The Cry Baby Killer

Plot synopsis:
The first motion picture starring Jack Nicholson starts with title and credits shown over a section of brick wall. Jimmy Wallace (Jack Nicholson) is in an alley and gets into a fight with Manny Cole (Brett Halsey) over a woman. Three more join the fight and hold Jimmy while Manny beats him unconscious.At the Klix restaurant a carhop, Julie (Lynn Cartwright) brings a policeman more coffee. Manny and his friend Joey Clayman (Ralph Reed) enter the restaurant. In the alley, Jimmy is coming to. He is helped to his feet by a friend and football player, Fred Davis (uncredited). Manny is at a table with Joey and Carole Fields (Carolyn Mitchell). Pete Gambelli (Frank Richards) is the owner of the place and approaches their table and inquires if everything is ok. Evelyn (Mitzi McCall), Manny's last girlfriend, approaches the table. She says hello to Manny and invites herself to sit down. Manny immediately tells her, "Get Lost." It is Joey who wryly observes, "They dont know when Manny's through with them." Carole expresses concern over Jimmy's beating. Manny tells Carole she's now his girl and pours an ample supply of alcohol into her soft drink. She reluctantly drinks the spiked cola. Al Werner (James Fillmore) and Gad (uncredited) join Joey, Manny and Carole at their table. Gad is considered another Jimmy Wallace, so he is rudely dismissed from the table. Manny gives Joey money and orders his flunky to procure two more bottles of alcohol.Joey exits the restaurant to annoy Julie and Police Officer Glen Gannon (John Shay). Jimmy and Fred arrive at the Klix. Fred tells Jimmy that Carole isn't any good. He convinces Jimmy to use the phone to talk to Carole. Evelyn answers the phone. She gets Carole, but phrases it so Manny thinks it might be another boyfriend calling her. Carole tells Jimmy not to call her anymore. A very jealous Manny hustles her back to the table. Jimmy and Fred enter the restaurant. Jimmy announces that he is taking Carole home. As things escalate, Pete comes over to intervene. He tells Manny and Jimmy to take it outside. The five men: Manny, Jimmy, Joey, Al and Fred step outside. A man, his wife and baby pull into the parking lot in their car. The five men continue walking. A scuffle breaks out and Jimmy manages to grab the gun from Al, who was holding the gun for Manny. Two gunshots ring out. Office Gannon quickly exits his police car and confronts Jimmy. Mrs. Maxton (Barbara Knudson) leaves the bathroom carrying her infant. Sam (Smoki Whitfield) leaves the storeroom and leads Mrs. Maxton back to the storeroom. Jimmy runs back and enters the storeroom. He closes and locks the door. Mr. Carl Maxton (William A. Forester) pleads with Gannon to help his wife and baby. Jimmy turns around, and to his shock and dismay, sees he is not alone in the storeroom.Pete Gambelli is annoyed, and tells Lt. Porter (Harry Lauter), that the police closed up his business. Porter asks Sgt. Reed (John Weed) about the two boys who were shot. He is told that they were alive when the ambulance left. Porter talks to Fred Davis and comments about the brass knuckles used on his face. Porter talks to officer Gannon. Gannon tells Porter that things are quiet and Jimmy isn't talking. Porter calls to Jimmy over the loud speaker. He demands Jimmy surrender. Gannon takes the microphone and continues to demand Jimmy surrender. Sam tells Jimmy, "The man's right, boy. You're in bad enough trouble as it is." He pleads with Jimmy to let the lady and baby go. The baby begins to get restless and Mrs. Maxton asks to leave. The baby begins to cry.In the restaurant, Porter calls for the Fields girl, Carole. Evelyn informs the Lieutenant that she ran out. The police begin to question the patrons. A truck pulls up outside. Joey taunts Evelyn about her loyalty to Manny. Joey sarcastically states, "Patsies. The world's full of 'em." The KQQQ news van stops in the parking lot. Joe the driver (an uncredited Roger Corman) and reporter, Rick Connor (Ed Nelson) get out and set up for a live broadcast. Sgt. Reed greets Connor and warns him of the danger. Fred tells Porter it started over girls. He relays the story of finding Jimmy in the alley and Jimmy's desire to get Carole away from Manny. Joey is next for questioning. He is a smartass and his attitude is not appreciated by Porter. The Lieutenant lifts him off his feet and frisks the little punk. He finds the brass knuckles. Joey does a surprising amount of talking. He volunteers that the gun used in the crime was in Al's