The Joker Is (Still) Wild (1957)
Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 8:33 pm
It puzzles me that the 1957: "The Joker Is Wild" has never been made available on video in any tape/disc format.
It's an imperfect but offbeat film, the story of nightclub singer Joe E Lewis, who got involved with organized crime in 1920's Chicago, and got his vocal chords cut, and an "x" carved in his face in a vicious gangland beating, all for the crime of singing in a rival nightclub. He returned to success years later as perhaps the first in a cycle of cynical night club comics in the 1940s. His personal life remained rocky.
A pretty good Frank Sinatra role, with Lewis advising on the set, and some fine songs early in the feature. Could have been a classic film with a better script, that didn't fall back a bit too often on cliche. But some poignant moments.
Could it be music copyright, holding back a release-- or a conflict over ownership?
It's an imperfect but offbeat film, the story of nightclub singer Joe E Lewis, who got involved with organized crime in 1920's Chicago, and got his vocal chords cut, and an "x" carved in his face in a vicious gangland beating, all for the crime of singing in a rival nightclub. He returned to success years later as perhaps the first in a cycle of cynical night club comics in the 1940s. His personal life remained rocky.
A pretty good Frank Sinatra role, with Lewis advising on the set, and some fine songs early in the feature. Could have been a classic film with a better script, that didn't fall back a bit too often on cliche. But some poignant moments.
Could it be music copyright, holding back a release-- or a conflict over ownership?