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James Darren & Robert Blake in "Rumble on the Docks" (1956) feat. Freddie Bell and His Bellboys

Donald P. Borchers
209K subscribers
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14K views 1 year ago LOS ANGELES
Della (Laurie Carroll) and her little brother, Poochie (Barry Froner), are attacked on the Brooklyn docks by a gang of teenage thugs known as the Stompers. Poochie runs to the leader of a rival gang near the docks of Brooklyn, the Diggers, and asks his friend, Jimmy Smigelski (James Darren), for help. Della has returned from four years away at school, and asks Jimmy to the Settlement House dance. A racketeer who preys on the longshoremen, Joe Brindo (Michael Granger), comes to the printing shop owned by Jimmy's father, Pete Smigelski (Edgar Barrier). Brindo offers Pete $3,000 a year to silence his criticism, Pete denounces the bribe as blood money and throws Brindo out of his store. At the Settlement House run by Dan Kevlin ( David Bond), Della and Jimmy are peacefully dancing when the Stompers burst in and start a rumble. Sirens signal the arrival of the police, and the teens scatter. Jimmy returns home, Pete chastises him for his involvement  …...more
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James Darren & Robert Blake in "Rumble on the Docks" (1956) feat. Freddie Bell and His Bellboys
127Likes
14,195Views
2023Sep 18
Della (Laurie Carroll) and her little brother, Poochie (Barry Froner), are attacked on the Brooklyn docks by a gang of teenage thugs known as the Stompers. Poochie runs to the leader of a rival gang near the docks of Brooklyn, the Diggers, and asks his friend, Jimmy Smigelski (James Darren), for help. Della has returned from four years away at school, and asks Jimmy to the Settlement House dance. A racketeer who preys on the longshoremen, Joe Brindo (Michael Granger), comes to the printing shop owned by Jimmy's father, Pete Smigelski (Edgar Barrier). Brindo offers Pete $3,000 a year to silence his criticism, Pete denounces the bribe as blood money and throws Brindo out of his store. At the Settlement House run by Dan Kevlin ( David Bond), Della and Jimmy are peacefully dancing when the Stompers burst in and start a rumble. Sirens signal the arrival of the police, and the teens scatter. Jimmy returns home, Pete chastises him for his involvement in the brawl, and Jimmy bitterly replies that he feels trapped by the limitations of the Brooklyn waterfront. The next day, at the print shop, Pete and Kevlin urge a group of longshoremen to break with Brindo and form a new local under the leadership of Ferdinand Marchesi (Joseph Vitale), the honest dock boss of pier eighty-five. Brindo's thug, Frank Mangus (Timothy Carey), arrives to threaten Marchesi, a fight ensues. Marchesi thrashes Mangus. Jimmy returns home, where Pete calls him a Judas and throws him out. Jimmy moves into the local garage where he works as a mechanic, and Brindo comes to see him and offer his help. Jimmy is caught in a rivalry between two local gangs. Della and Jimmy stroll the waterfront. They see an ambulance racing to a hit-and-run accident and learn that the victim is Marchesi. The police apprehend two teens who stole Marchesi's wallet and haul them to the station house where they show them a mug book and tell them to identify the hit-and-run driver. The boys identify Peanuts Bassett (Benny Burt), an employee of Brindo, as the assailant. Peanuts is arrested. Brindo asks Jimmy to contradict the boys' testimony in court, and he does. Brindo throws a party in Jimmy's honor and Jimmy's parents come to Brindo's apartment in search of their son. There, Pete accuses Jimmy of lying, then disowns his son and leaves. Upset, Jimmy retreats to his room, and soon after, Poochie comes to his window and asks him to come with him because Della is sick. When Jimmy leaves the building, he is jumped by the Diggers and taken to the garage, where Della threatens to tell the police that she was with Jimmy on the night of the accident, thus proving that he was lying about seeing the hit-and-run driver. Brindo discovers Jimmy is missing and assumes that the boy plans to double-cross him. Jimmy promises to stay at the garage while the others go to the Settlement House. When Brindo's goons appear at the garage, one of the Diggers sees them and runs to Pete for help. Pete rushes in to defend his son and is shot in the process. As Jimmy tearfully embraces his injured father, the police arrive to arrest Brindo and his gang. Some time later, Jimmy reconciles with his now-recovered father, who welcomes him into the printing business. A 1956 American black & white film-noir crime film directed by Fred F. Sears, produced by Sam Katzman, screenplay by Jack DeWitt and Lou Morheim, based on the novel of the same title by Frank Paley, cinematography by Benjamin H. Kline, starring James Darren, Laurie Carroll, Michael Granger, Robert Blake, and Edgar Barrier, with Freddie Bell and His Bellboys. Released by Columbia Pictures. James Darren makes his screen debut. First and only feature film for Barry Froner. Joe Brindo's car, that impresses the gang, is a 1956 Lincoln Premiere. This was the first year for that model and was the mid-line vehicle for Lincoln's line-up between the Capri and the Continental Mark II. This film-noir was based on the eponymous 1953 novel by "Frank Paley", a social worker writing under a pseudonym. The New York Times thought "Mr Paley's narrative powers are not up to his descriptive ones." Sam Katzman bought the film rights in 1955. The producers put an asterisk after the title in many ads, explaining Rumble as "teenage slang for 'gang war'". The lead role was given to James Darren, who had recently been signed to a long-term contract by Columbia. It was his first movie. Katzman also introduced newcomers Laurie Carroll and Sal Anthony. Carroll was discovered by Katzman when she appeared on The Johnny Carson Show. James Darren later said of the movie, "Fred Sears was a wonderful director. That really was my first break because I started getting 400-500 letters a month from that film. You're not talking about a major film here. So, that kind of put me on a different level at the studio and they took notice." Soundtrack music: "Get the First Train out of Town" - Written by Freddie Bell and Pep Latanzi Performed by Freddie Bell and His Bellboys

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Donald P. Borchers

209K subscribers