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The Enforcer

The Enforcer

Drama · Thriller · 1951

After years of investigation, Assistant District Attorney Martin Ferguson has managed to build a solid case against an elusive gangster whose top lieutenant is about to testify.

Movie details

The Enforcer

“They called him The Enforcer”

1951 Drama · Thriller 1h 27m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

After years of investigation, Assistant District Attorney Martin Ferguson has managed to build a solid case against an elusive gangster whose top lieutenant is about to testify.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Enforcer?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

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A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.

L.A. Confidential

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Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

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In the Electric Mist

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Colombiana

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After witnessing her parents’ murder as a child in Bogota, Cataleya Restrepo grows up to be a stone-cold assassin. She works for her uncle as a hitman by day, but her personal time is spent engaging in vigilante murders that she hopes will lead her to her ultimate target: the mobster responsible for her parents' death.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Bretaigne Windust · Raoul Walsh

Written by

Martin Rackin

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart

ADA Martin Ferguson

Zero Mostel

Zero Mostel

'Big Babe' Lazich

Ted de Corsia

Ted de Corsia

Joseph 'Joe' Rico

Everett Sloane

Everett Sloane

Albert Mendoza

Roy Roberts

Roy Roberts

Captain Frank Nelson

Michael Tolan

Michael Tolan

James 'Duke' Malloy

King Donovan

King Donovan

Sergeant Whitlow

Court is in session

Put The Enforcer on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.