Alan Mitchell (Kerwin Mathews) returns home from abroad to his estranged father's fashion house in New York City after his father's business partner, Kenner (Robert Ellenstein), is killed in an accident. Kenner wanted to join the garment workers' union but the elder Mitchell, Walter (Lee J. Cobb), was dead-set against it. Alan is there when the union organizer, Tulio (Robert Loggia), spills that Kenner's death wasn't an accident but a murder by Walter's "silent" partner, a gangster named Ravidge (Richard Boone). Disturbed by the accusations, Alan begins to investigate the seedier side of the fashion business, his interest spurred in no small part by Tulio's hot wife, Theresa (Gia Scala).
Seriously, the movie makes it very clear that Alan wants to fuck Tulio's wife but won't, because he respects Tulio too much. 1957, baby!
The film is extremely heavy-handed and simplistic in its "Union Good, Exploitation Bad" message but goddamn does it also feel current. You could remake this tomorrow with Wal-Mart or Amazon as the setting and it would still be relevant. Same tactics, same arguments, same "murder of an immigrant is okay, murder of a white man will get you the death penalty." The more things change, huh?
Anyway, it might feel a little naive but it's not a bad movie. Cobb has always been a terrific character actor and this was Loggia's first credited film. If you only know him from playing old, grizzled mobster types, you should check this out just to see him young.
No comments:
Post a Comment