Mickey Rooney stars as Little Joe Braun, a tough as nails and very corrupt union boss, much like Jimmy Hoffa. The Government is attempting to discover blackmail, corruption and murder within the union, and Braun tries to cover it all up.
One night, two men in the union, Bill Gibson (Steve Cochran) and Fred McAfee (Mel Torme) accidentally see Braun talking to a little known criminal and Little Joe realizes this may cause some trouble, so her sets about trying to get the men to work for him.
His honest attempts don't work so he tries bribery which also fails. Eventually Joe gets fed up and he has McAfee set on fire and kidnaps the child of Gibson. Things get even worse before Little Joe Braun finally gets what he has coming to him.
I always love these Zugsmith epics because of the bizarre stories and the great casts. Besides the above mentioned actors this films cast also includes Ray Danton, gorgeous Mamie Van Doren, Ray Anthony, Vampira, Jackie Coogan, Jim Backus, Woo Woo Grabowski, Ziva Rodann, Leo Gordon and Jay North.
This is a fun film noir gem and it holds your attention from beginning to end. Rooney steals the show and really pulls off the roll of a union boss who will do anything to stay on top. I always have thought Mamie Van Doren was one of the sexiest women alive and seeing her in this film as Steve Cochran's wife was rather odd. In this I mean it's odd seeing a gorgeous beauty like Van Doren playing a laid back housewife.
Olive turned this out a while back and I finally got the chance to see it after many years. It was just a good as I remembered it. Charles Haas handles the directing chores very well. Oh yes I have to admit that any movie with Ziva Rodann also always catches my attention. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
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