The Boss (1956)

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

Dalton Trumbo, Ben Perry (front for Dalton Trumbo)

Stars:

John Payne, William Bishop, Gloria McGehee

Cast

Cast overview:
John Payne	...	Matt Brady
William Bishop	...	William Clay aka Bob Herrick
Gloria McGehee	...	Lorry Reed
Doe Avedon	...	Elsie Reynolds
Roy Roberts	...	Tim Brady
Rhys Williams	...	Stanley Millard
Joe Flynn	...	Ernie Jackson
Robin Morse	...	Johnny Mazia
William Phipps	...	Stitch
Gil Lamb	...	Henry
George Lynn	...	Tom Masterson
Bob Morgan	...	Hamhead

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

corruption | organized crime | gangster

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Taglines:

"I'M THE BOSS" "I've Got My Finger In Every Vice Racket. The Police, Senate Investigators, Nobody Can Lay A Hand On Me. They Call Me A Public Enemy, But Someday I'm Going To Name My Own President." I'M THE BOSS

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le Boss

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Frank Seltzer Productions, Window Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Approximately two minutes after the start of the film, the scene showing the parade of the returning soldiers has several anachronisms: standing with their backs to the camera, there is a line of about a dozen middle-aged or older women, whose knee-length hemlines and style of high heeled shoes wouldn't exist until the 1920s; to the left of the scene, hugging the shaft of a lamp-post, is a young boy wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a tropical-flower pattern, which boys of the First World War period would never have worn; in the center of the background behind the parading soldiers is a car whose windshield and roof style are typical of cars from the 1930s, but which would never have been seen on a pre-1920 automobile.

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Connections

Referenced in Trumbo (2007)

User Reviews

A bit overrated...

This film currently has an IMDb score of 6.9 and I think this is a bit generous. I felt the film was an adequate time-passer and nothing more.

This film is from John Payne's tough guy era--after he stopped playing pretty boys such as in musicals when he was younger and more handsome. Now middle-aged, many of his film were much grittier--and he made a bunch of noir films during the 1950s. Some were very good and often he was very good as a heavy, but here he comes off as almost funny--barking orders and giving a rather heavy-handed performance. In other words, he seems to be a caricature of a bad guy here and it never comes off as very believable. Some of this is surely due to the script. Regardless, the film is unconvincing and, at times, a bit silly. Not a terrible film, mind you--just not all that good.

By the way, look at the machine gun scene. A group of guys are mowed down at point blank range and only the tiniest trickle of blood is seen on one victim's hand. Ha!