''King of the Roaring 20s: The Story of Arnold Rothstein'' is a 1961

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, biopic, drama,

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

directed by

Joseph M. Newman Joseph M. Newman (August 17, 1909 – January 23, 2006) was an American film director most famous for his 1955 film ''This Island Earth''. His credits include episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'' and ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour''. He was nomin ...

, produced by

Samuel Bischoff Samuel Bischoff (August 11, 1890 – May 21, 1975) was an American film producer who was responsible for more than 400 full-length films, two-reel comedies, and serials between 1922 and 1964. Life Born to a Jewish family in Hartford, Connec ...

and starring David Janssen, Dianne Foster,

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...

and

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...

. During the

prohibition era 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 be ...

the gangster

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 4, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athletic ...

rises to be a major figure in the criminal underworld. It is also known by the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the ...

''The Big Bankroll''. It was based on a book by Leo Katcher.

Plot

Arnold Rothstein gains a reputation in 1920s New York City as an expert gambler. He so impresses mob boss Big Tim O'Brien that he is given a job in his illegal enterprises. Rothstein has a lifelong pal, Johnny Burke, and makes a deadly enemy, Phil Butler, a corrupt cop. He rises to become rich and well known in gambling circles, often using ruthless tactics, like tricking business partner Jim Kelly into sacrificing his half of their arrangement. Although he has little time for a personal life, Rothstein impulsively marries Carolyn Green, an attractive actress. He devotes little effort to their marriage, his principal obsessions being to build a huge bankroll and to someday win a poker hand with a royal flush. As his empire grows, so does his arrogance. Rothstein eventually sells out his only friend, resulting in Burke's being gunned down by thugs. He and lawyer Tom Fowler conspire to make sure Butler is exposed and convicted for his criminal activities. But at the precise moment a royal flush is dealt to him, Rothstein is dealt with by Butler's associates.

Cast

* David Janssen –

* Dianne Foster – Carolyn Green Rothstein *

– Madge (based on

Peggy Hopkins Joyce Peggy Hopkins Joyce (born Marguerite Upton; May 26, 1893 – June 12, 1957) was an American actress, artist's model, and dancer. In addition to her performing career, Joyce was known for her flamboyant life, with numerous engagements, four ...

) *

– Timothy W. 'Big Tim' O'Brien (based on "Big Tim" Sullivan) *

Dan O'Herlihy Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (May 1, 1919 – February 17, 2005) was an Irish actor of film, television, and radio. With a distinguished appearance and rich, resonant speaking voice, O'Herlihy's best known-roles included his Oscar-nominated portraya ...

– Detective Phil Butler (based on

Charles Becker Charles Becker (July 26, 1870 – July 30, 1915) was a lieutenant in the New York City Police Department between the 1890s and the 1910s. He is known for the scandal of being tried, convicted, and executed for the first-degree murder of the Man ...

) *

Mickey Shaughnessy Joseph C. Shaughnessy (August 5, 1920 – July 23, 1985), better known as Mickey Shaughnessy, was an American actor and comedian. Early life Joseph C. Shaughnessy was born in New York City. He began in show business working as a singer at res ...

– Jim Kelly *

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in most ...

– Tom Fowler (based on Bill Fallon) *

William Demarest Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 27, 1983) was an American character actor, known especially for his roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and for playing Uncle Charley in the sitcom '' My Three Sons'' Demarest, ...

– Henry Hecht *

Regis Toomey John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor. Early life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High ...

– Bill Baird (based on

Herbert Bayard Swope Herbert Bayard Swope Sr. (; January 5, 1882 – June 20, 1958) was an American editor, journalist and intimate of the Algonquin Round Table. Swope spent most of his career at the ''New York World.'' He was the first and three-time recipient of t ...

) *

Robert Ellenstein Robert Ellenstein (June 18, 1923 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor. The son of Meyer C. Ellenstein, a Newark dentist, Ellenstein grew up to see his father become a two-term mayor from 1933 to 1941. He served in the United States Army ...

– Lenny *

Tim Rooney Timothy Hayes Yule (January 4, 1947 – September 23, 2006), better known as Tim Rooney, was an American actor. Rooney was the second son of actor and comedian Mickey Rooney. Later in his life, Rooney suffered from a rare muscle disease known as ...

– Johnny Burke as young boy *

Joseph Schildkraut Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for ...

– Abraham Rothstein *

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

– Johnny Burke

Production

The film was based on a 1959 non fiction book ''The Big Bankroll''. The ''New York Times'' called it a "galloping account". The book was a best seller and several companies were interested in film rights. In October 1959, film rights were bought by Allied Artists, who had enjoyed a big commercial success with ''

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

'' (1959) and were interested in making more gangster films. The purchase price was described as "well into six figures as against a percentage of the gross."NOTED ON THE LOCAL SCREEN SCENE By HOWARD THOMPSON. New York Times 18 Oct 1959: X7. David Diamond was assigned to produce and he wanted Dean Martin to play the lead.

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

reportedly expressed interest in starring and directing. Allied Artists were undertaking their most ambitious film program in five years, announcing 15 films would be made over 6 months. Several of these had a gangster theme including ''The Big Bankroll'' and ''

The George Raft Story ''The George Raft Story'' is a 1961 American biographical film of Hollywood film star George Raft. Ray Danton portrays Raft and the film was directed by Joseph M. Newman. The picture was retitled ''Spin of a Coin'' for release in the United Kin ...

''. Producers Sam Bischoff and David Diamond had previously made ''

The Phenix City Story ''The Phenix City Story'' is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Phil Karlson for Allied Artists, written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur and starring John McIntire, Richard Kiley, and Kathryn Grant. It had an unusual "triple ...

''.WARY HOLLYWOOD: The Law Being What It Is, Cautious Producers Make Facts Fictitious By GLADWIN HILL. New York Times 4 Dec 1960: X7. The producers could not get releases from the real-life people depicted in the film apart from Rothstein's wife Carolyn. So the only people using their real names as Arnold Rothstein, his wife and his father. People like Tim Sullivan were renamed Tim O'Brien. "To this generation there's no difference between Sullivan and O'Brien - it's an honest precaution," said Diamond. The lead role went to David Janssen who had recently made '' Hell to Eternity'' and ''

Dondi Donald Joseph White, "DONDI" (April 7, 1961 – October 2, 1998) was an American graffiti artist. Biography Early life Born in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, Dondi was the youngest of five children. He was of African American a ...

'' for Allied. Diana Dors had recently relocated to Hollywood. Mickey Rooney's son Tim played the character depicted by his father as a child.Star's Son Making Debut Wirephoto, A P. Chicago Daily Tribune 7 Dec 1960: 3.

References

External links

*
Film page
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

{{Jo Swerling 1961 films American crime drama films 1961 crime drama films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Joseph M. Newman Films set in the 1920s Films with screenplays by Jo Swerling Films produced by Samuel Bischoff Films scored by Franz Waxman Allied Artists films Films about Jewish-American organized crime Cultural depictions of Arnold Rothstein 1960s American films