Never Steal Anything Small (1959)

Director:

Charles Lederer

Writers:

Maxwell Anderson (play)
Charles Lederer (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

24 July 1959 (Finland)

Genre:

Musical

Plot:

Jake MacIllaney will do just about anything to win the presidential election of longshoreman union Local 26...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Union | Based On Play

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

James Cagney	...	Jake MacIllaney
Shirley Jones	...	Linda Cabot
Roger Smith	...	Dan Cabot
Cara Williams	...	Winnipeg Simmons
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Pinelli
Royal Dano	...	Words Cannon
Anthony Caruso	...	Lt. Tevis
Horace McMahon	...	O. K. Merritt
Virginia Vincent	...	Ginger
Jack Albertson	...	Sleep-Out Charlie Barnes
Robert J. Wilke	...	Lennie
Herbie Faye	...	Hymie
Billy M. Greene	...	Ed Barton
Barry Russo	...	Ward (as John Duke)
Jack Orrison	...	Osborne
Roland Winters	...	Doctor
Ingrid Goude	...	Model
Sanford Seeger	...	Fats Ranney
Edward McNally	...	Thomas
Gregg Barton	...	Deputy Warden
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vincent Barbi	...	Vince (uncredited)
George Becwar	...	Superintendent (uncredited)
Nicky Blair	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Gordon B. Clarke	...	Morley Shannon (uncredited)
Joan Corbett	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Johnny Dale	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
George DeNormand	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Pete Dunn	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Stanley Farrar	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Roy Fitzell	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Tom Geraghty	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Bruce Glover	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Scott Groves	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
John Halloran	...	First detective (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Restaurant Diner (uncredited)
Harold 'Tommy' Hart	...	Ybarra (uncredited)
Harlan Hoagland	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Wendell Holmes	...	George Alper (uncredited)
Don House	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Arline Hunter	...	Model (uncredited)
Jay Jostyn	...	Judge (uncredited)
Phyllis Kennedy	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Kenneth Konopka	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Forrest Lederer	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Charles Lind	...	Stage Manager (uncredited)
Jenö Mate	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Ken Mayer	...	Angeletti (uncredited)
Asa Maynor	...	Model (uncredited)
Charles McClelland	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Pat McMahon	...	Model (uncredited)
Bill Meader	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Todd Miller	...	Specialty Dancer (uncredited)
Mike Morelli	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Tom Newman	...	Dock Chief (uncredited)
Mike O'Dowd	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Norman Papson	...	Page Boy (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Harvey Parry	...	Second detective (uncredited)
Regis Parton	...	Adjutant (uncredited)
Pat Patterson	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Joe Ploski	...	Extra (uncredited)
Mike Portanova	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Alan Reynolds	...	Police Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Hugh Sanders	...	Union Spokesman (uncredited)
Rebecca Sand	...	Coffee vendor (uncredited)
Johnny Seven	...	Joe, a Stevedore (uncredited)
Robert Strong	...	Adjutant (uncredited)
Sid Tomack	...	Small Man (uncredited)
Joseph Trapaso	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Sy Travers	...	Stevedore (uncredited)
Frankie Van	...	Klein (uncredited)
Joe Walls	...	Bit Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Lederer

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Maxwell Anderson		play "The Devil's Hornpipe"
Charles Lederer		writer
Rouben Mamoulian		play

Produced by
Aaron Rosenberg	....	producer

Original Music by
Allie Wrubel

Cinematography by
Harold Lipstein

Film Editing by
Russell F. Schoengarth

Production Design by
Lew Leary

Art Direction by
Alexander Golitzen

Set Decoration by
Oliver Emert		(as Ollie Emert)
Russell A. Gausman

Costume Design by
Bill Thomas

Makeup Department
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ray DeCamp	....	assistant director
David Silver	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Leslie I. Carey	....	sound recordist
Robert Pritchard	....	sound recordist

Stunts
Regis Parton	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Joseph Gershenson	....	musical director

Other crew
Hermes Pan	....	choreographer
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical)

Runtime:

USA:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Soundtrack:

I'm Sorry, I Want a Ferrari

An antidote to the super-serious On The Waterfront

One of Cagney's last pictures before his extended retirement (he returned in Ragtime). Like On The Waterfront, Never Steel Anything Small deals with a corrupt longshoreman's union on the U.S. east coast. That's where the similarity ends, as one is a straight drama and the other a musical comedy. Cagney, with his roots as a vaudeville hoofer, dances and sings in some neat production numbers choreographed by Hermes Pan, Fred Astaire's (mostly) off-screen collaborator. The movie also sends up television commercials; an unusual thing in the 1950s when Hollywood was loathe to acknowledge the upstart TV medium. Shirley Jones does a nice job as the good wife who inadvertently tempts the wiley union boss/climber-with-a-heart-of-gold Cagney.