The Boss (1956)

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moira finnie
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The Boss (1956)

Post by moira finnie »

The Boss (1956), which is a movie that features some of the best acting by John Payne in any movie is on early Thursday morning 9/25 at 1am EDT on TCM. It is loosely based on the Pendergast political machine that controlled Missouri (and helped to thrust Harry Truman onto the national stage). Written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo using the pseudonym of sympathetic front writer Ben Perry, it details the rise of a real stinker, well played, if memory serves, by John Payne, who languished in those Fox musicals about nice guys with rough edges for too long. The guy could act.
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The movie is also boosted by the disturbingly familiar presence of Joe Flynn (yes, that guy from McHale's Navy), (who always breaks my concentration when he pops up a rather whiny carjack victim in The Desperate Hours too). Some fine, vintage character actors also show up in this one; notably the splendidly believable Rhys Williams & Roy Roberts, who was a great unsung presence in movies from Gentleman's Agreement to Chinatown. He specialized in Chamber of Commerce types with an edge of menace beneath their smooth veneer.
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Roy Roberts

I hope to catch this one again and hope you'll post about it if you know the film too.
Avatar: Frank McHugh (1898-1981)

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