Recensioni degli utenti

When I first started going to the movies, I found many actors who had such charisma, I found I was overwhelmed with their persona. Thus it was when I came to select, David Janssen as my all time favorite star. I have seen every movie he has ever made. The good, the bad and the ones I believe, he should have passed by. This is one such film. I so admire Janssen that he is super cool as a private detective, like Richard Diamond, crafty as O'Hara Treasury Agent and he is ultra believable as the innocent escapee, in the TV series, The Fugitive. But although he portrayed 1920's gangster Arnold Rothstein, he is far from threatening enough to personify the infamous double dealing, backstabbing hoodlum who became notorious during the age of the flapper. Furthermore, his sidekick Johnny Burke (Mickey Rooney) played his role as an ignorant stooge and thus garnered more sympathy, than admiration. Finally there was Dan O'Hererlihy, terrific as many an Irishman, but overbearing as a corrupt cop. Ultimately, the story of Arnold Rothstein, social criminal and despicable character, will have to wait until, Hollywood finds somebody, deplorable enough to be hated for what he really was. That surely was not my favorite thespian. **

Although Arnold Rothstein was a great deal older than David Janssen when he portrayed Rothstein in King Of The Roaring Twenties, he does deliver a good performance as the rather bloodless Rothstein who had the heart of a calculating machine. He came by that personality by being a mathematical genius as a child and deciding to apply his talents in the best way calculated to make money. Rothstein in real life and Janssen on the screen spent their lives calculating.

In fact the title is something of a misnomer because Rothstein being born in 1882 to a respectable middle class Jewish family with father played in the film by Joseph Schildkraut, started his career way before the Roaring Twenties set in. His most famous exploit, the fixing of the 1919 World Series is certainly before the Twenties, but when Prohibition came in, Rothstein saw the possibilities.

The characters in the film are mostly fictional and in some cases pseudonyms are used. Jack Carson's farewell big screen role as Tammany politician Tim O'Brien is more than likely based on Jimmy Hines, later convicted by Thomas E. Dewey. Carson is always good in any film he's in.

The two supporting players who stand out are Dan O'Herlihy as a fictional rogue cop who was taking payoffs back when Janssen was a kid and Mickey Rooney who was the best in the film as Rothstein's boyhood pal who meets a tragic end. The women in Rothstein's life are Dianne Foster and British bombshell Diana Dors who do well as typical Roaring Twenties flappers.

The film has the look and feel of The Untouchables TV series which spawned a revival of the gangster films, this time using the real names of the public enemies. The smartest one of them all Arnold Rothstein might well have been called, King Of The Roaring Twenties.

the verdict on this picture seems to be that it's a fizzle because of Janssen's performance as Rothstein, the most interior portrayal of an organized crime figure this side of John Garfield in Abe Polonsky's magnificent FORCE OF EVIL. Well, Janssen's no Garfield and KING OF THE ROARING TWENTIES is no FORCE OF EVIL, but this Allied Artist's spin-off of the popular "Untouchables" series with Robert Stack deserves a few more props from the peeps at the IMDb website than it has already gotten. It's not quite as droll as Boetticher's very similar looking RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND (which came out at about the same time) but the director, Joseph M Newman, is an underrated dude who, (like Joseph H. Lewis), is long overdue for cultish discovery. The scene in this picture where Mickey Rooney pleads to his childhood buddy, Rothstein, for his life is proof alone of how good he was with actors. Newman worked extensively in television, especially on the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS series. One episode in particular, titled SEE THE MONKEY DANCE starring Efrem Zimbalist and Roddy McDowell is a marvelous example of what can be done within the imperatives of a weekly commercial format. His work deserves a little more recognition than it's been given thus far.

By 1961, splatter guns, bouncing flappers, and real gangsters of the 1920's were a hit on TV, especially with The Untouchables (1959-1963). So it's not surprising the formula would find its way into the movies. Real life gangster Arnold Rothstein (Janssen) gets the treatment here, except there're no splatter guns or much action, but there is lots and lots of talk. Spread out over nearly 2-hour time frame, that's a tough challenge for any 20's crime film. Then add Janssen's turn that's notably low-key and generally emotionless, and the upshot is a disappointingly listless crime film.

