Underworld is a classic 1927 Silent Movie directed by Josef von Sternberg that marks one of the first ever gangster movies (the ones that preceded it, like 1913's The Musketeers of Pig Alley, are far more obscure).
Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates a former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when the latter falls for Weed's girlfriend.
Renown screenwriter, Ben Hecht, would receive the first Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for this film.
Not to be confused with the similarly titled vampire/werewolf film franchise Underworld (2003).
This film provides examples of:
- The Alcoholic: Rolls Royce.
- All Women Are Lustful: Bull Weed's neighbor gives him a horny look but he is too occupied with the police being after him and turns her down.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Feathers towards Rolls Royce when latter reveals his plan to split town for good.
- Attempted Rape: Mulligan tries to rape Feathers.
- Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Feathers, Rolls Royce, and Bull Weed.
- Big Damn Heroes: Bull bursts in just before Buck rapes Feathers.
- Blind Alley: Rolls Royce shakes off the police following him by hiding in a doorway.
- Bookcase Passage: There’s a secret hideaway behind the bookcase.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Feathers and Rolls Royce never act on their feelings, but Bull becomes suspicious and jealous nonetheless.
- Cat Scare: Perhaps one of the earliest examples. Bull Weed hears sounds in the hall and thinks it’s the cops, but he looks and it’s just a mangy kitten.
- Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends: See Death of the Hypotenuse.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Slippy Lewis
- Costume Porn: All of Feathers’s outfits.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Bull Weed. He even gets mad at Rolls Royce just for dancing with his girlfriend at the ball.
- Cute Kitten: Bull finds a kitten outside the apartment when he's on the run nosing around the milk and brings it inside, letting it drink the milk off his fingers. When the gunfight starts, Feathers makes a point of protecting it so it doesn't get hit by gunfire.
- Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: One of the earliest examples.
- Death of the Hypotenuse: Bull's death clears the way for Feathers and Rolls Royce to resolve their UST and be happy ever after.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Meg is Mulligan's girl, and stands by why he does a lot of heinous things, but she draws the line at letting him rape Feathers. She gets away from his goons and rouses Bull to go save her.
- Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: In 1927, at least they had an excuse.
- The Flapper: Feathers
- Fluffy Fashion Feathers: They don’t call her Feathers for nothing.
- Frame-Up: Bull Weed tries to frame Mulligan for robbing the jewelry store.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: The only guard watching Bull Weed decides to play checkers with him. Surprise, surprise, he knocks him out, steals the keys, and escapes.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Mulligan.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: Once Rolls Royce combs his hair, shaves, and puts on a nice suit, he is barely even recognizable as the hobo from before.
- Held Gaze: Rolls Royce and Feathers share a couple of these looks.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Bull Weed gives himself up to be hanged so his friends can get away safely.
- Hypocritical Humor: Bull Weed berates a boy for stealing an apple, but steals one for himself when no one is looking.
- I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: On both sides of the love triangle. Rolls Royce won't act on his feelings for Feathers, feeling she's better off with Bull to protect her. Bull realizes at the end of the film that Feathers and Rolls Royce honestly love each other.
- Imagine Spot:
- Rolls Royce has one when he glances at the keys in his hand and then pictures how they would open up the secret door for Bull.
- Bull has one when spotting the feather in Rolls Royce' cigarette case - fueled with envy he imagines Rolls Royce and Feathers kissing passionately.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Mulligan hitting the spittoon with his $10 note.
- In Love with the Gangster's Girl: Rolls Royce happens to be.
- Institutional Apparel: Averted with Bull who keeps to wear his personal clothes in prison.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Bull is a cruel gangster but also shows redeeming qualities like helping out people in need or caring about a Cute Kitten.
- Just a Flesh Wound: Bullets can't stop Rolls Royce. Played with as the bullet wound doesn't get shrugged off like it's a marshmallow that's been shot into its arm. When he finally unlocks the door to the room Feathers and Bull are trapped in, he collapses to the ground, clearly injured.
- Last Request: For his last meal Bull requests the "juiciest steak in Dreamland."
- Leave No Witnesses: Subverted. In the opening scene, Rolls Royce comes to witness Bull's bank robbery. He is taken hostage but instead of killing him, Bull takes Rolls under his wing and both become good friends.
- Love Triangle: Between Bull, Feather and Rolls Royce.
- Meaningful Name: Feathers.
- Nice to the Waiter: When Rolls Royce is sweeping up at the speakeasy, Bull Weed defends him from Mulligan when he harasses him.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Pretty much everybody.
- Quick Nip: Bull offers his hip flask to Rolls to see how much of drinker he is.
- Redemption Equals Death: Bull decides to stay behind and face justice after he realizes that he was all wrong about Feathers and Rolls Royce.
- The Roaring '20s
- Second-Face Smoke: 'Slippy' Lewis gets this treatment by some patron at the Dreamland Café.
- Shoot Out the Lock: Bull tries this with the secret door but it wouldn't open for him.
- The Smart Guy: Rolls Royce.
- Smoking Is Glamorous: Rolls Royce celebrates it.
- Undying Loyalty: Nothing will stop Rolls Royce from rescuing Bull and Feathers, not even being shot.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between Feathers and Rolls Royce.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: The audience knows what The Plan to break out Bull Weed is, so he breaks out another way.
- Ur-Example: The first modern gangster picture.
- White Flag: How Bull signals his surrender to the police.
- What You Are in the Dark: Rolls Royce and Feathers have the chance to run away and be happy, leaving Bull to his fate of being hanged. But they realize how much they owe him and can't go through with it.