possession, but belongs to Manny. He also admits Manny was trying to get Carole drunk, as her parents are out of town for the evening. Joey is a font of information and sings like a canary. He also lets slip that Gambelli looks the other way when alcohol is secreted into his establishment. Porter orders Joey to be arrested on a concealed weapons charge. Sgt. Reed informs Porter that the television news crew has arrived and there is still no word from Jimmy.Connor begins to record some of his dialog for the evening news. It has now been two hours since Jimmy took three hostages. Connor directs the camera over to the anxious Carl Maxton. Connor interviews Porter. A policeman arrives with Carole Fields. A car drives up with Jimmy's parents. Maxton confronts the anxious Wallace couple. Mr. Wallace (Bill Erwin) doesn't say much, but his wife Helen Wallace (an uncredited Ruth Swanson) speaks her mind. She tells Maxton that Carole is "selfish, vulgar and cruel." She directs her anger to the girl standing within earshot and adds, "She's rotten!"Julie brings Officer Glen Gannon a sandwich. Julie tells Gannon she has kids of her own and that her husband was killed in a car accident. Amid all the commotion, a man approaches with a rifle. Cannon orders Julie back inside. The man stands on a box near a window of the storeroom where Jimmy is holding his hostages. Gannon disarms the man and shots are fired. The rifleman is identified as Mr. Werner (an uncredited Claude Stroud) the father of Al Werner, one of the boys shot. Mr. Werner tried to take the law into his own hands, and was arrested and taken away. Porter asks Mrs. Wallace to talk to her son. Carole seeks a little sympathy from Julie, but Julie tells her, "Don't you know what you've done? That boy might be killed any minute. You think because you're 16 the world owes you something. Well it doesn't. You'll end up in the gutter."A man in the crowd (screenplay writer Leo Gordon) tells a woman the fire department will be down soon. If the crowd gets out of hand, they hose them down. Mrs. Wallace pleads with Jimmy to give himself up. Carole runs out of the restaurant and pleads with Mrs. Wallace to let her talk to Jimmy. She is sent back into the restaurant. Jimmy goes to the window to talk to his mother. The crowd goes wild and Jimmy fires three shots at them and then ducks back down. The baby is still crying and Mrs. Maxton is at her wits end. She blurts out, "I hope they kill you. You're worse than an animal."Three hours have elapsed since the hostage situation began. Jimmy's nerves are raw and the baby crying only makes things worse, "Keep him quiet, can't you?" Mrs. Maxton explains the baby is hungry. Jimmy orders Sam to go to the window and order a bottle of milk for the infant. Sam wisely waves a white flag so he doesn't get shot by mistake. Sam asks for a bottle of milk for the baby. A bottle is prepared. A thermos of coffee is spiked by Porter with a sedative and added to the basket. Mrs. Maxton makes a break for the door, but the baby's cries defeat her plans. Jimmy begs her not to try that again. Sam and Mrs. Maxton take turns holding and comforting the baby.Sgt. Reed warns Connor to move his news van. He tells the reporter that they plan to blast the kid out, but Gambelli voices his objections to his place being damaged. A hot dog vendor arrives and begins peddling his wares. This only adds to the carnival-like atmosphere. Gambelli's lawyer, John Lawson (an uncredited Herb Vigran) arrives by car. Porter starts by insulting the lawyer. He listens to the lawyer, then brushes him off with a promise to see both in jail. Porter again makes his appeal for Jimmy to give up. The time is 1:50 a.m. Porter tells Jimmy he has ten minutes, and then the police will break in. Porter plans to use tear gas with guns as a last resort.As the minutes tick by, all those involved prepare for the worst. The Wallaces try to leave the restaurant where they are being held by the police, but Gannon won't let them leave. The police don gas masks. With just one minute left, Carole Fields pushes past Gannon and runs outside. She demands to talk to Jimmy. Mr. Wallace asks Porter to allow her to try. Carole asks Jimmy to surrender. She admits it may be her fault. Jimmy tells Carole he wants to come out. He walks out and Carole runs over to him. They embrace and kiss. Jimmy drops the gun. Sam and Mrs. Maxton exit the storeroom. Jimmy is arrested and taken away by two officers. We close with a scene of the crowding walking away and the cast credits rolling.

