LET NO MAN WRITE MY EPITAPH
US, 1959, 106 Minutes, Black and White.
James Darren, Shelly Winters, Burl Ives, Jean Seberg, Ricardo Montalban, Ella Fitzgerald.
Directed by Philip Leacock.
Let No Man Write My Epitaph is a sequel to the 1949 film directed by Nicholas Ray, Knock on Any Door. It featured Humphrey Bogart in the role of a lawyer and John Derek as Nick Romano. This film takes the story of Romano on to the 60s.
It is a film which deals with slum life, squalor, drugs. The ironic title indicates the tone of the film. Quite a mixed cast: Burl Ives, Shelley Winters, Jean Seberg and James Darren make this an interesting example of the portrayal of the squalor and the hardships of city life.
1. The significance and tone of the title? Its use by the judge? Indication of themes?
2. How interesting was the plot, group of characters, insight into an urban way of life? How entertaining?
3. How realistic was this presentation of a sordid world? Did it seem exaggerated? Balanced?
4. How objective was the film in presenting these people and their crises? How much compassion for the people presented? What did it ask of its audience?
5. The focus on Nick: the background of his heritage and his father's execution, the slums, the prison background for himself, his friends? His relationship with his mother, love and despising her? The talent as a musician? His capacity as a winner or a loser? His involvement in fights, the law court? His mother and the drugs? His reliance on the judge and the disappointment in his death? The hatred for Louis?
6. How much chance did he have to improve himself and live a proper life? The judge helping him and taking the chance? Holloway and listening to his music? Barbara and friendship and love? How convincingly developed were these incidents?
7. The nature and importance of crises in this world? A melodramatic world, depending on luck and chance? How much room for choice?
8. The picture of Nellie as focussing the pessimism of this life? As a mother, the truth about Nick's father, her work as a prostitute and her style, liaison with Louis, falling into the drug scene, her dependence and her self-hatred? The need for money and robbing Nick? Her dependence on the judge and not seeing his love? The humiliation before the Holloways? How convincing was her final taking of the cure? Did this fit integrally into what went before?
9. The judge as a strong and a weak nun within this world? His work as a judge and his legal skill, his inability to put it into practice, his links with drugs and drink? A man of feelings humiliated? Trying to do his best for Nick? His anger at Louis and Louis’ death? The epitaph of the judge?
10. How convincing was the portrayal of Louis and his types? The smooth and cunning operator, completely selfless? Audience sympathy at his death?
11. The presentation of Nick's friends and the gang overtones, the fights and the bashings?
12. The portrayal of society clashes and the film's comment on the inevitability of this?
13. How well did the film treat issues of family, heritage, environment, drugs?
14. How good a film of its kind was this? or was it merely an ordinary exploration of conventional slum themes?
13. How strong was the development of Fats throughout the film? The ugliness of the shadow side of Corky's personality? The significance of his crude language, the sexual innuendo, his intelligence of planning, his plots, the murders, jealousy? His disowning this and the responsibility? The pathos of his dying and his wanting to die first?
14. How well did Anthony Hopkins portray, especially with his voice, the complementarity of Corky and Fats? The two sides of a single personality, their unity and disunity, the separation? The going against character in killing himself instead of Peggy Ann? The significance of the final dialogue between the two aspects of personality dying? United in death?
15. How successful a thriller? The impact made and the themes presented in romance, murder, psychology?
