Directed by:
Joseph AnthonyCinematography:
Joseph LaShelleComposer:
Franz WaxmanCast:
Dean Martin, Anthony Franciosa, Shirley MacLaine, Carolyn Jones, Joan Blackman, Robert Middleton, Donna Douglas, Jerry Paris, Frank McHugh, Mary Treen (more)Plots(1)
Playwright James Lee adapted his off-Broadway play for the screen in this high-strung adaptation, directed by Joseph Anthony. In this backroom show-business-success saga, Anthony Franciosa plays Sam, a struggling young actor who will forsake his family and take any type of menial job in order to become a Broadway star. Dean Martin is on hand as Maury, an aspiring director also trying to claw his way up the ladder of success. When Maury gets his big break, Sam wants a part in his show, but when Maury, who is unwilling to cast Sam in the production, turns down Sam's request, Sam seduces and marries Maury's girlfriend (Shirley MacLaine). In spite of everything, Maury wants his girl back, and Sam agrees to a divorce on the stipulation that Maury cast him as the star in his next show. Once again, Maury reneges and, before Sam can exact his revenge, Uncle Sam comes to the rescue and he is drafted into the army. While Sam is in the army, the era of the communist witch hunts are in full flower, and since Sam and Maury were both members of the Communist Party, upon Sam's return home he discovers that they both are blacklisted. Their passion for success still burning bright, they decide to collaborate and put together an independent production that will either mark their complete success or their complete failure. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Dean Martin
USA
Best movies:
Rio Bravo (1959)
Airport (1970)
The Young Lions (1958)
Anthony Franciosa
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Shirley MacLaine
USA
Best movies:
Barbra: The Concert (1994) (concert)
The Apartment (1960)
Being There (1979)
Carolyn Jones
USA
Best movies:
Roots (1977) (series)
The Big Heat (1953)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Joan Blackman
USA
Best movies:
Blue Hawaii (1961)
Shivers (1975)
Good Day for a Hanging (1959)
Robert Middleton
USA
Best movies:
The Proud Ones (1956)
The Desperate Hours (1955)
The Court Jester (1955)
Donna Douglas
USA
Best movies:
Lover Come Back (1961)
Frankie and Johnny (1966)
Jerry Paris
USA
Best movies:
Marty (1955)
Battleground (1949)
No Name on the Bullet (1959)
Frank McHugh
USA
Best movies:
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
Dodge City (1939)
Mary Treen
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
June Jocelyn
Canada
Best movies:
Vertigo (1958)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Buccaneer (1958)
Roy Jenson
Canada
Best movies:
Cry for Me, Billy (1972)
Chinatown (1974)
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
Sam Harris
Australia
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Bobby Barber
USA
Best movies:
Modern Times (1936)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Nolan Leary
Best movies:
The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
White Heat (1949)
Easter Parade (1948)
George DeNormand
USA
Best movies:
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Citizen Kane (1941)
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Franklyn Farnum
USA
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
John Indrisano
USA
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Fred Aldrich
USA
Best movies:
The Great Dictator (1940)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
Marjorie Bennett
Australia
Best movies:
My Fair Lady (1964)
Limelight (1952)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)