Let No Man Write My Epitaph | |
---|---|
Directed by | Philip Leacock |
Screenplay by | Robert Presnell, Jr. |
Based on | Let No Man Write My Epitaph 1958 novel by Willard Motley |
Produced by | Boris D. Kaplan |
Starring | Burl Ives Shelley Winters James Darren Jean Seberg Ricardo Montalbán Ella Fitzgerald |
Cinematography | Burnett Guffey |
Edited by | Chester W. Schaeffer |
Music by | George Duning |
Color process | Black and white |
Production company | Boris D. Kaplan Productions |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Let No Man Write My Epitaph is a 1960 American neo noir crime film about the son of an executed criminal who aspires to escape his impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhood with the help of his mother and a group of concerned neighbors. The film was directed by Philip Leacock, and stars Burl Ives, Shelley Winters, James Darren, Jean Seberg, Ricardo Montalbán and Ella Fitzgerald.
The film was based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Willard Motley, and is a sequel to the 1949 film Knock on Any Door , which was itself based on an earlier Motley novel.
In 1950, Nick Romano, Jr., whose father was a convicted murderer and died in the electric chair (the story told in Knock on Any Door), lives in a Chicago tenement building with his mother Nellie Romano. Nellie supports herself and Nick by working as a barmaid, saving money in hopes that Nick will one day attend college and be a success in life. As a young boy, Nick befriends several of the neighborhood residents, including the alcoholic former Judge Sullivan, disabled newspaper vendor Wart, former prizefighter Goodbye George, lounge singer Flora, deliveryman/ taxi driver Max, and prostitute Fran. When Nellie is unfairly fired just before Christmas, the Romanos' friends all surprise her with Christmas decorations, food and gifts, and join in an impromptu party. Feeling a family connection to each other and young Nick, the group all agree to help Nellie look after the boy and protect him from falling into the life of crime prevalent in the neighborhood.
Ten years later, Nick is about to graduate high school. Through diligent practice, he has become a talented classical pianist who aspires to attend the local conservatory of music, but has been unsuccessful in getting an audition. His mother Nellie is now supporting them both by working as a B-girl and (it is implied) prostitute, causing Nick to suffer abuse from his classmates. Despite promising Nellie that he will not fight and risk injuring his hands, Nick fights several gang members who insulted her, and is saved from serious injury only when George, who has just been released from jail that day, joins the fight to help him. As a result, George is sent back to prison and Nick gets a jail sentence despite Judge Sullivan's drunken attempt to defend him in court. Nick is released when Nellie's new friend Louis Ramponi pays his fine.
Nellie has an affair with Ramponi even though she learns he is married and operating an illegal numbers racket. Judge Sullivan, who himself loves Nellie, learns via Fran and Flora, who has become a heroin addict, that Ramponi is also selling heroin. Ramponi soon gets Nellie secretly addicted to heroin. Sullivan decides he must do more to help Nick, and takes him to see Grant Holloway, a respectable lawyer and old friend of Sullivan. Holloway was also the public defender who unsuccessfully represented Nick's father, and now feels he owes a debt to Nick. After hearing the young man play the piano, Holloway agrees to help him get an audition for the conservatory. Nick begins dating Holloway's daughter, Barbara, and the two quickly fall in love. Nick is embarrassed when the Holloways visit him at home and see Nellie in what Nick thinks is a drunken state, but is actually heroin withdrawal.
On the day of Nick's conservatory audition, he learns that Nellie has become a heroin addict due to Ramponi. With a gun taken from Wart, Nick goes after the man, but Ramponi disarms him and holds him captive, planning to dose him with heroin. Alerted by Wart and Flora, Judge Sullivan, Max and Nellie go to Ramponi's business and rescue Nick. Ramponi shoots Sullivan, who in turn kills him by breaking his neck. Sullivan tells Nick to run away before the police arrive, and dies in Nellie's arms. Nellie and her friends mourn Sullivan's death and she declares she will "take the cure" and beat her addiction; the others, recognizing what a struggle life is for all them, are supportive but skeptical. Nick is happily reunited with Barbara and moves on to a better life.
