Writing for a 1973 PFA Film Noir retrospective, Michael Goodwin and Naomi Wise described Samuel Fuller as "an American primitive whose vision directly contradicts that of Grandma Moses." Adding "U.S.A." to the title of this, his most brutal film, is no mere ploy on Fuller's part, for it is also his most scathing indictment of the American public, who, in their apathy, have allowed the Syndicate to become big business - and big politics.
Twelve-year-old Tolly Devlin watches his father being beaten to death by four punks. As an adult, Tolly (Cliff Robertson) vows revenge. Learning that three of the men are involved in a local crime ring, he infiltrates it while cooperating with the FBI. Playing the two sides against each other (allowing Fuller, like Lang in M, to point out the similarities between these rival elements of the crime world), he demonstrates a violent vigilante passion that equals theirs. (JB)