L'étrange destin de Nicky Romano

"Let No Man Write My Epitaph" is about the low part of a person's life and not to be dismissed as being down and out or classified as a loser. It's about living a life with dignity. Burl Ives is a judge, was a judge, but now he drinks. A man who has lost his legs sells newspapers and makes his way through life as he can. Even Ella Fitzgerald is at a low point, doing drugs, in a very rare dramatic acting role for her. And, "The Young and the Restless" star Jeanne Cooper has a supporting role as another character with problems. But the main plot concerns Shelley Winters as a widowed mother, raising James Darren. His father was given the gas chamber, but Shelley keeps saying he was innocent. James can't stay out of fights defending his father's name and his mother's reputation. Shelley has lately had no other recourse but to attach herself to men for a living. Everyone in town knows what she is. Burl has an interest in her, but she does not reciprocate the feelings. When she meets Ricardo Montalban, she is piqued – and he him. He has a legitimate front, but makes his real money by supplying. The low class seems to be front and center in this eye-opening movie, but it doesn't seem to wallow in its own desperation. Instead, hope for tomorrow permeates the film until dramatic events take place. James can play the piano and has a possible connection in Jean Seberg. "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" has good performances by all, but Shelley Winters, who was great in everything, and Burl Ives stand out. And, James Darren is surprisingly effective for his years. If you discover this on TCM, watch and witness the lows and obstacles faced and overcome in the lives of people that could be you and me.

a real thriller, montalban is eerie as a 1960's "pusher" and sadistic heroin addict, a must for those into drug culture and film noir. the fact that it is b/w only adds to the urban scurge of drugs use ,espcially horse in the 1960's also exceeding their actting abilities are shelley winters as a drug ravaged mother, and burl ives as the "heavy" handed dudley do right....

What a film! A classic or a thriller, I don't know, but it sure is one of those films for you not to miss. It is already one of my favorite classics. A story that makes you understand how it is important to pursue a dream, a dream of not letting a child follow the footsteps of a criminal father. A story that teaches us some important values. It is a struggle for life and an excellent opportunity for us to think about this problem. Drugs, violence and alcohol are some of the matters that make this film an important issue to discuss about. Good casting and acting also help to make this film a must-see. It is a classic worth watching.

With the recent death of Shelley Winters, all the principals in this movie are now gone, with the exception of Montalban. Having looked it up, I had forgotten what a fine cast it had, including the surprise of Ella Fitzgerald playing a heroin-addicted blues singer. Sadly, although this was a remake of a previous film, this great film could not be remade or even updated for today's market---simply because our society has changed to where the story in this picture (compelling as it is) would no longer be something people would consider important or even divisive. This plot could not even make the producers of Jerry or Maury take notice. Still, this picture will always be one of my two or three personal all-time favorites, and I will recommend it to anyone who reads these words I write: This is greatness that Hollywood can create...when it really wants to.

Kind of a cross between "West Side Story" (though it's Chicago's West Side) and "Golden Boy" without Clifford Odets' lyricism, this sleaze-obsessed melodrama benefits from location filming that shows how awful the Chicago slums looked in 1960 and a motley, oddball cast. James Darren is the sensitive hood/concert pianist (and though he's proficient at the keyboard, he's hardly the prodigy the script makes him out to be), being raised by Shelley Winters at her Shelley Wintersiest, screaming and sobbing and unhinging easily. She and an assembly of longtime slum pals, including an uninteresting Burl Ives as a drunken ex-judge, are trying to give the kid a decent upbringing amid all the squalor. There are also Ricardo Montalban, excellent as an insidiously evil-charming dope peddler; Ella Fitzgerald, who gets to act a bit and isn't bad; and Jean Seberg, not quite credible as the Lake Shore girl Darren loves. The direction is uninspired, and the screenplay a little contrived (when it wants us to know Ives loves Winters, it just has him confess to the camera), but what's fascinating is the brio with which the filmmakers depict all the sex and violence and addiction and grimness. It's as if they were trying to show how grownup they are by thrusting all that misery in your face. It moves fast, and if your attention starts to wander, be assured, Shelley Winters will be erupting again soon.