21st Century released Hit the Dutchman the same year as this movie, which concentrated on Dutch Schultz. This Greydon Clark and Ken Stein-directed film is about his nemesis, Vincent Coll, who started off as a street fighter and works his way up to becoming a crime boss.

Coll was called Mad Dog by the press after a five-year-old was caught in the crossfire in a gun battle. This movie claims that he was innocent of that and it was someone else who did the crime. It also presents Vincent (Christopher Bradley) and Peter (Jeff Griggs) as being sick of the low wages they received from Schultz (Bruce Nozick) and striking out on their own, which starts off the gang war.

Both this film and Hit the Dutchman were made by 21st Century in Russia, so the entire film has a very soundstage feel that also feels very Cannon, so you know that I loved it. It looks way better than it should, thanks to Janusz Kaminski, whose career would go way upward after working in the world of low budget films.

Released in the U. S. as Killer Instinct - to cash in on Basic Instinct but having nothing to do with that movie, God bless Menahem - this was intended to be part of a trilogy that only got two parts. Regardless, I love that Golan saw that more gangster movies were getting made, so he went to Russia to show America in the 1920s.

Despite the fact that this movie is yet another retelling of gangland life during the Prohibition era, the smart performances by the four leads raise this low-budget film above the standard B-movie fare. In particular, it is interesting to see a young Rachel York of recent "Lucy" and "Kiss Me, Kate" fame turn what could have been a stereotypical gun moll/nightclub singer portrayal into a multi-dimensional and heartfelt performance of a 20-something woman whose experiences have made her much older than her years.

While the screenplay lacks depth, the actors do not. The fluid direction and crisp camera work also put this movie on a par with more expensive mainstream ventures. The story won't really tell you anything new about the psyches of killers like the Cole brothers or Dutch Schultz. But the actors who portray them - Christopher Bradley, Jeff Griggs, and Bruce Nozick - give it their all. Their performances are earnest. They do not play caricatures.

If you enjoy discovering surprisingly good acting in less than perfect films, "Killer Instinct" is worth the view. An added bonus is that you get to hear Rachel York sing. She has a terrific voice and she stylizes beautifully. She is the strongest selling point for seeing this film.

Great cinematography by the future photographer of Schindler's List and Private Ryan. A great score by Terry Plumeri. Good acting by Bradley, York, and Nozick. An interesting story line, based on the real mobster... Not always perfect, but worth watching. This is a well WELL above average indy mob movie.