Norman Foster  •  Screenplay by Alan Campbell, Norman Foster, Ross Hunter  •  Based on the short story “Man on the Run” by Sylvia Tate  •  Music by Arthur Lange, Emil Newman  •  Edited by Otto Ludwig  •  Cinematography by Hal Mohr

Ann Sheridan as Eleanor Johnson  •  Dennis O’Keefe as Daniel (“Danny”) Legget  •  Robert Keith as Inspector Martin Ferris  •  John Qualen as Maibus  •  Frank Jenks as Detective Shaw  •  Ross Elliott as Frank Johnson  •  Jane Liddell as the messenger girl  •  Joan Shawlee (credited as Joan Fulton) as the tipsy blonde in the bar  •  J. Farrell MacDonald as the sea captain  •  Steven Geray as Dr. Arnold Hohler  •  Victor Sen Yung as Sam  •  Reiko Sato (credited as Rako Sato) as Suzie  •  Syd Saylor as Sullivan  •  Milton Kibbee as man yelling from the apartment house  •  Tom Dillon (credited as Thomas P. Dillon) as Joe Gordon

Distributed by Universal-International Pictures Company  •  Produced by Fidelity Pictures, Inc.