''The Joker Is Wild'' is a 1957 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

drama film directed by

Charles Vidor Charles Vidor (born Károly Vidor; July 27, 1900June 4, 1959) was a Hungarian film director. Among his film successes are ''The Bridge'' (1929), ''The Tuttles of Tahiti'' (1942), ''The Desperadoes'' (1943), ''Cover Girl'' (1944), '' Together A ...

, starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Mitzi Gaynor Mitzi Gaynor (born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber; September 4, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films include '' We're Not Married!'' (1952), '' There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), '' The Birds ...

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in '' Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Darling'' (1944 ...

, and

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

, and released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. The film is about

Joe E. Lewis Joe E. Lewis (born Joseph Klewan; January 12, 1902 – June 4, 1971) was an American comedian, actor and singer.Obituary ''Variety'', June 9, 1971, page 54. Early life Lewis was born was born into a family of Russian immigrants on Januar ...

, the popular singer and comedian who was a major attraction in nightclubs from the 1920s to the early 1950s.

Plot

In 1929

is a successful night-club singer in Chicago while working for the

Mob Mob or MOB may refer to: Behavioral phenomena * Crowd * Smart mob, a temporary self-structuring social organization, coordinated through telecommunication Crime and law enforcement * American Mafia, also known as the Mob * Irish Mob, a US crimin ...

during the

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

era. His decision to work elsewhere displeases his mob employer who has his thugs assault him by slashing his face and throat, preventing him from continuing his career as a singer. After many years he eventually recovers and turns his acerbic and witty sense of humor into an act when given a break as a stand-up comedian from singer

Sophie Tucker Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...

. Soon, Lewis makes a career for himself as a comic, but heavy drinking and a self-destructive behavior leads him to question what his life has become and how he has hurt the people around him including his wife Martha and his best friend Austin.

Cast

as Martha Stewart *

as Letty Page *

as Austin Mack *

Beverly Garland Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action or science-fiction movie ...

as Cassie Mack *

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Charlie Chaplin's film classic ''The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in the ...

as Swifty Morgan *

Barry Kelley Edward Barry Kelley (August 19, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in '' Oklahoma!'' on Broadway. His l ...

as Captain Hugh McCarthy * Ted de Corsia as Georgie Parker *

Leonard Graves Leonard Graves (1927-2000) was an American actor and singer best known for narrating the 1952 television documentary ''Victory at Sea.'' Graves was the only voice on the 26-part series, which won multiple awards, including a 1954 Emmy for Best Pu ...

as Tim Coogan * Valerie Allen as Flora, Chorine * Hank Henry as Burlesque Comedian *

as herself

Production

Sinatra read Art Cohn's book ''The Joker Is Wild: The Story of Joe E. Lewis'' during the mid-'50s, was immediately taken by the story, and bought the rights to the book after Lewis himself turned down a reported $150,000 from

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

for the film rights to his story. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported in November 1955 that

would finance what was, for all intents and purposes, an independent feature film which was headed by Lewis and Sinatra along with director

and author Art Cohn. Each of the four partners were paid a reported $400,000, along with 75% of the film's net profits. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' would report that Sinatra's share was in the region of $125,000 along with 25% of the film's profits. The filming of the movie was done mostly later in the day, Sinatra preferring to work at that time and the filming schedule being tailored around this. Sinatra also insisted that all the musical scenes in the film and songs therein be recorded live on set to keep the performances more genuine. Frank Sinatra: "When I do a concert and someone coughs, I like that," Sinatra remarked. "I like the scraping of chairs. You get the feeling that it's really happening. I've always thought Lewis was one of only about four or five great artists in this century - one of them was Jolson - and I remember him screaming like the devil when he made a soundtrack." (from ''All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra'')

Critical reception

''The Joker Is Wild'' opened to mostly favorable reviews. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' reviewer Phillip K. Scheuer: " inatracatches the bitter inner restlessness almost too well...When Lewis, highball in hand, is reciting them he drunk monologueshis natural clown's grin takes the curse off their cynicism; from Sinatra the gags come out bitter and barbed." ''

Films and Filming ''Films and Filming'' was the longest-running British gay magazine prior to the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.Bengry, Justin"The Queer History of Films and Filming."''Little Joe: A magazine about queers and cinema ...

'' reviewer Gordon Gow: "One consolation in the glossy gloom of this downbeat drama is that Frank Sinatra has sufficient talent and taste to break through the wall of embarrassment that is bound to arise between an audience and the film case-history of an unanonymous alcoholic." ''

'' commented on the "major job Sinatra does... alternately sympathetic and pathetic, funny and sad." This movie won the 1957

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

, for "

All the Way All the Way may refer to: Film and television * ''All the Way'', an Australian film of 1998 directed by Marque Owen * ''All the Way'' (2001 film), a film directed by Shi Runjiu * ''All the Way'' (film), a 2016 adaptation of Robert Schenkkan's p ...

" by

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and care ...

and

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premier ...

. When the film was re-released some years later, the title was changed for a period to ''All the Way'' due to the immense popularity of the film's theme song, which peaked at No. 2 in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. Sinatra actually became friends with the real Lewis, who commented that "You (Sinatra) had more fun playing my life than I had living it."

References

External links

*
''The Joker Is Wild'' review
in ''