I guess the film is best taken as a character study built around a favorite Hollywood theme of one man's rise and fall on the ladder of success. The narrative's mainly about how slickly Rothstein maneuvers through the echelons of urban crime. There's some interest in his conniving, but the account gets draggy with too much slow pacing and mechanical editing. Then too, Dianne Foster's role as AR's ladylove further stretches out the narrative. It's like the producers are also using the movie to promote her career.

Anyway, Janssen was soon to star in that classic chase series The Fugitive (1963-67), where his thespic skills could really shine. On the other hand, I'm not sure what the producers were reaching for here, perhaps an abrupt departure from the Cagneys and Robinsons of old. But what they got instead was a sluggish result that now dwells in well-deserved obscurity.

David Janssen is Arnie Rothstein, running the bookie racket with Burke ( Mickey Rooney is grown-up Burke. and keep an eye out for his son Tim, as a young Burke.) the awesome Jack Carson, who could play anything, is in here as Mister Big. William Demarest and Regis Toomey are here in supporting roles. Keenan Wynne. the usual gangsta antics of the 1920s and 1930s. in this one, we see how bored his wife is, while Rothstein is busy raking in the dough, or getting busted. Original novel by Leo Katcher. Directed by twice-nominated Joe Newman. based on the the real Arnie Rothstein. it's okay. and LONG.

I am hardly a fan of national film critics, but they are right on the money with this one - it stinks.

One major objection is having David Janssen playing the gangster Arnold Rothstein. What kind of casting is that? He couldn't be less credible in that role. Other cast members don't fit in here, either. The whole thing is a mess.

The first half hour of this movie doesn't exactly grab your attention, but when the romance sets in, it really puts you to sleep....and really never recovers. "King of the Roaring Twenties" sounds like an interesting, exciting gangster film but is just the opposite. Don't waste your time.

Before watching "King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein", I decided to read up on the man. After all, I'd heard very little about him and had just seen a small amount about him in the Ray Danton film "The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond"...so I wanted to know more about his exploits. Well, I am glad I did because as I watched the movie I realized that the script often had little to do with the real Rothstein and even portrayed his murder incorrectly....so I knew to take the film with a grain of salt.

So, if you realize it's mostly fiction, is the film worth seeing? Not especially, as for a gangster film it really didn't have much action nor violence....so you are bound to be disappointed. Also, while I like David Janssen, here he just seemed as if he was tranquilized. My feeling is that if you are going to fictionalize a guy's life, couldn't you ficitonalize a bit of excitement into the script and acting as well??

With a screenplay by Jo Swerling, this should have been a dynamite movie. However, with direction by Joseph M. Newman, it winds up being a pointless B movie. No action, no movement, not even really any clear character....

Given a desire to portray an enigmatic character, David Janssen was a potentially perfect choice for the role of Arnold Rothstein, boss gambler and the man who may have fixed the 1919 World Series. Janssen had a striking ability to show an intelligent character clearly engaged in the moment even as he evaluates the situation disinterestedly, an acting ability that he used to perfection on the small screen in both THE FUGITIVE and HARRY O. Yet, except for his scenes with Mickey Rooney (who finally got the chance in this movie to stretch himself in a real acting assignment and comes off as the best in the cast), we get little of that. Instead we get a movie in which each plot point is mechanically foreshadowed and then shown in a rather dull fashion.

There are a few standout performances: Dan O'Herlihy as the corrupt cop is great, but all he does is make you wish the movie is about him. What's going on in his mind and why? Joseph Schildkraut handles his couple of scenes with dignity and care. Jack Carson slides through his role as the head gangster in his typical bluff, understated manner. But the center of this movie starts nowhere, leads nowhere and takes no advantage of any of the strengths of the talents involved.

You would think that it might be difficult to make a dull movie about the "roaring" twenties. This movie succeeds in spades. The lead actor (TV"s The Fugitive) is as stiff and flat as any ever seen on the big screen. Most of the performance involves staring down and looking up once in awhile with a half smile.

In fact only big little Mickey Rooney shows any life and thus through contrast steals the shallow show where the most exciting scene involves the transportation of a racehorse.

Of all the The Untouchables rip-offs of that era this is the worst. There is very little violence, except a punch thrown now and then, and very little else worth watching in this slow as sludge, talky, unconvincing Biography.

What we are left with is a TV looking widescreen film that has nothing in its scope. This movie is so bad that maybe we should turn our binoculars around just to get a laugh.

