Baby Face Nelson
Tags: suspenseful

Plot synopsis:
Chicago mob boss Rocca manages to get Lester Gillis sprung from jail in Joliet. His motive is to have Gillis kill a labor organizer, but Gillis refuses, preferring to work with Rocca's gang on robberies instead. He meets mob moll Sue Nelson and they start a relationship. He is relaxing, alone in his hotel room, when cops burst in, finding a gun Rocca has planted to frame Gillis for the labor leader's murder. Gillis vows revenge, escapes from the cops with Sue's help, then guns down Rocca and two henchmen. He adopts Sue's surname as an alias.
In a holdup at a pharmacy, Gillis is winged by a gunshot. He goes to Doc Saunders, whose patients include America's most wanted criminal, John Dillinger (portrayed by Leo Gordon). Acquiring a nickname, "Baby Face Nelson", a grateful Gillis joins up with Dillinger and quickly becomes the FBI's second most wanted man.
The ruthless Baby Face goes on a shooting spree, even killing innocent motorists just to steal a car. He doesn't like playing second fiddle to Dillinger, but after the arch-criminal is shot in Chicago, it becomes Baby Face's turn to be public enemy number one. He commits multiple murders, even killing Doc in a fit of anger, and frightens Sue by placing a rifle sight on children.
Trapped by a roadblock, Baby Face flees on foot and is shot several times. Stumbling to a graveyard, he pleads with Sue at first, then taunts her, to put him out of his misery, and she does.

Review: Mickey Rooney gives an energetic ,scary and persuasive performance in this crisp and edgy don Siegal movie.The businesslike script by Irving Shulman and Daniel Mainwaring traces the rise of Nelson from apprentice gunman to Rocca(Ted de Corsia),through his meetings with Dillinger(Leo Gordon), his incarceration and subsequent escape aided by girlfriend Sue(Carolyn Jones)and his rise to the status of Public Enemy Number 1 Little is said about the background to the story-prohibition is scarcely touched on -or about Nelson's personal motivation .Instead it records -even ,disquietingly ,celebrates his achievements and behaviour.The support cast gives Rooney solid backup and special kudos go to Sir Cedric Hardwicke ,Jack Elam and Emile Meyer It looks cheap and low budget but this actually helps the impact of this slick ,anti-social pulp movie.
Gillis; AKA: Baby Face Nelson..
Baby Face Nelson is directed by Don Siegel and co-written by Daniel Mainwaring, Robert Adler and Irving Shulman.
It stars Mickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric Hardwicke, Leo Gordon, Anthony Caruso and Jack Elam.
Story is based on the notorious criminal who became public enemy number one in the first half of the 1930s.Gangsters have always been a profitable source for film makers, with many of them proving to be the basis of classic cinema.
The story of Baby Face Nelson is ideal for cinematic treatment.Don Siegel's 57 movie is tight and taut, yet still briskly paced, and in the main as per the characterisation of Nelson, it's pitched right by Siegel and Mickey Rooney.
He's a trigger-happy punk with anger issues, while Siegel is professional enough to ensure the little thug is not glamorised (the film opens with a written statement pouring praise on the FBI).
The recreation of the period is grand, those cars, those guns, the latter of which get a good amount of screen time as Siegel gives us gun play aplenty.
Rooney never fully convinces in the role of Nelson, where perhaps he is a mere victim of following in the footsteps of greater characterisations in the genre?
But with Hardwicke doing fine work as a boozy lecher, Jones appealingly knowing and sexy as Nelson's moll, and Elam and Elisha Cook Jr bolstering the support ranks, film is in capable acting hands.
Overall it gets in and does its job in next to no time, never out staying its welcome, it overcomes its faults and entertains the genre fan with ebullience.
Mickey Rooney stretched the limits of his talents and continued to live down the image of all American Andy Hardy in this blood and guts portrayal of Baby Face Nelson.
In the title role Rooney dominates this film and that's no small achievement for him as he is supported by a really good bunch of character players, especially for a small independent United Artists film.
This part was certainly a better fit for him than that other true life short man he played Lorenz Hart.One of the nastiest of the famous public enemies of the Thirties, Lester Gillis aka Baby Face Nelson had some real issues.
Only the cheapness in production values prevents me from giving Baby Face Nelson a higher rating..