Tags: revenge, murder, violence

Review:
You'd know why you'd want to find this film, as it's the ultra-low budget, barely-a-drive-in quickie that features the great Jack Nicholson in his feature debut at the tender age of 21 (he was a mailman at MGM in his previous years in Hollywood).
Cry Baby Killer, The (1958) *** (out of 4) This is somewhat of a Holy Grail for me because I've been dying to see this flick since I became a fan of Jack Nicholson back in the late 80s.
I've been pretty lucky to know people who own rare movies but not a single one ever had this film and in fact, I never he knew anyone who had actually seen it.
In the film Nicholson (in his debut) plays a hot headed teen who is upset when the town's tough guy steals his girl.
After being jumped, Nicholson gets ahold of a gun, kills the tough guy and then takes another man, a woman and her baby hostage.
Jack Nicholson had an interesting film debut in The Cry Baby Killer.
So after watching this movie, another curiosity was sated: I got to see Jack Nicholson's first film and find out if it was any good.
Nicholson certainly does well when he becomes desperate enough to hold up a woman with a baby and a middle-aged black man hostage after shooting at a couple of punks who beat him up at the beginning of the movie.
Roger Corman was the executive producer only here so there's not much of his creative hand in the finished product though it was interesting seeing his cameo when he briefly talks to the TV reporter before he was going on the air to broadcast the standoff.
A film that's a B movie classic, special because of legendary Jack's first screen appearance and well done at it's time from Roger Corman..
After all these years it's finally a treat to watch this B film classic from 1958 "Cry Baby Killer".
It's very special because it's Nicholson's first film appearance, and a must see for any die hard fans of Jack.
The film is pretty low key and stays simple with it's plot and the acting is straight forward, and Nicholson does good work for a newcomer even though his voice and many words are spoken with a soft slow draw accent.
At it's time Roger Corman really done this film short in time length, yet the concept and plot of 1958 was a little ahead of it's time with the hostage taking and media circus developing which would be so common in many later action and adventure films.
Nicholson in his first film debut plays loner and rebel type teenager Jimmy Wallace who is defeated in a brawl with thugs resulting in his girl leaving him.
Jack's character Jimmy like so many of his later anti-hero type characters develops the big chip on the shoulder and the feeling for macho acts takes place.
Then Corman's direction pulls out all the drama and stops when Jimmy is next in a brawl he grabs for a gun panics and shoots, leading him to take cover in a storeroom with a mom and her baby setting up a long standoff!
Good suspense for 1958 is added by showing police interrogation and media interviews and flashing cameras the type of circus film lovers would later so commonly see in the 80's and 90's.
So the direction and plot line was for 1958 ahead of it's time, good job by Roger Corman.
All in all nothing great, yet for a 1958 film the plot and acting is decently good and a real treat to see since it's Jack's first actual screen time a must see for Nicholson enthusiast..
