Underworld is a 1927 silent

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 crime film

Crime film

Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...

 directed by Josef von Sternberg

Josef von Sternberg

Josef von Sternberg — born Jonas Sternberg — was an Austrian-American film director. He is particularly noted for his distinctive mise en scène, use of lighting and soft lens, and seven-film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich.-Youth:Von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg to a Jewish...

.

Plot

Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.

Cast

• George Bancroft
  George Bancroft (actor)
  George Bancroft was an American Hollywood film actor of the 1920s and '30s.-Biography:Bancroft was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1882. During his early days as a sailor he staged plays on board ship. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy, but left the Navy to become a "black...
  
   as "Bull" Weed
• Evelyn Brent
  Evelyn Brent
  Evelyn Brent was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:Born Mary Elizabeth Riggs in Tampa, Florida and known as Betty, she was a child of 10 when her mother Eleanor died, leaving her father Arthur to raise her alone...
  
   as "Feathers" McCoy
• Clive Brook as "Rolls Royce" Wensel
• Fred Kohler
  Fred Kohler
  Fred Kohler was an American actor known for his "heavy" style of character.-Career:Fred Kohler was born in Kansas City, Missouri. As a teen, he began to pursue a career in vaudeville, but worked other jobs to support himself. He lost part of his right hand in a mining accident during this time...
  
   as "Buck" Mulligan
• Helen Lynch
  Helen Lynch
  Helen Lynch was an American silent-film actress.She was born in Billings, Montana where she was also raised. After winning a beauty contest conducted in her hometown, she soon went to movie studios and received little trouble gaining roles, starting out as an extra in 1918...
  
   as Meg, Mulligan's girl
• Larry Semon
  Larry Semon
  Lawrence "Larry" Semon was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era. In his day, Semon was considered a major movie comedian, but he is now remembered mainly for working with both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy before they started working together.He is also...
  
   as "Slippy" Lewis
• Jerry Mandy
  Jerry Mandy
  Jerry Mandy was an American film actor. He appeared in 114 films between 1923 and 1945.He was born in Utica, New York and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack.-Selected filmography:* Thundering Fleas...
  
   as Paloma

Production background

Originally, it was to have been directed by Arthur Rosson

Arthur Rosson

Arthur Rosson was an English film director. He directed 61 films between 1917 and 1948.He was born in London and died in Los Angeles, California. Rosson came from a film-making family. His brother, Harold Rosson, was an Academy Award-nominated cinematographer and several other family members were...

, but he was fired by Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

. It was written by Ben Hecht

Ben Hecht

Ben Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...

, adapted by Charles Furthman and Robert N. Lee

Robert N. Lee

Robert N. Lee was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 31 films between 1922 and 1945. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay at the 4th Academy Awards for Little Caesar....

, with titles by George Marion Jr.

George Marion Jr.

George Marion Jr. was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 106 films between 1920 and 1940.He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in New York, New York from a heart attack. His father was George F...

. It was produced by B.P. Schulberg and Hector Turnbull

Hector Turnbull

Hector Turnbull was an American screenwriter and film producer. He wrote for 25 films between 1915 and 1937.He was born in New Jersey and died in New Hope, Pennsylvania from a heart attack.-Selected filmography:...

 with cinematography by Bert Glennon

Bert Glennon

Bert Glennon was an American cinematographer and film director.He was nominated for three Academy Awards in Best Cinematography categories for the films Stagecoach , Drums Along the Mohawk , and Dive Bomber .Glennon worked as a cinematographer on over a hundred films for directors including John...

 and edited by E. Lloyd Sheldon

E. Lloyd Sheldon

E. Lloyd Sheldon was an American screenwriter, film producer and editor. He wrote for 43 films between 1916 and 1942...

.

Paramount Pictures initially predicted this film to be a failure and therefore only released in one theater initially in New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Ben Hecht even asked for his name to be taken off the credits. After strong word-of-mouth, the movie went on to become a hit.

The gangster role played by George Bancroft was modeled on "Terrible" Tommy O'Connor

Tommy O'Connor (criminal)

"Terrible" Tommy O'Connor was a gangster who escaped from the Chicago courthouse in 1923, only three days before he was to have been executed for the murder of a policeman.-Life:...

, an Irish-American mobster who gunned down Chicago Police Chief Padraig O'Neil in 1923 but escaped three days before execution and was never apprehended.

Reception

TIME

Time

Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....

felt the film was realistic in some parts, but disliked the Hollywood cliche of turning an evil character's heart to gold at the end.

Ben Hecht won the Academy Award

Academy Awards

An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

 for Writing in the 1st Academy Awards

1st Academy Awards

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 1927 and 1928 and took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, in Los Angeles, California. AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks hosted the...

 ceremony in 1927 for his work on this film.

Underworld was nominated for AFI's Top 10 Gangster Films list.