Rise & Fall of Legs Diamond

A fictionalized bio-pic of New York mobster Jack "Legs" Diamond.

Formula gangster pic with nothing new to offer

Since Little Caesar and Al Capone, gangster films by this time had a plot formula to follow: poor thief follows plan to take over the mob and replace the boss, climbs the ladder to the top only to meet an end of raining bullets. Ray Danton is well cast in the leading part but character actor Jesse White is hard to believe as a tough mafia leader and Elaine Stewart wears almost a disguise to play Arnold Rothstein's tough moll. Good performances help a cliched story, but it's been filmed before too often. August 2, 2008

Masterful story telling of Prohibition mobster !!

Talented director / screenwriter Budd Boetticher brought to life the violent story of infamous gangster, Jack "Legs" Diamond in this often overlooked, but high quality addition to the crime genre. The filming of this production in harsh black and white tones adds further realism to this gritty tale of illegal activities, shadowy ambushes and executions !

Ray Danton is superb in the lead role as the treacherous and manipulative small time hoodlum who arrive's in New York and immediately sets about muscling in on everyone elses racket to build his own empire. A very young Warren Oates plays Danton's sickly brother, Eddie Diamond, in a low key yet interesting performance. Simon Oakland is the aggressive and determined Lt. Moody hounding Diamond every step of the way...and Robert Lowerey portrays Prohibition kingpin Arnold Rothstein.

Boetticher's direction is fluid and crisp and he keeps this film noir gem tightly paced and holding your interest all the way through. Although Danton was never a major star, he simply shines in this film and his oily nature and good looks made him the perfect choice to play "the clay pidgeon" of the Prohibition era underworld.

An engaging and stimulating film that will be enjoyed by fans of film noir underworld drama !

FOOTNOTE: Diamond was known as "the clay pidgeon" of the underworld because of his repeated ability to survive assassination attempts...until he was betrayed and caught asleep one night and shot 6 times in the head ! And Diamond was not actually nicknamed "Legs" because of his dancing abilities, but rather for his habit on running out on his friends ! January 3, 2001

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