''Let No Man Write My Epitaph'' is a 1960 American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

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 Philip David Charles Leacock (8 October 1917 – 14 July 1990) was an English television and film director and producer. His brother was documentary filmmaker Richard Leacock. Career Born in London, England, Leacock spent his childhood in the C ...

, and stars

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

James Darren James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...

Jean Seberg Jean Dorothy Seberg (; ; November 13, 1938August 30, 1979) was an American actress who lived half of her life in France. Her performance in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film ''Breathless'' immortalized her as an icon of French New Wave cinema. Seb ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) 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, in ...

, and

Ricardo Montalban Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

. 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 ''Knock on Any Door'' is a 1949 American courtroom trial film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart. The picture gave actor John Derek his breakthrough role, and was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Willard Motley ...

'', which was itself based on an earlier Motley novel.

Plot

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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 The numbers game, also known as the numbers racket, the Italian lottery, Mafia lottery or the daily number, is a form of illegal gambling or illegal lottery played mostly in poor and working class neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a b ...

. 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.

Cast

as Nellie Romano *

as Nick Romano, Jr. *

as Judge Bruce Mallory Sullivan *

Philip Ober Philip Nott Ober (March 23, 1902 – September 13, 1982) was an American screen and stage actor. He later retired from acting to work as a diplomat. Ober is best remembered for his roles in the films ''From Here to Eternity'' (1953) and ''North ...

as Grant Holloway *

as Barbara Holloway (Grant's daughter) *

as Louie Ramponi *

as Flora * Rudolph Acosta as Max *

Jeanne Cooper Wilma Jeanne Cooper (October 25, 1928 – May 8, 2013) was an American actress, best known for her role as Katherine Chancellor on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (1973–2013). At the time of her death, she was eighth on the ...

as Fran * Bernie Hamilton as Goodbye George *

Walter Burke Walter Lawrence Burke (August 25, 1908 – August 4, 1984) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television whose career in entertainment spanned over a half century. Although he was a native of New York, Burke's Irish ances ...

as Wart *

Francis De Sales Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...

as Night Court Magistrate * Michael Davis as Nick Romano, Jr. as a child

Production

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.WALD, NEGULESCO TO TEAM ON FILM: Director and Producer Will Make 'Best of Everything' -- Schnee Settles Pact By THOMAS M. PRYOR Special to The New York Times.. New York Times 30 Jan 1959: 33. Jean Seberg, who was under contract to Columbia, appeared in this film after '' Breathless'' (1960).

Music

Ella Fitzgerald, in her role as "Flora", performs several songs in the film, including "

I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew L ...

", " 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.

References

External links

''Let No Man Write My Epitaph''
at TCM
''Let No Man Write My Epitaph''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

* * {{Philip Leacock 1960 films 1960 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films 1960s English-language films Films scored by George Duning Films based on American novels Films directed by Philip Leacock Films set in Chicago Films shot in Chicago Columbia Pictures films 1960s American films