A movie titled "Family Enforcer" made its debut on the Pub D Hub channel available for streaming public domain movies, TV shows, radio shows, audio books, educational shorts and cautionary films the second week of September, 2011. This movie can also occasionally be tracked down under the title "Death Collector." Why should the release of a little known gangster movie that briefly hit theaters in 1976 into the increasingly broad world of public domain streaming be worthy of any notice?
To begin with, any fan of 1970s gangster movies that don't star Pacino or DeNiro can appreciate this bizarrely compelling entry. Don't be mistaken for a second: "Family Enforcer" isn't in the same league as Coppola's saga or even "Capone," but it can brag about something that none of those three movies can. A man named Martin Scorsese watched this movie at some point and took notice of two actors playing minor characters. A few years later he would remember this movie and those guys and cast both of them in a biopic he was directing called "Raging Bull."
"Family Enforcer" is worth checking out to see what Scorsese saw in Joe Pesci and Frank Vincent that would alter the course of gangster movie history by placing them into the same league of mob movie veterans as James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart. The star of "Family Enforcer" is Joseph Cortese. No, not the guy who played Elaine Benes' boyfriend and told George Costanza to step off: his name was Dan Cortese. Joe Cortese has had a long career since "Family Enforcer," but his biggest accomplishment was probably getting Kim Delaney to fall in love with him. Nevertheless, Cortese actually turns in a pretty good performance and his character offers a unique perspective on those that would later be played by Joe Pesci. Early in this movie is a scene with Pesci as a small time hood buddy of Cortese who is owed money by the nephew of a mob power figure. What is fascinating about this scene from the perspective of film history is how watching it now to completely upends expectations. You see, Pesci is the cool and calm one and it is Cortese who goes all, well, goes all Pesci over the kid. One cannot help but wonder if Scorsese briefly entertained the possibility of casting Cortese as Jake LaMotta's brother. And then comes the scene in the car about an hour into the movie and you see exactly where Scorsese got the idea for the scene in "Raging Bull" where Pesci psychoticaly beats up Frank Vincent with a car.
Frank Vincent isn't as big a name as Joe Pesci, but the two men are inextricably intertwined. Pesci beat up Vincent in "Raging Bull" and murders him in "Goodfellas." Vincent returns the favor in "Casino." Frank Vincent may well have played more gangsters than any other actor in movie history. In "Family Enforcer" he played a deadbeat businessman owing the mob money. He's also Jewish. He's also got a Mike Brady style white man's afro. "Family Enforcer" is worth 90 minutes of your time just to enjoy Vincent's bizarre hairstyle choice while you pretend you are Martin Scorsese.
A third reason exists for setting aside time to stream "Family Enforcer" to your TV. The opening sequence of this film specifically and the general feel and structure of the movie all provide a feeling of déjà vu. That feeling may be the result of having caught this on the late show one night in the late 70s, but more likely that feeling of having seen a movie you never even heard of is due to the fact that Martin Scorsese may have been inspired by it more than he consciously knew. "Goodfellas" is superior in every way, but there is no mistaking the fact that "Family Enforcer" lingered in Scorsese's subconsciousness during the making of "Goodfellas."
For more articles by Timothy Sexton:
The Gangster Film and the American Dream
Goodfellas and the Thematic Importance of Staging Opening Sequences in Film
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