Monkey on My Back (1957)
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86% of users liked it
(39 ratings)
The painfully true story of welterweight boxing champion Barney Ross is detailed in Monkey on My Back. Cameron Mitchell stars as Ross, whose meteoric ring career is interrupted when he joins the Marines at the outset of WWII. A highly decorated hero, Ross contracts malaria oversees and is given… More The painfully true story of welterweight boxing champion Barney Ross is detailed in Monkey on My Back. Cameron Mitchell stars as Ross, whose meteoric ring career is interrupted when he joins the Marines at the outset of WWII. A highly decorated hero, Ross contracts malaria oversees and is given morphine to assuage the pain. By the time he returns to the states, Ross is a confirmed drug addict. Before he can rise to the top again, he must hit rock bottom and his descent into the hell of narcotics dependency is graphically illustrated (so much so that the film was almost denied a Production Code seal). Though a cured Barney Ross served as technical advisor for Monkey on My Back, he ended up suing the producers for defamation of character -- and lost. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- André De Toth
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- May 29, 1957 Wide
- On DVD
- Feb 8, 2005
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A well-intentioned but nevertheless unimaginative and dreary biopic on welterweight boxing champion Barney Ross.
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Cast
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Cameron Mitchell
as Barney Ross
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Dianne Foster
as Cathy
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Paul Richards
as Rico
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Jack Albertson
as Sam Pian
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Kathy Garver
as Noreen
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Lisa Golm
as Barney's Mother
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Barry Kelley
as Big Ralph
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Dayton Lummis
as McAvoy
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Lewis Charles
as Lew Surati
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Raymond Greenleaf
as Latham
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Richard Benedict
as Art Winch
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Brad Harris
as Spike
