Ned Glass Movies

Frank Sinatra stars as legendary nightclub comic Joe E. Lewis in this dramatic screen biography. In the 1920s, Lewis was a popular singer in Chicago who could fill any nightclub he chose to play. This doesn't go unnoticed by the mobsters who control many of the city's venues; when they ask Lewis to leave his steady gig and come work for them, he politely but firmly refuses. This does not make Al Capone and his men happy, and they respond by brutally attacking Lewis, cutting his throat and damaging his vocal cords so severely that he can never sing again. Lewis sinks into a deep depression and develops a highly caustic sense of humor, but his friend Austin Mack (Eddie Albert) suggests that he could put his sharp wit to work as a comedian. With little to lose, Lewis tries his hand at comedy, and with the encouragement of famous entertainer Sophie Tucker, Lewis once again rises to stardom as his salty material makes him the talk of late-night spots and burlesque houses everywhere. Along the way, he becomes involved with chorus girl Martha Stewart (Mitzi Gaynor) and wealthy socialite Letty Page (Jeanne Crain); while he marries Martha, he's not able to get Letty out of his thoughts for long. Lewis' romantic conflicts and the pressures of success fan the flames of his already potent taste for alcohol, and soon Lewis becomes a bitter drunk whose addiction to the bottle threatens to send his career (and his life) back into the gutter. The classic Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen number "All the Way" was introduced in The Joker Is Wild, and it won a 1957 Academy Award for Best Song; the film was later re-released as All the Way. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

John Hoyt guest stars as Rex Proctor, a politically ambitious Washington bureaucrat. Arriving in Dodge City, Proctor insists that Marshall Matt Dillon (James Arness) is all wrong in his approach to law and order. Using his political clout, Proctor takes over as the town's peacekeeper, imposing innumerable "Eastern" rules and regulations that are totally out of place in the Wild West. Despite Matt's protest, Proctor refuses to listen to reason--and his stubbornness may cost him his life. This episode is based on the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of January 29, 1956. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a customary act of gallantry, Paladin (Richard Boone) acquires opera tickets for Mexican noblewoman Maria Rojas (June Vincent) and her aristocratic husband Miguel (Michael Pate). No sooner have the lights gone down that shot rings out and Miguel is felled by an assassin's bullet. As he lies dying, Miguel persuades Paladin to escort his body back to his home in Mexico. Paladin agrees--little knowing that there is much, much more to this situation than meets the eye! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Harlan "Mountain" McClintock (Jack Palance) has been a professional boxer for 14 years. He's been in the ring for over 110 bouts and was once ranked number five among the world's heavyweight fighters, but age and the physical punishment of his sport have taken their toll. Now McClintock is growing too old to fight but he lacks the money to retire gracefully, as his manager Maish (Keenan Wynn) suggests he start fighting crooked or switch to professional wrestling. Ed Wynn co-stars as McClintock's corner man, and Kim Hunter plays a sweet but naïve social worker. Requiem for a Heavyweight was a television drama written by Rod Serling and originally broadcast in 1956; the story was later remade as a feature film starring Anthony Quinn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Like its predecessor Duffy of San Quentin, The Steel Cage is made up of episodes from a never-telecast TV series based on the career of progressive prison warden Clinton T. Duffy. Paul Kelly plays Duffy, while his wife is portrayed by Maureen O'Sullivan. Divided into three separate playlets, the film begins with the semi-comic story of an ill-tempered chef (Walter Slezak) who is railroaded into San Quentin by a gourmet prisoner. The second story concerns a tense hostage situation fomented by would-be escapees John Ireland and Lawrence Tierney. The closing story deals with an incarcerated painter (Kenneth Tobey), whose belief in God is renewed by an idealistic young priest (Arthur Franz). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An unofficial remake of The Champ, The Clown concerns Dodo Delwyn (Red Skelton), a down-and-out performer with abundant and obvious talent, but also a self-destructive tendency to overindulge his drinking and gambling habits. Once a Ziegfeld headliner, Dodo is now lucky to get jobs playing a clown at cheap amusement parks and even cheaper burlesque. Dodo's addictions cost him his marriage, but he somehow is able to maintain custody of his son Dink (Tim Considine), whose love for and faith in his father knows no bounds. Dink and Dodo's desperate need for each other is threatened when Dink's mother -- married again and capable of providing him with a better life -- reappears and explains that she wants to take care of the boy herself. Dink goes behind his father's back to locate his old agent, and begs him to help Dodo; but the agent cannot do anything. Dink goes away with his mother, but is miserable and runs back to his father. The agent, meanwhile, has managed to wrangle a TV show for Dodo -- and now that his son is back and needs him, Dodo resolves to find the courage to take up this offer and make a success of it. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Robert Jordan is a television star. Robert Jordan likes things orderly, on time and properly executed. In his world children are to be seen, not heard. So why would Mr. Jordan want to become the master of a rambunctious band of Boy Scouts? Ratings. His staff figures that if learns how to interact with the youth, they will be more inclined to watch his show. Of course watching Jordan cope comprises most of the fun. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a young woman is hired to take care of an eerie old mansion. There she finds herself entangled with an enigmatic murderer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed in 1938 with Edward G. Robinson in the lead, the Damon Runyon-Howard Lindsay stage farce A Slight Case of Murder was musicalized in 1952 as Stop, You're Killing Me. Broderick Crawford stars as Remy Marko, a soft-hearted Prohibition beer baron who turns honest when the 18th amendment is repealed in 1933. Trouble is, Marko's beer tastes awful and his business plummets. Compounding this headache, Marko's daughter Mary (Virginia Gibson) intends to wed Chance Whitelaw (Billy Hayes), a police officer from a wealthy family. Hoping to put up a respectable front for their prospective in-laws, Marko and his wife Nora (Claire Trevor) rent a fancy mansion-spa in Saratoga -- where, unbeknownst to the ex-bootlegger, four gangster types have been shot to death by a desperado named Innocent (Harry Morgan). The rest of the film finds Remy trying to dispose of the cumbersome corpses while avoiding the baleful stares of both his future in-laws and the police. Not quite as good as its 1938 predecessor, Stop You're Killing Me at least affords viewers the rare opportunity of hearing Broderick Crawford sing! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fish-market worker Johnny O'Hara (James Arness) is named as a suspect when his boss -- with whom he had a dispute the previous day -- is shot to death in an apparent robbery. When he's arrested, his family appeals to their old friend James Curtayne (Spencer Tracy), who was once a renowned criminal attorney but is now in civil practice. He resists their entreaties until he realizes that no decent attorney will handle the case properly; his daughter (Diana Lynn) watches with alarm, however, for we soon learn that Curtayne is an alcoholic, and that the major factor in his life that pushed him over the edge was the stress of having someone's life in his hands. He discovers soon enough just how much Johnny's life is in his hands when his client refuses to level with him about his real whereabouts on the night of the murder. He also realizes as the trial starts precisely how rusty he is in the courtroom, and the old stresses return -- and with them, his drinking. Curtayne not only manages to lose the case but destroys his career when he tries to buy off a larcenous prosecution witness. His client facing a death sentence and his own life and career in ruins, he's seemingly hit bottom, but then new evidence surfaces, of a nature that not even the ambitious prosecutor (John Hodiak) can ignore. Recognizing that his client was actually innocent and also acting in his silence -- however stupidly -- from the noblest of motives, Curtayne is willing to redeem himself by putting his own life on the line, confronting a killer who has taken more than one life without any compunction whatsoever, and who has no reason to spill anything.