Like Bugsey was impressed with George Rafts imitation of him; Nelson should have got to see Mickey Rooneys portrayal of him!
This movie is hardly outdated, even timeless, entertaining audiences almost any age, of the ruthless outlaws of the thirties.
a decade not over-endowed with great movies this has to be one of the most under-rated and underplayed.
The result is a chilling portrayal that has to rate with Rooney's best.
In terms of genre this must rate in the top ten of gangster movies.
Rooney's portrayal of the murderous psychopath could possibly only have been bettered by Cagney at his best.
By the time they get to 1933 and the end of prohibition Rooney (Nelson) takes a drink in their hide-out and a colleague remarks 'Hey haven't you heard?
Napoleon with a Tompson Submachine Gun. In "Baby Face Nelson" Mickey Rooney has come a long way from his "I know.
A classic gangster movie.
gangster movie...except that it isn't.
Don Siegel made "Baby Face Nelson" in 1957 and for United Artists but it has the look and feel of the very best gangster movies from a couple of decades earlier.
Mickey Rooney plays the title role and, of course, he's perfect for the part and the wonderful Carolyn Jones is his girl.
It's also got a killer supporting cast that includes Anthony Caruso, Jack Elam, Ted DeCorsia and Leo Gordon as Dillenger as well as an excellent Cedric Hardwicke beautifully cast against type as a doctor on the wrong side of the law.
Because their real life exploits weren't all that exciting...so they spiced it up by fictionalizing their lives--much like films of the 1930s and 40s did with cowboys like Billy the Kid and Jesse James.
So, if you are looking for a history lesson or documentary about Baby Face Nelson, you should not bother with this movie.If you don't mind that it's almost complete fiction, the film is modestly entertaining.
Mickey Rooney's portrayal of the man is much like Jimmy Cagney's portrayal of Cody Jarrett in "White Heat"...completely over the top and more a caricature than realistic portrayal of anyone.
This isn't so much a complaint...this is entertaining but it's hard to imagine anyone this antisocial and nasty being a successful gangster or working with any gang.
Action packed, rough, tough script pulled by terrific performances with the likes of Mickey Rooney and Leo Gordon.
I will never forget their prison films characters; LAST MILE for Rooney and RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11 for Gordon.
This gangster film is not so easy to purchase and that's a real shame.
Semi-factual, this film skims through the life of gangster Baby Face Nelson (Mickey Rooney), from the time he emerges from prison on parole, in 1933, through various subsequent hold-ups with his gang members.
And though Nelson and his girlfriend, Sue (Carolyn Jones), are clearly characterized, members of his infamous gang are hardly more than stick figures in the background, despite a great supporting cast.If this was supposed to have been a biography, a narrator describing the places, times, and key people would have helped to put the story in perspective and aided in the flow of events.
As is, the film seems like just one more fictional gangster film, lacking in true-life credibility.
On the other hand, it's possible, even likely, that filmmakers in the 1950s were prohibited from telling a true-life story in a believable way.B&W cinematography gives the film a noir feel, with high-contrast lighting.
Too much makeup, combined with the lighting, makes Carolyn Jones' face look slightly bizarre.
All I saw was Mickey Rooney trying to act the role.
Acting overall is fine, and Carolyn Jones' performance is quite good.
The mostly jazz score is okay but a bit overbearing at times.This might have been a better film if 1950s Hollywood had not taken such a straitjacket approach to crime story telling, and if the production had had a bigger budget.
The main problem here is a generic script that treats the lead character as just another gangster, his gang as stereotyped sidekicks, and events as contrived.
The film downplays Nelson's historical reality.
There are some very good films about real-life gangsters.
"Baby Face Nelson" isn't one of them..
Great Movie, Please Help me find a copy.
I saw this movie several years ago and really liked it a lot.
If anyone could help me get a copy please contact me at muffinheuer2003@yahoo.com I really loved Mickey Rooney's performance in this film.
I like all of his movies I have seen and that is almost 100.
I loved him in the Andy Hardy Films, Young Tom Edison, Killer McCoy, The Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney musicals.
What separates a film noir from just a regular gangster flick made in the mid-40's to late 50's?
A gangster flick is pretty much simple shoot-em-up entertainment.
