Never Steal Anything Small
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Charles Lederer
James Cagney
Shirley Jones
Roger Smith
Cara Williams
Nehemiah Persoff
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In New York City, in order to raise money for his campaign to become president of the local chapter of the longshoremen's union, crooked politico Jake MacIllaney extorts ten thousand dollars from miserly hypochondriac Charlie "Sleepout" Barnes. Although Jake gets his money, Sleepout turns him in, and Jake is arrested during a political rally. He initially disdains the lawyer assigned to him, young Dan Cabot, but Dan's scornful rejoinder impresses Jake, who then insists on hiring Dan. Later, Jake exacts his revenge by paying Sleepout's girl friend, Ginger, to drug him, after which they place his body in an iron lung and tell him he is near death. After he wakes, Sleepout decides to move to Arizona to recover. The night before the election, Jake stages a rally on the waterfront and directs his friend, Winnipeg Simmons, to hire pretty girls to distract rival O. K. Merritt and his henchmen. During the party, Merritt suddenly notices that all of his men have disappeared, but when he confronts Jake, Jake's men force him to drink until he becomes sick and must be hospitalized. Predictably, Jake wins the election, and the next day moves into his new office. There, he receives a letter from Dan refusing to represent him and offering to arrange a continuance on his trial against Sleepout. Jake knows that he must be tried before Sleepout returns to New York, and determines to convince Dan to change his mind. To this end, Jake visits Dan's apartment, and when he spies Dan's wife Linda singing, he hides behind the door and watches, captivated. When she spots him she states that she has ordered Dan not to represent a hoodlum, even though this has cost him his job. However, Dan returns soon after and cannot afford to turn down the $1,000 Jake offers. Jake then leases an office for Dan and instructs Winnipeg to decorate it sumptuously and act as his secretary. Winnipeg, discerning that Jake is in love with Linda and plans to break up her marriage, refuses to participate, but cannot resist when Jake promises to buy her a Ferrari. Next, Jake and his men draft a new contract for the longshoremen that charges exorbitant fees from the shipbuilders, despite the fact that current union president Pinelli will not approve it. Later, Sleepout's absence allows Dan to win Jake's extortion case, after which Jake provokes a fight between Dan and Linda. Dan escapes to his office, where Jake keeps him working all night and Winnipeg seduces him with alcohol and sympathy. Hours later, just as Dan kisses Winnipeg, Linda shows up and announces that she will seek a divorce. Meanwhile, Jake, who needs money to please his constituents, devises a racket in which he will steal $750,000 worth of watches, declare them drowned in the harbor, and then resell them on the black market. After convincing the insurance company that the watches are lost, Jake directs Dan to sell them, and then calls Linda to offer help. Upon hearing that she is going back to work as a standby singer at a television station, Jake secretly arranges for Linda to be allowed a rare onscreen appearance. He takes her to dinner after the show, and although she spurns his declaration of love, he vows to continue wooing her. Outside, a thug throws acid on them, which splashes Linda's arm, but the doctor proclaims her wounds superficial. Jake then tries to convince Linda that he must play dirty in order to gain power, and when she doubts his claim of wanting to help his fellow man, he explodes in anger, impressing her with his apparent underlying integrity. Over the next weeks, Jake rises in the estimation of the longshoremen, and soon the local representatives ask him to campaign against Pinelli. Against the advice of his cronies, Jake agrees. During the race, despite his strong showing in the polls, he remains convinced that he must invent a "hook" to swing the race in his favor. Pinelli grows nervous and bribes Jake's vice-president, Ed Barton, who then reveals Jake's watch scheme. While Jake is visiting Linda that evening, Dan arrives to insist that Linda take him back, but she refuses. Just then, on a tip from Pinelli, the police enter to arrest Jake, and to Linda's horror, Jake pins the blame on Dan. After they leave, Linda begs Jake to confess, offering herself in exchange for the favor. Jake reaches out for her, but when Linda recoils, he refuses the offer. He cannot bear her tears, however, and tries to persuade her that the longshoremen will embrace Dan as a hero for stealing to provide for them. Moved by Linda's devotion and his own speech, Jake realizes that heroic status is just the hook he has been looking for, and agrees to turn himself in. At the trial, Jake is sentenced to two years in jail but nonetheless, just as he has predicted, wins the union election. A reconciled Linda and Dan watch with amusement as Jake, still handcuffed to a policeman, is born away by the elated crowd.
