A Medal for Benny (1945)
- Starring:
- Dorothy Lamour, Arturo de Cordova, (more)
- Director(s):
- Irving Pichel
Synopsis of A Medal for Benny
John Steinbeck cowrote this sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-wrenching study of small-town hypocrisy. Shiftless Benny (who is never seen) has been tossed out of his Southern California town by the "proper" citizens. Drafted into the army, Benny is killed in action--and now that he's a hero, his old home town gears up for a Congressional Medal of Honor ceremony. Suddenly the same upright townsfolk who'd previously scorned Benny and his impoverished father (J. Carroll Naish) bend over backward to prove how much they "loved" the boy. Only Dorothy Lamour, playing Benny's former sweetheart, sees through the sham, though she's honor bound to celebrate Benny's heroism. A Medal for Benny bestows top billing upon Lamour, but the film's true star is J. Carroll Naish as Benny's volatile Italian papa--a performance which won Naish an Academy Award nomination. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Complete Cast of A Medal for Benny
- Dorothy Lamour - Lolita Sierra
- J. Carrol Naish - Charley Martin
- Fernando Alvarado - Chito Sierra
- Frank McHugh - Edgar Lovekin
- Grant Mitchell - Pantara's Mayor
- Jimmie Dundee - Cop
- Alice Fleming - Dowager
- Eddy Chandler - Bank Guard
- Maxine Fife - Telephone operator
- Frank Reicher - Father Bly
- Edward Fielding - Governor
- Oliver Blake - Pepster
- Minerva Urecal - Mrs. Chavez
- Tom Fadden - Eddie Krinch
- Arturo de Cordova - Joe Morales
- Mikhail Rasumny - Raphael Catalina
- Charles Dingle - Zack Mibbs
- Rosita Moreno - Toodles Castro
- Douglas Dumbrille - General
- Nestor Paiva - Frank Alviso
- Pepito Pérez - Pamfilo Chaves
- Harry Hayden - Pepster
- Jack Gardner - Cameraman/Red
- Eva Puig - Mrs. Catalina
- Robert E. Homans - Chief of Police
- Victor Potel - Pepster
- Max Wagner - Jake
- Director(s):
- Irving Pichel
- Writer(s):
- Jack Wagner, John Steinbeck, Frank R. Butler
- Producer(s):
- Paul Jones
- 1945 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
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