The People Against O'Hara was a well-made, largely location-shot crime drama set in New York City, but it wouldn't have been nearly so prestigious a movie were it not for the presence of Spencer Tracy in the role of Curtayne. Ironically enough, he only agreed to do the film on the condition that his friend Pat O'Brien, who hadn't been in a major studio release in a couple of years, be given a large role, which he got as the lead detective on the case, and O'Brien and Tracy get a couple of really good scenes together. The film also includes an unbilled appearance by Charles Bronson, who was still working as Charles Buchinski in 1951, and is highlighted by a superb prominent supporting performance by William Campbell, who seems to quietly relish every nuance of his portrayal of a totally slimy character. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

He's a Cockeyed Wonder stars Mickey Rooney as the title character. Try as he might, Freddy Frisby (Rooney) can't succeed at anything. Things take an upward turn when Freddy inherits the estate of his uncle, a famed magician. Armed with all sorts of legerdemain, Freddy begins giving shows at local businesses, assisted by his girl friend Judy Sears (Terry Moore). While performing at a factory, Freddy and Judy are framed for a payroll robbery by a gang of thieves. By using his bag of tricks to the utmost, Our Hero clears himself and Judy then prepares to round up the bad guys. Nobody seems willing to play straight in He's a Cockeyed Wonder--certainly not William Demarest as the heroine's father and Douglas Fowley and Mike Mazurki as the head crooks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur Broadway comedy Ladies and Gentlemen formed the basis of the Warner Bros. laughspinner Perfect Strangers. The title characters are Terry Scott and David Campbell, played by Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan. She's a divorcee, he's a husband and father. Terry and David are thrown together by fate -- or rather, the LA judicial system. While serving as jurors on a murder trial, the two fall in love. Ironically, the woman on trial allegedly killed her husband because he'd asked for a divorce. The seriocomic tension develops on two levels: will juror Isobel Bradford (Margolo Gillmore) be able to sway the others to vote for the death penalty, and will Terry and David continue to pursue their romance at the expense of the happiness of others? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Storm Warning, Ginger Rogers stars as a model visiting relatives in an unnamed small town. She happens to witness the beating death of a man at the hands of the KKK. Rogers soon discovers that the whole town is controlled by this vigilante group, and that her loutish brother-in-law Steve Cochran is one of the group's members. D.A. Ronald W. Reagan is the man who breaks the stranglehold of the hooded terrorists--through the simple expedient of walking into one of their meetings and calmly identifying each of them by name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide