Tonight's movie was "The Steel Jungle"(1956), a rough and tumble prison flick starring Perry Lopez as "Eddie Novak", a bookie in what looks to be Los Angeles. Eddie's at a crossroads in his young life. On the one hand, he's got a pregnant wife (Beverly Garland), to whom he swears he'll get a job and go straight once their child is born. He's not a thug; he pays his rent on time, buys Garland nice things, and never stiffs a bettor. But on the other hand, even though his heart's in the right place, he's not making an honest living, and to make matters worse, he's tied in with a syndicate.
As the movie opens, Eddie is running from the cops. When they catch him, he's not too worried because the operation he works for has gamed the system. They've got everyone paid off, cops, lawyers, judges. Eddie tells the arresting officers : "I'll be out within an hour". They inform him that his mob boss is doing a prison stretch. "Don't be too sure you won't be sharing a cell". But Eddie is confident because the get-out-of-jail system has always worked like a charm for him. Except this time is doesn't. The Judge (played by "The Chief" from Get Smart) is a straight arrow. He offers Eddie a choice - to rat on his colleagues or face a year in the penitentiary. Eddie is shocked, then angry. But he's no snitch. He'll take the year in prison, even if it means missing the birth of his first born child. He swears to his wife he'll get out anyway; "I'll talk to Marlin" (i.e the Boss who's already locked up). Marlin will surely grease the right palms leading to Eddie's early release. But that doesn't happen either. Marlin doesn't give two shakes about Eddie Novak.
At this point, the story moves from the courthouse to the Big House, and the filmmakers clearly shot inside a real prison, though unfortunately no locations are listed on IMDB. But Eddie is about to get an education into the rules of life behind bars, courtesy of Mr. Marlin the syndicate boss, and his hoodlums, including his enforcer Leo Gordon. I have to take an aside to talk about Gordon for a moment. If you're a fan of old Westerns, you've surely seen him. He's a big man, physically fit with a hard face and a gravel voice. He always played a menacing "heavy", and he was a good actor too. But what's most fascinating about Leo Gordon is that before he became an actor, he was a real life criminal who did five years in San Quentin for armed robbery.
Five years in San Quentin is no joke, and would ruin most men for life. But somehow, Leo Gordon managed to transform himself. According to IMDB, he went on to study at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts, and in his acting career he amassed 198 credits. What's more, he became a screenwriter. I am a fan of TV westerns, like "Tombstone Territory", and on that show I saw his name pop up several times in the credits. He wrote for a lot of other series, too. So to sum up about Leo Gordon, his role in this movie as a vicious lieutenant for mob boss Mr. Marlin is not only well played, it's realistic. He lived the prison life prior to becoming an actor.
Kenneth Tobey, another veteran presence from the 50s, co-stars as the prison psychiatrist who tries to get Eddie Novak to talk, to open up and name names. If he will do that, the warden has promised him an early release. He can be back with his wife. But Eddie won't take the deal, so fearful is he of the inner prison workings of Mr. Marlin and the gang he controls, which includes the guards.
Also appearing is Allison Hayes (aka The 50 Foot Woman) in a small role as Eddie's neighbor, so overall you've got a good cast. Even Bob Steele, early star of countless Westerns, shows up for a split second.
I came to "The Steel Jungle" though a recommendation by my brother Chris, who posted it on Facebook this morning. It's a good one, especially for the subtheme between the prison warden and psychiatrist Tobey, which highlights the need for balance between law enforcement and prison as punishment, and rehabilitation of those who can still be rehabilitated. Good script, good movie. Highly recommended. ////
I'm in the second week of my time off, before I begin my next work cycle. I've just been doing The Usual, which is reading my books, going on my hikes and watching my movies,
I've got to finish with a brief political statement to say that I'm sorry I voted for Gavin Newsom. He's one of the worst governors we've ever had, and you can't just say "well he's a Democrat, therefore he's gotta be cool". No he is not cool. He's as Corporate America as you can get, and what's worse, he's a phony baloney prick. Witness his dictatorial attitude and his visit to The French Laundry. He's a snide, elitist dude, really not far removed from Trump (though smarter), and I'm sorry I voted for him. He's no Jerry Brown, and in fact he's the absolute worst, a self-satisfied power monger. That goes double for our corporate-owned mayor Eric Garcetti, the king of overdevelopment, passive-aggressive covid response, and letting the homeless situation grow unchecked. It's been hard to do a worse job than Antonio Villaraigosa, but Garcetti has left him in the dust.
I'll never vote for him, or Newsom, ever again. You couldn't have a worse twosome running our state, and I don't care if they're democrats. They suck, and not only that, they're the absolute worst, just like Trump. ////
Sorry about the politics, but I had to say it.
Tons of love, see you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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