***SPOILERS**** Somewhat misleading title in that the star of the film Jack Nicholson as the misunderstood teenager Jimmy Wallace is not a killer, he didn't kill anyone, but defiantly is a crybaby who cry's up a storm that almost drowns the entire cast by the time the film is finally over.
Jimmy who has a confrontation with Manny Cole, Brett Halsey, and his two friends Joey & Al, Ralph Reed & James Fillmore, over his girlfriend Carole Fields, Carolyn Mitchell, is later confronted by the trio again this time using brass knuckles and a revolver.
It's then in trying to defend himself Jimmy accidentally shoots one of his attackers and runs for his life thinking that he killed him and may be facing life behind bars or a one way trip to the San Quentin gas chamber.Taking Mrs. Maxton, Brabara Knudson, and her 4 month baby girl as well as dishwasher Sam, Smoki Whitefield, hostage in a nearby diner Jimmy is ready to go down in a hail of police bullets until his girlfriend Carole as well as Sam, the real hero in the movie, talk him into surrendering to the police before anybody including himself ends up getting killed.
It's just when the cops are about to storm the place It's both Carole and Sam who end up saving the day, or night in that everything takes place in the dark in the movie, by getting a tearful Jimmy to surrender before he ends up getting shot by the police.
As for Sam he gets no credit at all by the head of the police Let. Porter, Harry Lauter, not even a thank you for the great job he did by risking his life, unlike Let. Porter, to get Jimmy to surrender and releasing Mrs. Maxton and her infant daughter unharmed.Jack Nicholson's movie debut before he made it big 12 years later with his "Five Easy Pieces" as well as "Easy Rider" that made him a top star in Hollywood.
Things didn't turns out so good for Nicholson's co-star in the movie Carolyn Mitchell who later married and divorced Mickey Rooney and was tragically murdered by her former boyfriend bit part Yogoslave actor Milos Mlosevice at the age 29 in 1966 in what was described by the local police as a murder suicide ..
Producer Roger Corman's mark is heavy on this film, so much so that he might as well have directed it himself instead of TV director Jus Addiss.
Working from a script by actor Leo Gordon, this film in its short 61 minute running time takes us through a sort of "movie of the week" scenario with a troubled youth (Jack Nicholson, making his film debut) accidentally shooting another kid during an argument over a girl (Carolyn Mitchell) and taking a baby and mother hostage.Nicholson was pretty good in my opinion, green as he was.
It wasn't all that often that Nicholson even got this much screen time in his early years, usually he was a supporting actor and at one point wanted to direct and write.
So this is kind of an unusual movie for fans because they get a chance to see him in a real leading role at such an early age.Harry Lauter plays the main detective trying to resolve the situation, and his performance is well measured and helps to balance the film's basic melodrama.
With the crowd waiting around for violence, it's sort of a B movie version of "Ace in the Hole" crossed with "The Desperate Hours." Strangely though, while it seems critical of the media/public obsession with the sensationalism of the incident, the movie shows the cops and reporters in friendly relationships.There's nothing hugely appealing about the movie though, I don't think it broke any new ground other than introducing Nicholson.
Recently, this viewer happened to watch, for the first time, the 1950 film "The Men," historically important today as the screen debut of 26-year-old Marlon Brando.
And by some strange coincidence, my next film, also seen for the first time, was the 1958 picture "The Cry Baby Killer," whose only legitimate claim to fame today is that it marked the screen debut of the 21-year-old Jack Nicholson.
The connection between the two actors, of course, is that they were neighbors for many years on Beverly Hills' Mulholland Drive, as well as former costars in 1976's "The Missouri Breaks." And as reported on a certain Wiki site, Nicholson even purchased Brando's home after his death, with the express intention of having the place torn down out of respect for Marlon's memory.
