Monkey on My Back (1957)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

André De Toth

Writers:

Paul Dudley (writer)
Barney Ross (book)

Release Date:

6 March 1958 (Sweden)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

SHOCK by SHOCK...It Jabs Like a Hopped-Up Needle!

Plot:

The true story of Barney Ross, a World War II hero and champion professional boxer, who became addicted to morphine. |

Plot Keywords:

Drug Addict | Beautiful Woman | Drugs | Boxing | Drug Addiction

Cast

Cameron Mitchell	...	Barney Ross
Dianne Foster	...	Cathy Holland
Paul Richards	...	Rico, Drug Pusher (as Paul E. Richards)
Jack Albertson	...	Sam Pian
Kathy Garver	...	Noreen
Lisa Golm	...	Barney's Mother
Barry Kelley	...	Big Ralph
Dayton Lummis	...	J.L. McAvoy
Lewis Charles	...	Lew Surati
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Dr. A.J. Latham
Richard Benedict	...	Art Winch
Brad Harris	...	Spike McAvoy
Robert Holton	...	Dr. Sullivan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eric Morris	...	Soldier

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:(Banned) (1957) | Sweden:15

Company:

Edward Small Productions

Trivia:

In August 1957, this film was being being shown on a double bill with Island in the Sun (1957).

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 9 (2002) (V)

Daring For Its Day But A Disappointment

This could have been a powerful movie. As it is, it's a precursor to heartwarming TV movies of the week. It's about a boxer and it has no punch.

The protagonist was a real person and this is his story. Maybe it had to be toned down. But, though Cameron Mitchell seems to be doing his best in the lead role, it is never convincing.

Diane Foster is wooden and very much of her time. She's like a sitcom mom, not the wife of an ex-boxer, returned war hero turned junkie.

Very little rings true. The seamy streets where Mitchell goes to get his fixes have a very obvious backlot look. The prosties he passes are kind of fun: They are straight from Police Gazette covers.

The other lowlifes, though, are like comic book exaggerations. It's interesting to note the low billing given the actor who plays his drug dealer. The good guys get the high billing. But this character, though not one of the plum roles if one were an actor reading the script, is pivotal.