Mad Dog Coll

John Davis Chandler stars as the young, brutal thug in this story of the notorious 1930s gangland killer, Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll. A cold, twisted youngster grows up in a brutal world, unable to express his feelings for a girl he is drawn to (Brooke Hayward) and taking great pleasure in killing as he makes his way up in the rackets. As Coll's exploits make headlines across the country, everyone except his girlfriend, an ex-stripper named Clio (Kay Doubleday), fears the hoodlum who's been dubbed "Mad Dog." Hunted by both the police and the henchmen of rival gangster Dutch Schultz, Coll manages to pull off a series of harrowing escapes. Newly remastered.

This gangland crime story about the life and death of mobster Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll (John Chandler) is most notable for the array of relatively unknown actors in bit parts who later became famous. Otherwise, there is a lot of bloodshed, surface characterization, and a great deal of fiction in the violent tale. Coll is first shown suffering extreme abuse from his father, and then he segues into the development of a neighborhood gang at the age of seventeen. From there, he gets on the wrong side of gangster Dutch Schultz which ultimately is a big mistake. Director Burt Balaban depicts Coll as increasingly insane, before his last killing leads to his violent death. Among those "new" faces are Telly Savalas as Lt. Dawson, Jerry Orbach as Joe, Coll's Judas, Gene Hackman in his first screen role as a cop, and Vincent Gardenia as Dutch Schultz.