Drummer Stanley Maxton moves to Los Angeles with dreams of opening his own jazz club, but falls in with a gangster and a nightclub dancer and ends up accused of her murder.
Cinematography
Striplights cutting through noir shadows like a sax solo
Acting
Mickey Rooney sweating through every frame like it's his actual life
Director
László Kardos
Mickey Rooney
Stanley Maxton
Sally Forrest
Jane Tafford
William Demarest
Fluff
James Craig
Delwyn 'Sonny' Johnson
Kay Brown
Edna
Louis Armstrong
Himself
Myrna Dell
Paulette Ardrey
Vic Damone
Himself
Tommy Rettig
Artie Ardrey
Tom Powers
Lt. Detective Bonnabel
Jonathan Cott
Behr
Jacqueline Fontaine
Frieda
Monica Lewis
Herself
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden's performances were filmed separately from the main production because MGM wanted authentic jazz cred without the schedule headaches.
This was Mickey Rooney's desperate pivot to adult dramatic roles after his Andy Hardy heyday—note how they still made him a drummer, keeping one foot in 'entertainer' safety.
US
