THE GEORGE RAFT STORY (1961)

This fictionalized version of the life of actor George Raft, based in part on a series of articles he co-wrote, begins with a young George making a living as a tap dancer at the Dreamland Casino where he has already perfected his casual coin-tossing tic that became part of his onscreen persona. When a gangster assaults his dance partner, Raft punches him out. Soon he's working for some bootlegging racketeers, takes up with Shelia, a singer, and when she hints at marriage, breaks up with her—in the aftermath, he says, "I didn't ditch you, I just eased you out." He works with famous club owner Texas Guinan and takes up with Margo, a sexy blonde, and is the target of a streetside assassination attempt. Following Guinan out west, George comes to the attention of Hollywood gangsters and producers (his next girlfriend June tells him he has a Valentino vibe) where he gets cast in small roles in movies, with his big break coming through a supporting part in Scarface which is a big hit. He gets in a fight with a guy named Sam who ends up becoming his friend and agent. Called before Al Capone who is angry that the character who represents him in the movie gets killed, Raft explains that it was the Hays code that was at fault for insisting that bad guys get punished. For a while, Raft lives the high life, getting lots of acting roles, becoming friendly with gangsters (including Bugsy Siegel), and latching on to busty blonde actress Lisa Lang. But soon, tired of being typecast as a thug, he starts turning down roles and has a falling out with Sam. He becomes part-owner of a Havana casino but loses it when Castro comes to power. In the final scene, he reconciles with Sam who gets him his comeback role in Some Like It Hot, even though he's in a gangster role again.

I have never much liked George Raft. Always a little stiff and artificial, I think of him as a second-rate Humphrey Bogart (or Alan Ladd or John Garfield). It's a Hollywood legend that he turned down important parts, many of which went to Bogart, and he was relegated to supporting roles and B-movies by the 1940s, though Some Like It Hot did lead to a bit of a comeback in the 60s and 70s. He was short and gruff looking, but Ray Danton, who plays him here, is the opposite: tall and slickly handsome. Still, after just a few minutes, I got used to Danton and he does a good job playing at least the surface persona of Raft. He’s paired up with some very attractive women, most notably Julie London (Shelia), Barrie Chase (June), and Margo Moore (Ruth), most of whom only get a handful of scenes. The least effective pairing is with Jayne Mansfield (Lisa), and the problem is more the writing than her acting (which itself is only so-so). The character is set up to be important to Raft's story—it's rumored that she's based on Betty Grable—but she gets short shrift and barely makes an impression. There are some decent musical performances, and Danton, who was not a trained dancer, more than holds his own. One of the best numbers is "You’ve Got to See Mama Every Night," performed by Barbara Nichols playing Texas Guinan, another female who gets only a few minutes in the spotlight. Raft's most important relationships seem to be with the gangsters who befriend him, but even they only get their few minutes in the plot and then vanish, except for Brad Dexter as Bugsy Siegel. It's Ray Denton's movie all the way and he holds it just fine. As a low-A, high-B production, the period details are spotty; sometimes good, sometimes not. The comedy team of Tony Reese and Pepper Davis are given an interminable eight minutes for a mediocre nightclub bit. Giving good support are Frank Gorshin, Herschel Bernardi, Robert Strauss, and Neville Brand (in a short scene as Capone). I had avoided this because of my feelings about Raft, but it proved well worth watching. [TCM]