Probably one's only interest in seeing this movie would be to catch Leonard Nimoy in his first starring role, no mean feat as the actor had only two prior roles in film, one of them uncredited. The story itself is entirely uneven, and one is kept constantly off balance as to what Paul Baroni's (Nimoy) intention and motivations are.
I had to do a double take as the opening credit introductions rolled, and we learn about the 'Billy Goat' gang, of which Baroni and his pal Angelo are members of. There's not one shred of difference between Angelo and the Daily Planet's Jimmy Olsen, as portrayed by Jack Larson. As for the gang itself, they looked like they could mop up 106th Street and 3rd Avenue with the Dead End Kids, even with Leo Gorcey at the helm.
I guess my main problem with the story is that there's never any real compelling reason for the decisions Baroni makes. For example, what was behind his desire to sing in the church choir, thereby alienating himself from the rest of the 'goats'? How does one run away from almost killing a priest, only to turn up in the headlines of the local sport pages - couldn't the authorities make a connection? And above all, how do you double cross the bookmakers and then get to do it again with even bigger money riding on the outcome? Which by the way, got the biggest ho hum reaction from a trio of losers I'd ever seen after dropping twenty grand.
If only Mr. Spock could have foretold his future stardom he might well have passed on this groaner, but then again, who's to know - one has to start somewhere. Still, the first time you see Nimoy straight on with that goofy make up job of a nose you'll double over. Did anyone else get the impression that it was about to fall off? I'm impressed though, that two Star Trek alumni got their start by actually starring in full length film roles. The other would be DeForrest Kelley, who did the same in a somewhat better picture, a psychological thriller called "Fear in the Night" from 1947.
I had to do a double take as the opening credit introductions rolled, and we learn about the 'Billy Goat' gang, of which Baroni and his pal Angelo are members of. There's not one shred of difference between Angelo and the Daily Planet's Jimmy Olsen, as portrayed by Jack Larson. As for the gang itself, they looked like they could mop up 106th Street and 3rd Avenue with the Dead End Kids, even with Leo Gorcey at the helm.
I guess my main problem with the story is that there's never any real compelling reason for the decisions Baroni makes. For example, what was behind his desire to sing in the church choir, thereby alienating himself from the rest of the 'goats'? How does one run away from almost killing a priest, only to turn up in the headlines of the local sport pages - couldn't the authorities make a connection? And above all, how do you double cross the bookmakers and then get to do it again with even bigger money riding on the outcome? Which by the way, got the biggest ho hum reaction from a trio of losers I'd ever seen after dropping twenty grand.
If only Mr. Spock could have foretold his future stardom he might well have passed on this groaner, but then again, who's to know - one has to start somewhere. Still, the first time you see Nimoy straight on with that goofy make up job of a nose you'll double over. Did anyone else get the impression that it was about to fall off? I'm impressed though, that two Star Trek alumni got their start by actually starring in full length film roles. The other would be DeForrest Kelley, who did the same in a somewhat better picture, a psychological thriller called "Fear in the Night" from 1947.