Because Nelson starts out bad and maintains that course, I wouldn't say we're getting much insight into the human condition.
But it is damn fine shoot-em-up entertainment with another surprising performance by Mickey Rooney.
As the tough-as-nails Nelson, he's cold and ruthless without a trace of his goody-good reputation.
Also notable is Carolyn Jones as his game-for-anything devoted gal, and a series of fine (but with Nelson around, short-lived) supporting performances.
Siegel proved with THE LINEUP that he could create top-notch thrills of the vicious variety, and although this film doesn't quite reach those heights (Rooney's good, but he's no Eli Wallach) it presents a series of rapid-fire scenarios without ever dawdling too long.
Terrific jazz age score and one hell of a great ending, too.
Don Siegel's BABY FACE NELSON is one of the harshest, most ferocious of movies; its conclusion one of the bleakest ever filmed.
Siegel hit this same note of bitter cynicism again later in his career with DIRTY HARRY; but because BABY FACE NELSON offers no redemption for its protagonist, it is the more direct and powerful film.
The central performance by Mickey Rooney ranks with Cagney's Cody Jarrett in Walsh's WHITE HEAT, in its absolute lack of sentimentality, utterly uninterested in ingratiation.
One of the most chilling moments is when Nelson abruptly sets free a hostage instead of killing him: Rooney offers no clue as to why.
Long overdue for rediscovery, BABY FACE NELSON should take its place alongside Siegel's better known pictures THE LINE UP and HELL IS FOR HEROES as a dark and chilling masterpiece..
Good to be Bad. I found this film most effective when it was able to give its protagonist 'room to be bad' -- as a depiction of a psychopath on the brink, it holds considerable power (the scene where Sue begs her lover to tell her that he wouldn't have shot two boys who almost discover his presence carries a real impact...
At the beginning, where it appears to be trying to make Baby-Face Nelson out as a standard-issue hero fresh out of jail and trying to go straight, it's rather more generic and rather harder to credit.The interaction between Nelson and Dillinger, with the latter as the 'brains' of the outfit frustrated by the other man's trigger-happy tendencies, is well shown, and this section felt all too short.
But the second half of the film, with the outlaws on the run -- and yet more twists to the tale than we expect -- is an undoubted success, and if only the film had achieved this level throughout I would have rated it easily 8/10, maybe 9.Short, baby-faced Mickey Rooney is physically ideal for the role and displays considerable acting chops into the bargain.
One of the most striking scenes is where the Baby-Face against all precedent actually spares the life of a bank manager (played by the diminutive George E.
But it's not an gesture that Nelson is likely to repeat.
When the alcoholic, orotund Doc Saunders (Sir Cedric Hardwicke, deploying his classical training) demonstrates an unseemly interest in Sue, we can anticipate from the start what the ultimate result is bound to be; the only question is how long.And yet the film does achieve the vital but tenuous task of getting the viewer to identify with its out-of-control protagonist, despite his actions, with the result that it manages to sustain the tension: we actually care what happens to him.
(It is this, of course, that makes those scenes where he manages to refrain from killing into such powerful ones: we know the knife-edge on which he is balanced.) The final death scene, where the Baby-Face expires conveniently across a moralising grave-stone, undermined somewhat the effectiveness of what had gone before -- if only they could have resisted the requirement to make such a heavy point -- but what remains is at least two-thirds of a very good little picture.
Not very factual / Mickey Rooney was great for the part..
Baby Face Nelson with Mickey Rooney is entertaining but not very factual.Keeping in mind that Hollywood was in a "crime doesn't pay" mode in the 50's ...
many exciting moments in Baby Face Nelson's criminal career were either white-washed or eliminated completely, leaving no direction in the story & not much for Mickey Rooney to work with.This is surprising if you look back to the Cagney films of the 1930's(Roaring Twenties/Public Enemy) where the hero (or villain, depending on your point of view) was applauded by the public ...
On the plus side: Mickey Rooney did do an outstanding job (he even looked somewhat like Baby Face)The moral: great for fans of Mickey Rooney ...
not so great for fans of Baby Face Nelson..
Baby Face Nelson.
Baby Face Nelson.
Baby Face Nelson.
I thought this movie was good.
When the movie first started, you meet Baby Face.
