The Scarface Mob (1959)

The Scarface Mob (1959) is an early TV movie historical Al Capone and The Untouchables Eliot Ness-based film edit of the television pilots into an end of the cycle movie noir type of affair which has virtually no film noir elements to speak of, as such stylistic gems and nuggets are smoothed out to make way for the televisual plainety of the new mass media era of the 1960s.

The late 1950s brought black-and-white television to new heights, with The Untouchables exemplifying the era’s gritty appeal and plunge into endless tropery, some of which started right here. Known for its violence, the show stirred controversy in its day, with its portrayal of mob brutality and intense confrontations between law enforcement and the Chicago crime syndicates. 

Shack Out On 101 (1955)

Shack Out on 101 (1955) is a  roadside-diner anti-Communist espionage film noir with goofball elements set in a crummy but funny roadside diner and on a low-budget, and made by Allied Artists.

Indeed, you could call the joint a shack.

Down at the shack, Lee Marvin plays Slob a lecherous and bullying short-order cook who ain't good for much, other than sniping with his war veteran boss played by Keenan Wynn, whose life is a mixture of sarcasm and PTSD.

In September 1952, Monogram announced that henceforth it would only produce films bearing the Allied Artists name. The studio ceased making movies under the Monogram brand name in 1953, although it was reactivated by AAI by the millennium. The parent company became Allied Artists, with Monogram Pictures becoming an operating division.

In fact French New Wave pioneer Jean-Luc Godard dedicated his 1960 film Breathless to Monogram, citing the studio's films as a major influence.

Running Wild (1955)

Running Wild (1955) is an undercover cop teenage-tearaway hot roddin' 1950s crime movie in which a rookie cop goes undercover to infiltrate an auto-theft ring operated by juvenile delinquents.

While the ring itself is operated by juveniles, the man behind it is Ken Ossanger, played by Keenan Wynn, and he is a nasty slice of low-life, and up to more than just sarcasm.

In fact, as well as running the operation which steals strips and resprays vehicles stolen on demand, he is also blackmailing the young and attractive Leta Novak (Kathleen Case) into more than just going on dates with him.

Their dates take them to the hive of local night time action, a roadside joint called The Cove, where all the teens meet, dance, drink and make merry, until a punch up breaks up the fun.