The Purple Gang (film)

The Purple Gang is a 1960 American period crime film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Barry Sullivan, Robert Blake and Jody Lawrance.[1] It portrays the activities of The Purple Gang bootlegging organization in 1920s Detroit.

The Purple Gang
Directed byFrank McDonald
Produced byLindsley Parsons
Written byJack DeWitt
StarringBarry Sullivan
Robert Blake
Jody Lawrance
Music byPaul Dunlap
CinematographyEllis W. Carter
Edited byMaurice Wright
Production
company
Distributed byAllied Artists
Release date
January 5, 1960
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

A fictionalized account of The Purple Gang as they smuggled liquor in 1920s Detroit, Michigan.

Production

The Purple Gang was directed by Frank McDonald was produced by Lindsley Parsons under the company Lindsley Parsons Productions, Inc.[2] The film details the formation of The Purple Gang and their criminal operations in Detroit, Michigan. It left out that the majority of The Purple Gang was Jewish.[3] The film opened with newsreels and Congressman James Roosevelt, the son of Franklin D. Roosevelt, saying that "despite its entertainment value, the film points out that by an awakened citizenry can crime be successfully fought."[3][4] Roosevelt's introduction is followed by a statement that explains the plot of the film. 1930s newsreel footage is interspersed throughout the film.[2] The Los Angeles Evening Citizen News said that the film's narration "adds a convincing documentary flavor to the picture."[5] The narration was provided by Barry Sullivan as his character Bill Harley.[2]

Release

The film was released on January 5, 1960 by Allied Artists.[6] It was released on VHS in 1992 and on DVD in 2011 through the Warner Archive Collection.[7][8]

Reception

Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk said, "The obvious hook with the true facts of The Purple Gang is the teen angle: in 1959 movie screens were awash with juvenile delinquency pictures. But the script as written sticks with gangster clichés, not adolescent angst."[8] Dave Kehr of The New York Times wrote, "Produced by the cash-strapped independent Allied Artists, the film employs a minimally rendered period setting to provide cover for a more or less frank admiration (at least, up until the last reel) of youth in revolt: teenagers with tommy guns."[9]

Main cast

References
  1. Stanfield p.136
  2. "The Purple Gang". AFI. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  3. "The Purple Gang". The Mob Museum. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  4. "Foreward by Roosevelt". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Hollywood, California. November 16, 1959 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Redelings, Lowell E. (March 10, 1960). "The First Run Films in Review". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Hollywood, California – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "The Purple Gang". Trakt. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  7. "The Purple Gang". WorldCat. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  8. Erickson, Glenn (October 3, 2011). "The Purple Gang". DVD Talk. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  9. Kehr, Dave (August 12, 2011). "How Crimes Have Changed". The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2021.

Bibliography
  • Stanfield, Peter. The Cool and the Crazy: Pop Fifties Cinema. Rutgers University Press, 2015.
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