THE MOB (1951)

I enjoyed Columbia’s THE MOB starring Broderick Crawford as an undercover cop trying to find out who is the kingpin of crime at the New York docks. The cast is strong with mob members Ernest Borgnine and Neville Brand (plus a brief glimpse of Charles Bronson).

Neville Brand, Broderick Crawford.

Also in the cast are Richard Kiley and an actress called Betty Buehler .The film is action packed and well worth a viewing.

One mystery is not in the script but in the casting. Who is Betty Buehler ?(who plays Crawford’s girlfriend). She has only two films listed on IMDB, the other being an uncredited role in “Taxi”(1953}. I’ve checked and found a reference that she returned to the stage and costarred with Jose Ferrer in ‘Othello’ , but she is not listed in the Broadway casts. And that she did some television.

Her performance in The Mob is not bad for a first film. Was she given a tryout but not a contract by Columbia?

I’d love to know what happened to her.

And why did she get second billing in The Mob when she is missing for the majority of the film.

”IN THE MOUTH OF THE WOLF.”

Neville Brand

Betty Buehler, Broderick Crawford.

Broderick Crawford.

Ernest Borgnine, Neville Brand, Broderick Crawford.

Betty Buehler

I love some of the foreign titles for The Mob.

”IN THE MOUTH OF THE WOLF.”

”COPS FAIL.”

”THE TRAIL LEADS TO THE HARBOR.”

”ASPHALT LIGHTS.”

”THE POLICE COMMUNITY.”

”A TRAIL IN THE HARBOR.”

”THE INVISIBLE POWER.”

8 responses »

Colin on October 27, 2019 at 7:55 pm said:

Actually, this is one I’ve not seen yet, despite owning a copy and generally liking the work of director Robert Parrish. I think it’s maybe down to my ambivalence towards Broderick Crawford, an actor who could be fine given the right material but it does depend on that material.

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Vienna on October 27, 2019 at 8:55 pm said:

I think you’d like this one, Colin.It’s well plotted and fast paced with some good twists ( which, for once, I havent revealed!) . I’m not so keen on Crawford in leading roles. As he grew older and put on weight, his characters were all much the same – loud, fast talking, bombastic.
I did like Richard Kiley in the film. He didn’t make a lot of films but was busy on stage (with a lovely singing voice) and on TV.

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J P SIMPSON on October 28, 2019 at 11:53 am said:

I checked the Broadway database in case Betty had appeared on Broadway but found no credits. I wonder why Columbia didn’t use a contract actress in the picture, or did she get married and give it up voluntarily?

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- Vienna on October 28, 2019 at 1:23 pm said:
  
  Thanks for checking. Yes, why didn’t Columbia use a contractee- unless Betty was dropped after that one film. She reminded me of Jane Wyatt.
  
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Bob on October 28, 2019 at 12:15 pm said:

Two articles on Betty.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19960506&id=bj5GAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QukMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2018,1618507

Click to access Gloversville%20NY%20Morning%20Herald%201951%20a%20Grayscale%20-%200550.pdf

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- Vienna on October 28, 2019 at 1:21 pm said:
  
  Thanks, Bob. I did see these two articles but it didn’t really add anything. Nice to read she made appearance in her home town when the film came out. She’s still the mystery woman!
  
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mikestakeonthemovies on October 31, 2019 at 2:29 am said:

This is a good one. Crawford delivers and he’s matched by those young bullies who were just starting to make a name for themselves. Too bad Bronson wasn’t used as one of the aggressive thugs as well.

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Vienna on October 31, 2019 at 9:17 am said:

It’s not up there with The Killers or Asphalt Jungle, but I appreciated how well paced it was,never letting up on the tension.

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