The Joker Is Wild (All The Way) (1957)
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(324 ratings)
Frank Sinatra stars as legendary nightclub comic Joe E. Lewis in this dramatic screen biography. In the 1920s, Lewis was a popular singer in Chicago who could fill any nightclub he chose to play. This doesn't go unnoticed by the mobsters who control many of the city's venues; when they ask… More Frank Sinatra stars as legendary nightclub comic Joe E. Lewis in this dramatic screen biography. In the 1920s, Lewis was a popular singer in Chicago who could fill any nightclub he chose to play. This doesn't go unnoticed by the mobsters who control many of the city's venues; when they ask Lewis to leave his steady gig and come work for them, he politely but firmly refuses. This does not make Al Capone and his men happy, and they respond by brutally attacking Lewis, cutting his throat and damaging his vocal cords so severely that he can never sing again. Lewis sinks into a deep depression and develops a highly caustic sense of humor, but his friend Austin Mack (Eddie Albert) suggests that he could put his sharp wit to work as a comedian. With little to lose, Lewis tries his hand at comedy, and with the encouragement of famous entertainer Sophie Tucker, Lewis once again rises to stardom as his salty material makes him the talk of late-night spots and burlesque houses everywhere. Along the way, he becomes involved with chorus girl Martha Stewart (Mitzi Gaynor) and wealthy socialite Letty Page (Jeanne Crain); while he marries Martha, he's not able to get Letty out of his thoughts for long. Lewis' romantic conflicts and the pressures of success fan the flames of his already potent taste for alcohol, and soon Lewis becomes a bitter drunk whose addiction to the bottle threatens to send his career (and his life) back into the gutter. The classic Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen number "All the Way" was introduced in The Joker Is Wild, and it won a 1957 Academy Award for Best Song; the film was later re-released as All the Way. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Charles Vidor
- Genres
- Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Oct 1, 1957 Wide
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Cast
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Frank Sinatra
as Joe E. Lewis
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Mitzi Gaynor
as Martha Stewart
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Jeanne Crain
as Letty Page
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Eddie Albert
as Austin Mack
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Beverly Garland
as Cassie Mack
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Jackie Coogan
as Swifty Morgan
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Barry Kelley
as Captain Hugh McCarthy
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Ted de Corsia
as George Parker
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Leonard Graves
as Tim Coogan
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Valerie Allen
as Flora
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Hank Henry
as Burlesque Comedian
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Eric Alden
as Doorman at Copacabana
- Bill Baldwin
- Don Beddoe
- Billie Bird
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Wally Brown
as Heckler
- Paul Bryar
- Joe Dante
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Dick Elliott
as Man Shaving
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Ned Glass
as Johnson
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Kit Guard
as Doorman of the Valencia
- Bill Hickman
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Harold Huber
as Harry Bliss
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Walter Woolf King
as Dr. Pierson
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Lucy Knoch
as Girl
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Oliver McGowan
as Judge
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Dennis McMullen
as Photographer
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Sid Melton
as Runner
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Ralph Montgomery
as Men in Hotel Suite
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William Pullen
as Letty's Husband
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Paul Salata
as Mugs
- Billy Snyder
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Mary Treen
as Heckler
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Sophie Tucker
as Herself
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Ned Wever
as Dr. Pierson
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Eric Wilton
as Butler
- Russ Bender
- Arthur Lewis
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Frank Mills
as Florist Truck Driver
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Jimmy Cross
as Jack
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Ted Offenbecker
as Elevator Starter
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James Cavanaugh
as Straight Man
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Paula Hill
as Burlesque Girl
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John Harding
as Allen