Film rights to the novel were bought by Columbia Pictures. A script was developed under the supervision of Charles Schnee who had an independent deal with Columbia since 1957. Schnee left Columbia in 1959. [1]
Jean Seberg, who was under contract to Columbia, appeared in this film after Breathless (1960).
Ella Fitzgerald, in her role as "Flora", performs several songs in the film, including "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby", "Angel Eyes", and "Reach For Tomorrow". In connection with the film's release, Fitzgerald released the album Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" containing the songs from the film along with other selections.
Ella Jane Fitzgerald was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.
Philip David Charles Leacock was an English television and film director and producer. His brother was documentary filmmaker Richard Leacock.
"One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" is a song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the movie musical The Sky's the Limit (1943) and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire.
Donald Goines was an African-American writer of urban fiction. His novels were deeply influenced by the work of Iceberg Slim.
Nicholas Charles "Nick" Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a semi-regular basis from the soap's debut episode on 19 February 1985. Altman has stated that his initial exit was due to producer Julia Smith demanding he was written out after he opposed a decision to make his character gay. After Smith's departure, the character made numerous brief or more protracted stints until his onscreen death in February 2015, which was written to coincide with the 30th anniversary of EastEnders.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from the Soundtrack of "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" is a 1960 album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by the pianist Paul Smith. Let No Man Write My Epitaph was a 1960 Hollywood crime drama film featuring Fitzgerald.
Ella and Oscar is a 1975 album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by pianist Oscar Peterson and, for the second half of the album, double bassist Ray Brown.
Nice Work If You Can Get It is a 1983 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald and André Previn, with accompaniment from the double bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.
The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 1956 and 1964, recorded by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, supported by a variety of orchestras, big bands, and small jazz combos.
Ella and Basie! is a 1963 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra, with arrangements by Quincy Jones and Benny Carter. It was later reissued with slightly different cover art as On the Sunny Side of the Street.
Knock on Any Door is a 1949 American courtroom trial film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart. The movie was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Willard Motley. The picture gave actor John Derek his breakthrough role as young hoodlum Nick Romano, whose motto was, "live fast, die young, and have a good looking corpse."
Stakeout on Dope Street is a 1958 American crime film directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Andrew J. Fenady, Irvin Kershner and Irwin Schwartz. It follows three teenagers who inadvertently get themselves involved in a drug ring. It was the directorial debut of Kershner. The film stars Yale Wexler, Abby Dalton, Morris Miller, Allen Kramer and Jonathon Haze. The film was released by Warner Bros. on May 3, 1958.
Martin Louis Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Ray Charles and Mel Tormé. His long association with Tormé included one of the singer's earliest albums, Mel Tormé with the Marty Paich Dek-Tette. Over the next three decades he worked with pop singers such as Andy Williams and Jack Jones and for film and television. He is the father of David Paich, a founding member of the rock band Toto.
Neil Edward Hopkins is an American television and film actor. He is a trained actor and singer, best known for his portrayal of Charlie's heroin-addicted brother Liam on Lost.
Paul Thatcher Smith was an American jazz pianist. He performed in various genres of jazz, most typically bebop, but is best known as an accompanist of singers, especially Ella Fitzgerald.
Protégé is a 2007 Hong Kong-Singaporean co-produced crime drama film written and directed by Derek Yee, starring Andy Lau, Daniel Wu, Louis Koo, Zhang Jingchu and Anita Yuen.
"Spring is Here" is a 1938 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical I Married an Angel (1938), where it was introduced by Dennis King and Vivienne Segal.
Willard Francis Motley was an African-American author. Beginning as a teenager, Motley published a column in the African-American oriented Chicago Defender newspaper under the pen-name Bud Billiken. He worked as a freelance writer, and later founded and published the Hull House Magazine and worked in the Federal Writers Project. Motley's first and best known novel was Knock on Any Door, which was made into a movie of the same name (1947).
"Drop Me Off in Harlem" is a 1933 song composed during the Harlem Renaissance composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Nick Kenny.
I Hadn't Anyone Till You" is a popular song written by Ray Noble in 1938. It has been recorded by many artists and is regarded as a standard.