Gene Kelly made a career out of starring in musical comedies. Some of his best movies out there are big grandiose technicolor musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris. He would be synonymous with song and dance films all the way up until his final movie, the animated Cats Don’t Dance, a film that is dedicated to him and he helped with the choreography. He didn’t always make musicals, though. But even when he wasn’t cutting a rug on film, he was usually a source of comedy or lightheartedness. But Black Hand, a film he made just one year prior to his Oscar-winning An American in Paris, is anything but a lighthearted film. Black Hand tackles some very serious subjects including one that is back in the public consciousness again in 2026: illegal immigration.
Black Hand begins with a murder. Roberto Colombo, an Italian-born attorney living in New York City, is killed by gangsters as he is meeting with a police officer to discuss information he has about an extortion attempt. His widow and son soon return to Italy, where she eventually dies. Eight years later, her son Giovanni (Gene Kelly) returns to New York, determined to settle a vendetta against the men who killed his father. Instead, he is convinced by a childhood friend, Isabella Gamboli (Teresa Celli) and police detective Louis Lorelli (J. Carrol Naish), to go after them a different way.
Giovanni and Isabella work to rally the people in Little Italy to rise up against the gangsters, who go by the name Black Hand. But through intimidation and violence, the citizens are forced back, fearing their lives and the lives of their families. Even Giovanni suffers a setback when he is assaulted and left with broken bones. But he is determined to put an end to this reign of terror, even if it cost him his life.
The subject of illegal immigration is on everybody’s minds these days. Because of that, moments in this film will really resonate again. Many of the gangsters here fled Italy, where they were wanted for serious crimes, and immigrated under false names. One of the ways these felons are dealt with is uncovering this proof and deporting them back to Italy where they will face the courts there. It’s a satisfying punishment, brought on by due process, that we wish we were seeing more of in recent years. It’s a touchy subject with seemingly everybody throwing their opinions on it out there.
Impressively, Gene Kelly is showing that he can hold his own when given serious material. Gone is the perpetual smile and jovial good nature we are used to seeing in everything from Anchors Aweigh to Xanadu. He is credible as the son on a mission to avenge his father. The film doesn’t let him down, either. This is a complicated story about a lot of subjects, not just gang violence, and it handles them all well. The explosive finale wraps things up nicely, too, adding a bit of excitement, danger, and some poetic justice to a group that used intimidation as a way to terrorize the people. 1950 - 92 minutes
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