Two points out of respect to David Janssen and his good track record.This movie is so boring I had to fast forward a lot.It's boring because of a lack of action and to much time is spent on the uninteresting subject of a mobster's love life.Not sure but someone wanted to dwell on Rothstein's gambling problem.Hello..a mob boss makes money because other persons have a gambling problem.As in other gangster movies it makes more sense that a mob boss is having a good time spending the losers money not gambling.Don't know if Janssen is part of the problem or not.Has anyone ever witnessed the private life of a mob boss to judge that Janssen didn't do a good job portraying Rothstein.More than likely Janssen is just a victim of this misguided script.This movie looks like a stinker that couldn't sell so someone named it the Arnold Rothstein story to take advantage of the interest in gangster movies at the time.One of the worst parts was having Mickey Rooney begging,horrible treatment to an outstanding actor.Someone compared this movie to The Untouchables..PUHLEEZE,in no way shape or form did I find this movie resembling one of my all time favorite shows except for both of them being filmed in black and white.For the person that wants to test their capacity for boredom this is the movie for them.

Is it a buddy picture? A romance? A rise-and-fall story of a big time operator in Prohibition era America? Impossible to tell, because it keeps going back and forth between the different genres. I actually like crime and mystery, so I was hoping to see a crime story in early 60s spartan black and white. But no, this ultimately meaningless romance between Arnold Rothstein and his wife just keeps eating up celluloid.

I don't expect consistency in films about Arnold Rothstein. I've seen four films tackle this material so far, and from the script you couldn't tell that any of them were talking about the same person, but I'm OK with that as long as the script is compelling and coherent. This one is neither. Rothstein takes actions, in particular in regards to his childhood friend grown to partner, Burke (Mickey Rooney) that just make no sense. Even when he tries to explain his actions they make no sense.

The performers are what saves this from being a four out of ten. Even if the director can't seem to convey to the players who exactly they are supposed to be, it is interesting to see them try.

Arnold Rothstein (David Janssen) grew up bad as a kid. He grows in the illegal betting racket and joins mob boss Big Tim O'Brien. Johnny Burke (Mickey Rooney) is his loyal longtime friend. He has loves and an enemy in a corrupt cop.

This is a biopic based on a book. Maybe it's the black and white. Maybe it's the old style filmmaking. Maybe it's the limited action or slow pacing. The most excitement comes from Rothstein getting it over his drunken partner. Maybe Janssen is trying for a low key naturalistic performance. Mickey Rooney does fine in his supporting role. They're not even doing the 1919 Black Sox scandal. They do talk about it in a joke. There is no sizzle here. It's dull.

Poor David Janssen, and poor us. Once Mickey Rooney shows up, as naturalistic and lively as ever, Janssen's deadpan performance as Arnold Rothstein is so comparatively lame that the movie never recovers. In fact, it gets worse. Janssen is not just upstaged by Joseph Schildkraut as his father and Dan O'Herlihy as a crooked cop, he can't even hold his own with character actors, notably William Demarest and Keenan Wynn. Ditto Dianne Foster, a capable but forgettable (and mostly forgotten) actress, and there is far too much of their romance in what should be a film about organized crime: Rothstein is arguably the original American crime boss. He knew how to capitalize on Prohibition, and the rest is mob history.

Franz Waxman exercised his jazz chops writing the score. If only that were enough. Joseph M. Newman has no flair as a director, and he got little help DP Carl Guthrie, another forgettable participant who went on to photograph "The Fugitive" (with Janssen) and other TV series. In what should be a moody film noir, the lighting is strictly television. Finally, the script is the last film work of veteran Jo Swerling, who cranked out screenplays for four decades, peaking years earlier with his Oscar nod for "The Pride of the Yankees" in 1942.

This is one of the worst portrayals of Arnold Rothstein, and there are more than a few. Most movies create a thinly veiled version of him, and he's in the background. He's only referred to in "The Godfather Part II," but has been portrayed by Michael Lerner (in "Eight Men Out"), Michael Stuhlbarg ("Boardwalk Empire"), F. Murray Abraham ("Mobstes"), and Robert Lowery ("The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond") and George DiCenzo ("The Gangster Chronicles"), and Hugh Scully ("The Making of the Mob docudrama), and maybe others. He's also been the inspiration for fictional characters including Nathan Detroit ("Guys and Dolls") and Meyer Wolfsheim ("The Great Gatsby"), among others. David Janssen doesn't have the chops.