Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Excellent, a Must See

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This title will be familiar to most viewers who have heard of it as the film debut of Jack Nicholson in the title role, second billed to veteran TV and 'B' movie tough guy Harry Lauter; here representing the law. Although Roger Corman is billed as Executive Producer (and has one line as a TV cameraman (after which all we see of him for the rest of the film is his right hand resting on the side of the camera), the film is a United Artists release rather than one of AIP's quickies, with slightly bigger production values; a mixed blessing in the face of TV director Justus Addiss's lethargic direction.Corman regulars Leo Gordon (who co-wrote the script) and Bruno Ve Sota (who the same year directed 'The Brain Eaters') fill out the economy-sized crowd who have gathered to ogle; and Gordon generously gives Ve Sota one of the script's best lines, "Teenagers, never had 'em when I was a kid!" The basic situation dates back at least as far as Jean Gabin in 'Le Jour se Lève' (1939), and was probably more immediately inspired by the siege at the end of 'Rebel Without a Cause'. Nicholson doesn't actually get that much screen time, as much of the action taking place back in the diner and in the forecourt. The script flits from character to character, including Gordon's own wife Lynn Cartwright, who gives an attractive performance as waitress Julie, united with Ruth Swanson as Nicholson's mother in her contempt for poison maiden Carolyn Mitchell who started all the trouble in the first place by ditching Nicholson for obnoxious alpha male bully Brett Halsey. (Swanson sums her up as "selfish, vulgar, cruel...rotten!!")The film's unsung hero is Jordan Whitfield as Sam, the black dishwasher who keeps his head throughout the crisis. That we don't see him get his due as Hero of the Hour at the film's conclusion is one of several issues left unresolved (including the ultimate fates of both Nicholson and Halsey) when the end credits roll.

Jack Nicholson's film debut. He plays a teenage kid who shoots two other guys (off screen) and panics. He thinks he's killed them (he hasn't) so he gets some hostages and holes up in a room. Soon the police have the place surrounded and order him to let the hostages go and give up. But he's scared and doesn't know what to do.Basically this could be a pretty good half hour TV show...but this is stretched out to 75 minutes! The script is bland and very by the numbers. All the characters are clichéd and I saw every line of dialogue coming. This would be a thoroughly forgotten little movie by now if it weren't for Nicholson. Seeing him so young is fascinating in itself and seeing him doing his best with such subpar material is interesting. Unfortunately he's NOT the whole movie. There are long stretches when he's not even on screen which are more than a little boring. The acting by everybody is no more than OK but nobody could make this script interesting. So worth seeing if you're a Nicholson fan but it's a pretty bad film. A 3.

Producer Roger Corman's mark is heavy on this film, so much so that he might as well have directed it himself instead of TV director Jus Addiss. Working from a script by actor Leo Gordon, this film in its short 61 minute running time takes us through a sort of "movie of the week" scenario with a troubled youth (Jack Nicholson, making his film debut) accidentally shooting another kid during an argument over a girl (Carolyn Mitchell) and taking a baby and mother hostage.Nicholson was pretty good in my opinion, green as he was. It's not exactly James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause", but neither is the script and Addiss isn't Ray. I'd say it was an auspicious beginning. It wasn't all that often that Nicholson even got this much screen time in his early years, usually he was a supporting actor and at one point wanted to direct and write. So this is kind of an unusual movie for fans because they get a chance to see him in a real leading role at such an early age.Harry Lauter plays the main detective trying to resolve the situation, and his performance is well measured and helps to balance the film's basic melodrama. With the crowd waiting around for violence, it's sort of a B movie version of "Ace in the Hole" crossed with "The Desperate Hours." Strangely though, while it seems critical of the media/public obsession with the sensationalism of the incident, the movie shows the cops and reporters in friendly relationships.There's nothing hugely appealing about the movie though, I don't think it broke any new ground other than introducing Nicholson. There isn't very much story, and everything pretty much takes place in the same location, so it feels sort of closed and theatrical. The photography and sound is professional but uninspired, as is the direction of the actors in general. This isn't a "classic" by any means, but it's worth an hour of my life.

Cry Baby Killer, The (1958) *** (out of 4) This is somewhat of a Holy Grail for me because I've been dying to see this flick since I became a fan of Jack Nicholson back in the late 80s. I've been pretty lucky to know people who own rare movies but not a single one ever had this film and in fact, I never he knew anyone who had actually seen it. In the film Nicholson (in his debut) plays a hot headed teen who is upset when the town's tough guy steals his girl. After being jumped, Nicholson gets ahold of a gun, kills the tough guy and then takes another man, a woman and her baby hostage. A tough as nails cop (Harry Lauter) tries to talk him out as the television station and onlookers gather outside. This moral/teenage flick is in the same vein as Rebel Without a Cause but it stands out due in large part to being Nicholson's debut. I wouldn't say he gives a good performance as he goes way too over the top in a few scenes but you can see certain trademarks that'll show up in some of his classic performances. The scenes with him screaming at the crying baby get some unintentional laughs as does a few other scenes but this just adds to the cult appeal. Since this film is on DVD now I'm sure it will become a cult classic of the Drive-In teenage films. Producer Roger Corman and screenwriter Leo Gordon have cameos.