in the phony flower shop operation and killing of "Bull" Weed's archenemy, "florist" Buck Mulligan, evoking the 1922 real-life murder of kingpin Dion O'Bannon by the Tony Torrios mob. Funeral hearses also abound in the film, notorious as capacious conveyances used to conceal criminal activities and personnel in Chicago. Despite these contemporary references, Underworld does not qualify as "the first gangster film" as Sternberg "showed little interest in the purely gangsterish aspects of the genre" nor the "mechanics of [mob] power." Rather than invoking contemporary social forces and inequities, Sternberg's "Bull" Weed is subject to "implacable Fate", much as the heroes of classical antiquity. The female companions to the outlaws are less gangster molls, addicted to violent men, but protagonists in their own right, who induce "revenge and redemption." The genre would only be properly established in such film classics as Little Caesar (1930), The Public Enemy (1931), Scarface (1932), High Sierra (1941), White Heat (1949), The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and The Killing (1956). Film critic Dave Kehr, writing for the Chicago Reader in 2014, rates Underworld as one of the great gangster films of the silent era. "The film established the fundamental elements of the gangster movie: a hoodlum hero; ominous, night-shrouded city streets; floozies; and a blazing finale in which the cops cut down the protagonist." See also The House That Shadows Built (1931 promotional film by Paramount) Pre-Code crime films References Sources Axmaker, Sean. 2010. Silents Please: Shadows, Silence and Sternberg. Parallax View. Retrieved May 10, 2018. http://parallax-view.org/2010/08/26/shadows-and-silence-and-josef-von-sternberg-john-cassavetes-and-citizen-mccain-dvds-of-the-week/ Barson, Michael. 2005. Josef von Sternberg: Austrian-American director. ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA Online. Retrieved May 10, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Josef-von-Sternberg Film Sufi. 2013. "Underworld": Josef von Sternberg (1927). The Film Sufi. February 12, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2018. http://www.filmsufi.com/2013/02/underworld-josef-von-sternberg-1927.html Rodriguez-Ortega, Vicente. 2005. Underworld. Senses of Cinema. Retrieved May 10, 2018. http://sensesofcinema.com/2005/cteq/underworld/ Sarris, Andrew. 1966. The Films of Josef von Sternberg. Museum of Modern Art/Doubleday. New York, New York. Weinberg, Herman G., 1967. Josef von Sternberg. A Critical Study. New York: Dutton. External links Underworld: How it came to be. Documentary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plj7vghnVd4 Retrieved May 12, 2018. Underworld: Dreamland an essay by Geoffrey O’Brien at the Criterion Collection 1927 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films American crime drama films Films set in Chicago Films shot in Chicago Films about organized crime in the United States Films directed by Josef von Sternberg American gangster films Films that won the Academy Award for Best