Director
Charles Lederer
Cast
James Cagney
Shirley Jones
Roger Smith
Cara Williams
Nehemiah Persoff
Royal Dano
Anthony Caruso
Horace Mcmahon
Virginia Vincent
Jack Albertson
Robert J. Wilke
Herbie Faye
Billy M. Greene
John Duke
Jack Orrison
Roland Winters
Ingrid Goude
Sanford Seegar
Ed "skipper" Mcnally
Gregg Barton
Edwin Parker
Pat Mcmahon
Ruth Kerin
Asa Maynor
Arline Hunter
Herman Belmonte
Roy Fitzell
Joseph Paz
Jerry Rush
Todd Miller
Hugh Sanders
Sid Tomack
Wendell Holmes
Jay Jostyn
Ken Mayer
H. Tommy Hart
John Halloran
Harvey Parry
Bill Meader
Eugene Dorian
Frankie Van
Eddie Roberts
Stanley Farrar
George Becwar
Alan Reynolds
Charles Lind
Phyllis Kennedy
Pete Dunn
Mike Portanova
Norman Papson
Rebecca Sand
Gordon B. Clarke
Vince Barbi
Tom Newman
Nicky Blair
Forrest Lederer
Charles Mcclelland
Rolfe Tand Berg
Ken Konopka
Joe Trapaso
Frank Lander
Sy Travers
Jeno Mate
Pat Patterson
Bruce Glover
Mike O'dowd
John Banfield
John Seven
Tom Geraghty
Johnny Dale
Edmund Dorsay
Joe Walls
Michael Morelli
Robert Strong
Joan Corbett
George De Normand
Scotty Groves
Don House
Bill O'driscoll
Reg Parton
Harlan Hoagland
Crew
Maxwell Anderson
Martha Bunch
Adele Cannon
Leslie I. Carey
Benny Carter
Robert Clatworthy
Claire Cramer
Ray Decamp
Oliver L. Emert
Russell A. Gausman
Joseph Gershenson
Alexander Golitzen
Earle Hagen
Charles Henderson
Lon Jones
Corson Jowett
Jack Kevan
Rollie Lane
Lew Leary
Charles Lederer
Harold Lipstein
Henry Mancini
Nick Marcellino
Skip Martin
Louise Miele
David Milton
Hermes Pan
Frank Perkins
Nelson Riddle
Aaron Rosenberg
Pete Saldutti
Russell Schoengarth
Dave Silver
Herb Spencer
Clifford Stine
Bill Thomas
Bud Westmore
Allie Wrubel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was The Devil's Hornpipe. The film begins with the following written statement: "This picture is sympathetically dedicated to labor and its problems in coping with a new and merry type of public enemy...the charming, well-dressed gentleman who cons his way to a union throne, and never needs to blow a safe again." According to a July 6, 1956 Daily Variety article, Universal purchased the rights to Maxwell Anderson and Rouben Mamoulian's unproduced play in 1956. In November 1957, studio press materials announced that Anderson and Allie Wrubel had written thirteen songs for the film, but only five are included in the finished print.
According to the Hollywood Reporter review, "months of sneak previews and re-editing" delayed the picture's release by almost one year. On October 16, 1957, the "Rambling Reporter" column in Hollywood Reporter erroneously stated that Jayne Mansfield had been cast in Never Steal Anything Small, and noted on October 28, 1957 that Audrey Meadows and Nita Talbot were being considered for the role of "Winnipeg Simmons." Hollywood Reporter reported on October 30, 1957 that director of photography William Daniels had replaced Harold Lipstein, who was called off the shoot due to an illness in the family. However, Lipstein received sole onscreen credit for photography.
According to Hollywood Reporter news item, many scenes were shot on the Fulton Street Pier and other locations around New York City. The Variety review noted: "Because of the Universal Pictures' ban of Variety and Daily Variety on news and reviews," the newspaper was forced to review this and other Universal films at public rather than press screenings. Never Steal Anything Small marked the last time James Cagney sang and danced onscreen.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Winter February 11, 1959
CinemaScope
Released in United States Winter February 11, 1959