But whereas the Brando debut in "The Men" clearly demonstrated the emergence of a wonderful new screen talent, in an exceptionally fine film, "Cry Baby Killer" just barely hints at the latent possibilities that the young Nicholson harbored, and the film itself is...well, let's just say that it is far from "exceptionally fine." Indeed, even executive producer Roger Corman (who I had erroneously thought the film's director, who had met Nicholson in an acting class, and who was on a two-month trip around the world as the film was being prepared) has gone on to say that "the finished movie is less than inspiring." In truth, without Jack's presence, the film would hardly be worth watching today, and yet...well, as will be seen, it still has some points to commend it to the viewer's attention, and at a brief 61 minutes, can hardly be accused of overstaying its welcome!In the film, Jack stars as teenager Jimmy Wallace, who, when we first encounter him, is in the process of getting the crap pounded out of him by a gang led by the suit-and-tie-clad Manny Cole (Brett Halsey).
Later that evening, Jimmy enters the Klix Drive-In eatery, in which Manny presides like some kind of smarmy, thuggish demigod, determined to take back his girl, Carole (Carolyn Mitchell, whose only other film appears to be that same year's "Dragstrip Riot"), from the older punk.
A fight develops outside, during which Jimmy grabs a gun from one of Manny's accomplices and shoots two of the toughs in the heat of battle.
Thinking that he has slain the two youths (as it develops, he hasn't; just wounded them in their intestines), Jimmy holes up in a shack next to the drive-in, holding a young mother and her baby, as well as an older black man, as hostages.
And before long, a siege situation develops, as cops, spectators, relatives and a news crew gather, and Jimmy is soon being referred to as "the boy with the gun."Of course, the question uppermost in the viewer's mind will probably be "Why doesn't Jimmy just give himself up right away?," but I suppose that if that were the way things logically transpired, this hour-long movie would barely have cracked the 10-minute mark.
Rather, "The Cry Baby Killer" (an odd title, actually, given that Jimmy does not shed tears once and, as has been mentioned, is not actually a killer) treats the viewer to around 50 minutes' worth of the head cop, Lt. Porter (Harry Lauter), questioning everyone at the scene, Jimmy's parents and Carole begging the mixed-up nut via bullhorn to come out, and, most annoyingly, a newsman from KQQQ (!) repeating every incident that we have already witnessed for the benefit of the television viewers at home.
Fortunately, we also get to see what is transpiring inside that shack, and thus are privy to Nicholson's first on-screen rants, as he screams at the young mother to make her hungry baby stop crying.
Curiously, the circus atmosphere that eventually develops at the siege site, with vendors selling hot dogs and Red Hots to the gawking crowd, is almost reminiscent of the situation that develops at the cave-in locale in Billy Wilder's wonderful offering of 1951, "Ace in the Hole"; of course, "The Cry Baby Killer" should not even be mentioned in the same breath as that classic film.
Besides Nicholson, only a few faces here will be at all familiar to most viewers: Ed Nelson as that TV reporter (Nelson also appeared in Corman's popular schlock classics "Attack of the Crab Monsters," "Teenage Cave Man" and "A Bucket of Blood," but will probably be most recognizable to baby boomers by dint of his work on TV's "Peyton Place") and Herb Vigran as a shyster lawyer (Herb appeared as crooks no less than six times on TV's "The Adventures of Superman"!).
Oh...Corman is in there, too; a cameo as a TV technician whose only line is "Sounds OK!" And speaking of Roger, perhaps it would have been better for all concerned if he had indeed directed this film, as the work turned in here by Justus Addiss--who seems to have directed almost exclusively for '50s and '60s television--is pedestrian, at best.
"The Cry Baby Killer," to its credit, does feature a title tune that will likely work as an "earworm" in your head for many days.
Composed and sung by actor and sometimes music writer Dick Kallman, this bizarre, repetitive number almost sounds as if it were being chanted by a beatnik, perhaps in a coffeehouse similar to the Yellow Door Cafe in "A Bucket of Blood." This memorable tune, and the fact that this was indeed Nicholson's first go before the cameras, are probably the two best reasons (possibly the only reasons!) for seeking out this otherwise forgettable film.
