During the 1950s, a corrupt labor union boss and the mob silence all those who witness their shady activities but an honest union member threatens to testify in front of a Senate Committee, ... Read allDuring the 1950s, a corrupt labor union boss and the mob silence all those who witness their shady activities but an honest union member threatens to testify in front of a Senate Committee, thus becoming a murder-target.During the 1950s, a corrupt labor union boss and the mob silence all those who witness their shady activities but an honest union member threatens to testify in front of a Senate Committee, thus becoming a murder-target.
- Gina
- (as Vampira)
- Detective Sergeant
- (as Donald Barry)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe last 20 minutes of this film--the hunt to find the kidnappers' hideout--is an almost-complete copy of the sequence in 'Joe Smith: American' (1942).
- Quotes
Little Joe Braun: I wanna think you men for the warm reception you just gave me. Especially the guys that booed. It's good to know there are a couple of honest men in the room anyway. I'm here to tell you guys that there's a circus coming here tomorrow. There's some phony politicians coming to town on a union-busting expedition. They're gonna ask me if I shot my grandmother. Yeah, I shot her! They're also gonna ask me who paid for my yacht. Well I don't own a yacht, I got news for you. I got two yachts - a front yacht and a back yacht! Now maybe it's just a coincidence that this Senate Committee is coming here while we're trying to negotiate with the employers. And if the employers wanna know what kind of deal we're gonna make with the Toolworks, I'll tell 'em. We're gonna give 'em the works!
- ConnectionsRemake of Joe Smith, American (1942)
This film has a nice jazzy musical score, and some unexpected casting. Rooney is effective with an in-your-face performance as the ruthless union president. But equally effective, and a nice change of pace casting for him, too, is Steve Cochran, normally a screen tough guy, here playing a soft spoken decent family man who crosses paths with Rooney. Ray Danton is a cold blooded hood working for the union boss who not only throws someone into a cement mixer but sets another person on fire after dumping him out of a car.
Vampira, pretty much unrecognizable without her Vampira makeup, is a woman running a beatnik club, Mel Torme plays Cochran's fiery natured friend (Mel's not bad), and, the most unusual casting of all is, ready for this, Mamie Van Doren in a subdued performance as Cochran's homemaker wife. She still looks like bleached blonde Mamie, of course, but she's not half bad. Mamie as Donna Reed? See it to believe it.
The film has a protracted sequence is which Cochran, who is ready to give testimony against Rooney, is kidnapped and Rooney has goons working him over (Leo Gordon being one of them, yikes!) to try to get him to change his testimony. When Cochran refuses to cooperate, Rooney then resorts to nastier means to get his way.
- AlsExGal
- Sep 6, 2020
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $527,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1