MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 4,791 this week

The Joker Is Wild (1957)

 -  Drama | Musical  -  October 1957 (USA)
6.8
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.8/10 from 596 users  
Reviews: 18 user | 3 critic

Frank Sinatra plays Joe E. Lewis, a famous comedian of the 1930s-50s. When the movie opens, Lewis is a young, talented singer who performs in speakeasies. When he bolts one job for another,... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay), (book)
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 2005 titles created 3 weeks ago
 
a list of 250 titles created 23 Apr 2011
 
a list of 5779 titles created 5 months ago
 
a list of 100 titles created 5 days ago
 
a list of 1168 titles created 12 Aug 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Joker Is Wild (1957)

The Joker Is Wild (1957) on IMDb 6.8/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Joker Is Wild.
Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
Joe E. Lewis
...
Martha Stewart
...
Letty Page
...
Austin Mack
...
...
Swifty Morgan
Barry Kelley ...
Captain Hugh McCarthy
...
Georgie Parker
Leonard Graves ...
Tim Coogan
Valerie Allen ...
Flora, Chorine
Hank Henry ...
Burlesque Comedian
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
...
Johnson (unconfirmed)
Edit

Storyline

Frank Sinatra plays Joe E. Lewis, a famous comedian of the 1930s-50s. When the movie opens, Lewis is a young, talented singer who performs in speakeasies. When he bolts one job for another, the mob boss who owns the first speakeasy has his thugs try to kill Lewis. Lewis survives, but his vocal cords are cut and he cannot sing. Several years later, his buddy tracks him down and tries to help him with little success. That attempt, though, leads to Lewis meeting Letty Page (Jeanne Crain). They fall in love and she inspires him to follow up on an offer to become a comedian (a result of his buddy's failed attempt to rejuvenate his singing career). Lewis has problems, though. The assault that nearly cost him his life also helped turn him into an alcoholic and an inveterate gambler. These two character defects become the basis for his act and help to make him a smash success. Unfortunately, they also work to wreak havoc in his personal life. Written by David Oboyski

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Drama | Musical

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

October 1957 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

All the Way  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

For some unknown reason, Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn is portrayed in this film as "Tim Coogan." See more »

Goofs

When Joe is looking at the building directory, the close-up shows "MORRIS WILLIAM". Yet in the next shot as Joe turns to go to the elevator, it says "MORRIS Wm" See more »

Connections

Referenced in Batman: The Joker Is Wild (1966) See more »

Soundtracks

"I Love My Baby (My Baby Loves Me)"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Instrumental only
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Excellent depiction and performances
5 August 2006 | by (Tulsa OK) – See all my reviews

I don't have a great number of DVD's and tapes, but this picture is one of them. My father was a good friend of the "CEO" and others involved in the management of the Beverly Hills Supper Club, in the northern Kentucky suburban area of metropolitan Cincinnati. This was a 5-star dining and show facility, with about 700-seat dining/show area, and full, Vegas-style gambling room (the same "interests," from Cleveland, also controlled the Desert Inn in Las Vegas). My parents and I went there often when I was a youngster, and I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Lewis, and several other of the headliners who appeared there. He was very courteous and nice to me, and this was at the high point of his career. It was the era when there were major venues throughout the U.S. - where in addition to Joe E. Lewis - the clubs also had shows starring Sophie Tucker, Jack E. Leonard, Ted Lewis, Jimmy Durante, Nelson Eddy, Billy Daniels, Lena Horne, and many, many others. Joe E. Lewis was in the very top echelon.

The movie is quite factual, overall - a couple of exceptions being that Austin Mack was very, very bald, while Eddie Albert possessed one of the greater heads of hair in Hollywood; and Lewis' wife Martha (played by Mitzi Gaynor) was actually a minor showgirl, and did not become the important Hollywood figure the film depicted. Some have indicated that in later years during his career he drank tea during his "post time" episodes on-stage. While he always had possession of his faculties whenever I saw him, I once asked Sam Tucker, the "capo" in-charge at Beverly Hills how much Mr. Lewis drank; he indicated it was still a substantial quantity.

Mr. Lewis said, when this film was released, that "Sinatra had more fun playing (his) life than (he) did living it." Sinatra's performance here is outstanding, as well as those of the two female leads, and Albert and Coogan, along with all the supporting cast. And this is one of those biographical films where I feel the personas of the subject individual and his portrayer were very, very similar in both their "real lives."


16 of 18 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
need a copy gerriwithremax
Needed on DVD, right? romojo
How much of this was based on reality? philosophymom
contact Criterion for DVD ? nejad33
Jackie Coogan!!! flashbacktogreatness
The Soundtrack sheenatra
Discuss The Joker Is Wild (1957) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?