Nonureva Really Surprised!

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

tavm So after watching this movie, another curiosity was sated: I got to see Jack Nicholson's first film and find out if it was any good. Well, it's not too bad and since it's only an hour, not too much time was wasted watching it. Nicholson certainly does well when he becomes desperate enough to hold up a woman with a baby and a middle-aged black man hostage after shooting at a couple of punks who beat him up at the beginning of the movie. Roger Corman was the executive producer only here so there's not much of his creative hand in the finished product though it was interesting seeing his cameo when he briefly talks to the TV reporter before he was going on the air to broadcast the standoff. So on that note, The Cry Baby Killer is worth a look for any Nicholson completists.

funkyfry 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.

Michael_Elliott 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.

Danny Blankenship After all these years it's finally a treat to watch this B film classic from 1958 "Cry Baby Killer". It's very special because it's Nicholson's first film appearance, and a must see for any die hard fans of Jack. The film is pretty low key and stays simple with it's plot and the acting is straight forward, and Nicholson does good work for a newcomer even though his voice and many words are spoken with a soft slow draw accent. At it's time Roger Corman really done this film short in time length, yet the concept and plot of 1958 was a little ahead of it's time with the hostage taking and media circus developing which would be so common in many later action and adventure films. Nicholson in his first film debut plays loner and rebel type teenager Jimmy Wallace who is defeated in a brawl with thugs resulting in his girl leaving him. Jack's character Jimmy like so many of his later anti-hero type characters develops the big chip on the shoulder and the feeling for macho acts takes place. Then Corman's direction pulls out all the drama and stops when Jimmy is next in a brawl he grabs for a gun panics and shoots, leading him to take cover in a storeroom with a mom and her baby setting up a long standoff! Good suspense for 1958 is added by showing police interrogation and media interviews and flashing cameras the type of circus film lovers would later so commonly see in the 80's and 90's. So the direction and plot line was for 1958 ahead of it's time, good job by Roger Corman. All in all nothing great, yet for a 1958 film the plot and acting is decently good and a real treat to see since it's Jack's first actual screen time a must see for Nicholson enthusiast.