Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960)

Wonderful Movie

Simply Perfect

Admirable film.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Based on African-American novelist Willard Motley's book (1958) of the same name (title from 19th century Irish Patriot Robert Emmet's famous execution speech, see below). This story takes up the plight of two of the original characters from "Knock" and illustrates the frustrations of a group of residents living on "lower class" East Madison Street in Chicago, circa late 1950's.Nellie Romano (Shelly Winters) is a single Mother bringing up her only son Nick (James Darren), a promising young piano virtuoso. Unfortunately, they and their neighborhood friends are each burdened with the sad fate that "for the wrong turn sometime earlier" they must endure their chosen lot in life. But this tale is not a sappy string-together story of separate woes; rather (in the beginning) an optimistic hope for the future if the pieces of the puzzle fall just right.Of course, our 'extended family' realize early that the chances of the puzzle's success are remote, as they only have their personal disasters to judge success. There is Nellie's sad story, a past the whole neighborhood knows of, save Nick and the "defrocked" Judge (Burl Ives) who has commuted his own sentence to the bottom of a bottle rather than a court of law. Also a prostitute (Jeanne Cooper), an ex-prizefighter (Bernie Hamilton), the smack addict (Fitzgerald) and a paraplegic (Walter Burke) who in their own way try their best to make each other happy.Along the way they careen into the lower tiers of an immoral society of disreputable scum-bags, including racketeer Louie Ramponi (Montalban). What transpires next is the 'family' banding together for survival; but the question is, are they strong enough to escape a 'bottomless pit' without even a knotted rope for escape? Maybe the apple of everyone's eyes, young Nick can.

(Some Spoilers) Powerful story about life on the other side of the street. In this case the shoddy and crime ridden slums of Chicago personified in the movie as West Madison Street.Hard working waitress and sometime B-girl Nellie Romano, Shelley Winters, has been trying to keep her young and talented son Nick Jr, James Darren, out of trouble since her common-law husband "Pretty Boy" Nick ended up frying in the state electric chair. "Pretty Boy" gunned down a cop outside a nightclub back in 1948 when Nick Jr was less then a year old. Keeping his mouth shut not to implicate his gangster friends "Pretty Boy" Nick paid for what he did with his life.It's when Nick Jr just couldn't take the razzing anymore from his high-school classmates about his both dead father and hard working mother that he started to get himself into trouble defending them and their backgrounds: A hard working and sacrificing, for her son, mother and a convicted and executed for murder father.With the help of a number of people from the neighborhood including local barfly and former circuit judge Bruce Sullivan, Burt Ives, young Nick has his life turned around as he starts to practice with his piano keys not with his fists. Playing up a storm and bringing people listening literally to tears, whenever he bangs and tinkers the ivory keys, Nick is soon destined to become one of the great ones: Another musical genius on the piano like Rubinstein Pederewski or Richter.It's when Nellie meets, at the dive she's working at, hoodlum Louie Ramponi, Recordo Montalban, that things for her and young Nick started really going sour. Bailing Nick out of prison for an act of juvenile delinquency, a fist fight, Louis starts to work on his mom Nellie in getting her hooked on dope. Having a front as a both flower dealer and bookie Louie's real source of income, that he of course keeps from the IRS, is pushing junk or dope in the neighborhood.As Nellie's life went to pot her son's was picking up with Nick being discovered, with the help of Judge Sullivan, by multi-millionaire and music lover Grant Holloway, Philip Ober. Grant's daughter the classy and beautiful Barbara Holloway, Jean Seaberg, got so hung up on Nick's music, not his boyish good looks, that she became his girlfriend, Nick's first, without him even having a chance to ask her out for a date. A star struck Barbara even proposed to Nick before he had a chance to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming or not!It's when Nick came home to Madison Street unexpectedly, to tell his mom the good news, that he found to his horror Nellie, with Louie helping her shoot up, strung out on the big "H" heroin. Running away in disgust Nick gets a gun from the local friendly and legless neighbor newspaper peddler Wart, Walter Burke, and crashes into Louie's flower shop to pay him back for what he did to his mom.***SPOILER ALERT***Overpowered by Louie and one of his goons Wally, Jack Bryan, Nick is tied up and about to be shot up with a possible "hot load" of heroin not only turning him into a junkie but having him buried next to his long dead father Nick Senior whom he's never met! It's then that the outraged and bear-like Judge Sullivan comes on the scene and at the cost of his own life single-handedly puts an end to Louie Ramponi's crime empire by putting an end to him.Hard hitting and effective the movie "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" goes where no other film, back then in 1960, dared to go. The movie shows how dope or drugs are used by slime-balls like Louie Ramponi to keep people enslaved and under their control. Also in the movie is jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald as the downtrodden and suicidal Flora who just happens to be one of Louie's many drug addicted customers.

With the recent death of Shelley Winters, all the principals in this movie are now gone, with the exception of Montalban. Having looked it up, I had forgotten what a fine cast it had, including the surprise of Ella Fitzgerald playing a heroin-addicted blues singer. Sadly, although this was a remake of a previous film, this great film could not be remade or even updated for today's market---simply because our society has changed to where the story in this picture (compelling as it is) would no longer be something people would consider important or even divisive. This plot could not even make the producers of Jerry or Maury take notice. Still, this picture will always be one of my two or three personal all-time favorites, and I will recommend it to anyone who reads these words I write: This is greatness that Hollywood can create...when it really wants to.

In this sequel to "Knock On Any Door" (1949) we find Nick Romano's illegitimate son being raised by his mother and a band of well intentioned, but flawed residents of a tennement slum. Winters as his drug addicted mother, and Montalban as her pusher are stand-out performances. It is a gripping scene, when young Nick walks in on his mother and her pusher and catches them "in the act.." Seldom appears on TV, but well worth catching.