Pretty quickly you discover that he's up to no good and he soon becomes the FBI's number one target.
It felt like it was at good climatic point and then it just ended.
Also, there were a couple of other points in the movie where a scene was cut too quickly and the audience wouldn't have been able to fully 'dissect' what just happened.
Other than that, it was a good movie and I would recommend it..
It was directed by Don Siegel who had made some good movies and would make more.
It would have taken a magician to make much out of this B-level screenplay that lays out the rise and fall of a minor Midwestern gangster and bank robber, Mickey Rooney.Siegel handled brutality with genuine artistry but this gives him no chance to do much.
There's no humanity in any figure except Carolyn Jones as Rooney's appealingly feminine moll.
"C'mere, babe, and make like Mrs. Nelson," he snarls from his bed, stubbing out his cigarette.On the plus side, what a supporting cast, most of them over the hill.
Few of them get much screen time but you'll recognize many of the faces -- Emil Meyer, Elisha Cook Jr., Tom Gordon as John Dillinger, Jack Elam, and Sir Cedric Hardwicke as a dissolute criminal doctor.
But when the part fit him, nobody could carry it off better than John Hoyt.I don't mean to suggest that the screenplay is that bad.
If you want to hear how a musical score can add to or subtract from a film's impact, this will provide you with a good bad example -- an abstract big-band playing what must have passed for modern jazz in 1957, full of blaring horns and counterpoint.
Don Siegel's "Angelic face" gangster.
Shortly after watching a tremendous film for the very first time called Dirty Harry,I decided,that since having become a big fan of Clint Eastwood thanks to his one-two punch of Changaling and Grand Torino,I felt that it was about time to take a look at the credits of Dirty Harry's director:Don Siegel.As I went down the list of titles by Siegel,I was surprise to find very near the end of the page that one of his first ever films was about a gangster called Baby Face Nelson.Predicting,that this would be a very easy film to get hold of,thanks to it being directed by the man behind Dirty Harry and the original Invasion of The Body Snatchers I went to order the film on Amazon.Shortly after getting onto the site,I soon began to get a creeping feeling that this was a film which seemed to have been wiped off the face of the earth.Desperate to find what was now becoming one of my "holy grail" films,I spent the next 4 years checking up on Youtube and Ebay every week in the hope of getting the chance to see the film.With having tried every option possible to get hold of this title,I eventually accepted that I would have to admit defeat on every getting hold of the film.A few months after waving "the white flag",me and my dad experienced one of the few times where we have both been stunned into silence,when a very kind friend caught me completely off-guard and passed me the film!After all of the years of searching,I decided that it was at last time to sit back and see one of the most elusive gangsters ever for the very first time.
View on the film:Although Mickey Rooney was sadly unable to completely block my memory of him being the lovable Andy Hardy in a series of films that he made with Judy Garland,I still feel that he gave a good performance as the "angelic face" gangster,with the scenes of Gills committing a series of robberies allowing Ronny to show a wickedly cunning side to the character,and also having Roony show a wonderful "wise guys" snarl as he begins to feel that he is quickly becoming "the man" of the corrupt ridden city that Siegel displays.Whilst I did still have my old memories of Mickey in my head,Caolyn Jones ended up completely catching me off- guard with her great performance as Nelson's wife .Along with not getting me to suspect for a moment that this was one of the main cast members from the classic TV series The Addams Family,Jones (who also has a sun bathing scene in the film!) gives a fantastic performance as Nelson's Femme Fatale Sue,that along with showing her desperate to wrap herself around Nelson's "rouge" lifestyle,also allows Jones wonderful "Gothic" face to show Sue as someone with an edgy side,who instead of being unwillingly pulled into Nelson's world,is actually someone that is their for the whole thrill of it all.Despite the film starting with a note that dedicates this sadly almost impossible to find,fantastic Gangster Film Noir to the FBI!,director Don Siegel displays an excitement for the anti-heroes activities that he would return to 14 years later.For the excellent stylish look of the film,Siegel has a number of objects in the background "shaded" (something which he also smartly does with the suits that the characters wear) into black,that allows for a great contrast with the characters clothes,faces and still-thrilling wild robbery scenes,which allow Siegel to create a terrific,far from "babyface" Gangster/Crime Film Noir.