Mr. Soft Touch (1949)

Just before Christmas, Joe Miracle, a returning WWII war hero, comes home to learn that gangster Barney Teener has taken over his nightclub and murdered Joe's partner. Joe loots the club's ... See full summary »

Directors:

Gordon Douglas, Henry Levin

Writers:

Milton Holmes (story), Orin Jannings (screenplay)

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Evelyn Keyes, John Ireland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenn Ford	...	Joe Miracle
Evelyn Keyes	...	Jenny Jones
John Ireland	...	Henry 'Early' Byrd
Beulah Bondi	...	Mrs. Hangale
Percy Kilbride	...	Rickle
Clara Blandick	...	Susan Balmuss
Ted de Corsia	...	Rainey
Stanley Clements	...	Yonzi
Roman Bohnen	...	Barney Teener
Harry Shannon	...	Police Sergeant Garrett
Gordon Jones	...	Muggles
Jack Gordon	...	Fanner
Ray Mayer	...	Victor Christopher
Angela Clarke	...	Clara Christopher
Mikel Conrad	...	Officer Miller

Storyline

Just before Christmas, Joe Miracle, a returning WWII war hero, comes home to learn that gangster Barney Teener has taken over his nightclub and murdered Joe's partner. Joe loots the club's safe for $100,000 and then finds sanctuary in a settlement house ran by Jenny Jones. Mistaking him for a down-and-out musician, she helps him understand the importance of her work. "Early" Byrd, a newspaper columnist, learns Joe's true identity and writes a column that puts Barney on his trail. The gangsters recover the money, after setting fire to the settlement house, but Joe steals it again, and returns to the gutted welfare house disguised as Santa Claus, and gives the money to Jenny to rebuild. There, Tenner and his gang catch up to Joe.

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Plot Keywords:

money | settlement house | gangster | war hero | partner | 

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Taglines:

IN HEADLONG FLIGHT HE PAUSED...TO LIVE A LIFETIME in 36 thrill-packed hours...with this woman! (original poster)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Crime

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Vida é um Jogo

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Just passable

Reworking of an old John Garfield film, with some of the same cast, this slight drama tells the story of a guy (Ford) on the run with stolen loot who ends up in a settlement house. There he learns a few things about life and himself. He falls for a woman (Keyes) who works there and has taken pity on him, thinking he is a down and out musician. A reporter (Ireland) discovers his true identity, which leads to gangsters pursuing him and causing no end of trouble. Ford is OK, but Garfield was much more convincing in an almost identical role. Keyes is simply window dressing. This kind of film was very popular in the 1930s, but pretty passe by the late 1940s. Columbia or whomever probably was looking over some old movie scripts and decided to dust this one off and make it the bottom half of a double bill.