Mickey One (1965)

After incurring the wrath of the mob, a comic flees Detroit for Chicago taking the name "Mickey One." As he returns to the stage and becomes successful, he fears that the mob will track him... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writer:

Alan M. Surgal

Stars:

Warren Beatty, Alexandra Stewart, Hurd Hatfield

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warren Beatty	...	Mickey One
Alexandra Stewart	...	Jenny Drayton
Hurd Hatfield	...	Ed Castle
Franchot Tone	...	Ruby Lopp
Teddy Hart	...	George Berson
Jeff Corey	...	Larry Fryer
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	The Artist
Donna Michelle	...	The Girl
Ralph Foody	...	Police Captain
Norman Gottschalk	...	The Evangelist
Dick Lucas	...	Employment Agent
Jack Goodman	...	Cafeteria Manager
Jeri Jensen	...	Helen
Charlene Lee	...	The Singer
Benny Dunn	...	Nightclub Comic

Storyline

After incurring the wrath of the mob, a comic flees Detroit for Chicago taking the name "Mickey One." As he returns to the stage and becomes successful, he fears that the mob will track him down. He wishes to square himself with the mob, but doesn't know what he did to anger them or what his debt is.

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Plot Keywords:

debt | mobster | mafia | on the run | stand up comedian | 

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Taglines:

Number One... In Excitement... In Drama... In Suspense...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Acosado

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Florin, Tatira

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Studio publicity claimed actor Kamatari Fujiwara created the large kinetic sculpture, called "Yes" in the film, but the work was actually done by Robert Fields, a industrial design student at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. The sculpture was set up on the ice rink of the Marina Towers apartment complex.

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Quotes

Mickey One: I'm the king of the silent pictures. I'm hiding out till the talkies blow over. Will you leave me alone?

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Connections

Featured in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

User Reviews

Kafka meets Algren

This is a movie where the landscape is a major character. Arthur Penn made the most of his Chicago locale. Much of what he used is no longer standing, but it is deeply ingrained in true Chicago-influenced art: not just the works of Nelson Algren, but Richard Wright, Theodore Dreiser and James T. Farrell, blues artists from Maxwell Street, Ivan Allbright's grotesque paintings, the non-fiction of Studs Terkel and Upton Sinclair, Gwendolyn Brooks' poems all drew a kind of grimy vitality from this landscape, as well.

There are bits and pieces of that Chicago still standing. I know them when I see them, because--even in person--they leave me with the impression of being in black and white monochrome rather than color. If you get to see this black and white part of Chicago or some other big city (older parts of Tokyo are like this too), you will see how a place can exert such a powerful influence on the people in it. If you accept that premise in this movie, the actions of the characters become more understandable. What may at first glance seem absurd becomes reasonable (if not rational), given the influence of the environment.