Mickey Rooney tries life behind the camera in this potentially interesting but occasionally plodding true confessions story of Helen Walker --here doing a rather good Claire Trevor imitation. She is sprung from prison to take part in a plot to steal a priceless supply of 'oil of myrrh' from an old lady.
The story is interesting, but a good cast -- including Aldo Ray in his screen debut -- fails to do much with the script. Perhaps there is simply too much detail. Perhaps Mickey Rooney, who was used to improvisation over many takes, did not have the budget for the extra takes. The result is a fair B movie, but no earth shaker. Mickey went back in front of the camera. The year I write this, he still is delighting audiences in a film career than has lasted more than eighty years.
The story is interesting, but a good cast -- including Aldo Ray in his screen debut -- fails to do much with the script. Perhaps there is simply too much detail. Perhaps Mickey Rooney, who was used to improvisation over many takes, did not have the budget for the extra takes. The result is a fair B movie, but no earth shaker. Mickey went back in front of the camera. The year I write this, he still is delighting audiences in a film career than has lasted more than eighty years.