At worst, it will inspire viewers to check out one of Jack's later, better performances...such as masochistic dental patient Wilbur Force in the Corman-directed "Little Shop of Horrors," for example.
This is really a bad movie, and it could have been so much better.Unless you're a Jack Nicholson fanatic, forget this one.
They beat him up, for no real reason.In a stupid mistake, the screenplay has one hood carry the gun and the director forgets which one has it in his possession later on.Two guys are shot, but we never see it happen.
By the time it comes to an end, no one is dead, and we don't care one way or the other.Nicholson is OK in his debut, but who cares?
(Flash Review)Jack's first film was him playing a young man at the wrong side of a hostage standoff!!
THE CRY BABY KILLER is a curosity piece for modern viewers; it offers the opportunity to see a teenage Jack Nicholson in his debut performance, playing a young and bash kid who gets into a personal vendetta with an obnoxious gang leader.
When Jack shoots the guy, he holes up in a cafe from the police and takes a number of hostages to boot.
This is very much a budget production without much effort having gone into it, but seeing a youthful Nicholson acting up the screen is a lot of fun.
This title will be familiar to most viewers who have heard of it as the film debut of Jack Nicholson in the title role, second billed to veteran TV and 'B' movie tough guy Harry Lauter; here representing the law.
Although Roger Corman is billed as Executive Producer (and has one line as a TV cameraman (after which all we see of him for the rest of the film is his right hand resting on the side of the camera), the film is a United Artists release rather than one of AIP's quickies, with slightly bigger production values; a mixed blessing in the face of TV director Justus Addiss's lethargic direction.Corman regulars Leo Gordon (who co-wrote the script) and Bruno Ve Sota (who the same year directed 'The Brain Eaters') fill out the economy-sized crowd who have gathered to ogle; and Gordon generously gives Ve Sota one of the script's best lines, "Teenagers, never had 'em when I was a kid!" The basic situation dates back at least as far as Jean Gabin in 'Le Jour se Lève' (1939), and was probably more immediately inspired by the siege at the end of 'Rebel Without a Cause'.
Nicholson doesn't actually get that much screen time, as much of the action taking place back in the diner and in the forecourt.
The script flits from character to character, including Gordon's own wife Lynn Cartwright, who gives an attractive performance as waitress Julie, united with Ruth Swanson as Nicholson's mother in her contempt for poison maiden Carolyn Mitchell who started all the trouble in the first place by ditching Nicholson for obnoxious alpha male bully Brett Halsey.
That we don't see him get his due as Hero of the Hour at the film's conclusion is one of several issues left unresolved (including the ultimate fates of both Nicholson and Halsey) when the end credits roll..
I sought out this film because it was produced by Roger Corman and I have long respected his ability to do a lot with very little.
While some of his films are indeed ultra-cheesy, so often they ended up far better than if other had been given such limited resources and, oddly, his movie always seemed to make money (the one exception--a William Shatner film that actually was pretty good).
So, while I was not expecting gold, I was expecting a low budget film that somehow is a bit better than you'd normally see.It begins with a group of punks working over young Jack Nicholson.
Later, after Nicholson returns to the restaurant where the gang hangs out, there is a mini-rumble and the gang (armed with brass knuckles and guns) are about to hurt him one more time--when the guy pulls out a gun and shoots two of his many attackers.
Most of the film consists of the police manning the barricade and trying to convince him to surrender.
For what it is, it's quite tense and interesting and is about what I expected--good low-budget entertainment.By the way, maybe it's only a coincidence but two of the LA cop characters are named 'Gannon' and 'Reed'--two names of officers from later Jack Webb programs ("Dragnet" and "Adam-12"..
Jack Nicholson's film debut.
He plays a teenage kid who shoots two other guys (off screen) and panics.
He thinks he's killed them (he hasn't) so he gets some hostages and holes up in a room.
So worth seeing if you're a Nicholson fan but it's a pretty bad film.