The Joker is Wild (1957): Stars Frank Sinatra (Joe E. Lewis), Eddie Albert (Austin Mack), Beverly Garland (Cassie Mack), Mitzi Gaynor (Martha Stewart), Jeane Crain (Letty Page) and Jackie Coogan (Swifty Morgan). Based on the book by Art Cohn.

The movie starts out in Chicago, in the 1920’s. Accompanied by his pianist Austin Mack, Joe E. Lewis is singing at the Club 777, a speakeasy owned by Georgie Parker. Joe receives an offer from the owner of the classier Valencia Nightclub, and since his contract at the 777 is up, he accepts the offer. Georgie has a problem with that, because he knows that people are coming in to see Joe. Georgie and one of his henchmen try to explain to Joe that his contract isn’t up until Georgie says it’s up. Joe won’t listen and, with a worried Austin Mack at his side, he opens at the Valencia. In spite of more threats and a black funeral wreath arriving in his dressing room, opening night goes smoothly. Life is good. Joe is contacted by a music producer, and makes a record.

One morning, while Joe is listening to his record, there’s a knock on his door. It’s Georgie’s goons, and they aren’t talking any more. A few minutes later, they leave Joe for dead. Miraculously, though his skull is fractured and his vocal chords are cut, Joe is still alive. One of the most dramatic scenes in the movie occurs when Joe wakes up in the hospital, and realizes what happened. Unable to speak, Joe claws at his bandages and beats his head against the wall, while emitting noises that are barely recognizable as human. The faithful Austin, still at his side, manages to prevent him from injuring himself further.

After Joe is released from the hospital, he disappears for several years. Eventually Austin and Swifty locate him in New York. Embarrassed to admit that he’s a pie-in-the-face member of a vaudevillian troupe, he tells them that he’s still a singer. Thinking that Joe just needs a break, Austin tells Joe’s story to Sophie Tucker, his current employer. At a charity function, where they’re both performing, Sophie goes on stage with Joe, tells the audience his story, and asks Joe to sing. Austin plays the intro to “All the Way”, Joe sings a few words then stops. Standing on stage in front of hundreds of people, still wearing the costume from his act and unable to sing, Joe mutters “Maybe those guys in Chicago weren’t gangsters, maybe they were music critics”. A concerned Austin begins to play again. Joe waves him off, with the comment “You might as well forget it, Austin, I can’t even talk in that note.” After a moment of silence, the audience begins to chuckle. That was the beginning of Joe’s evolution into a career as a nightclub comedian.

Joe E. Lewis was born on January 12, 1902, and died on June 4, 1971. The movie follows his life from the 1920’s to around 1948-1950. It covers his dependence on alcohol, his brief marriage to actress Martha Stewart, and of course his career. I’ll give it 4.5 stars.

For those who love old Vegas and gambling: Joe E. Lewis spent a lot of time in Las Vegas. He was a regular at the El Rancho Vegas in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the movie ended before that period in his life. There’s about 10 minutes near the end of the movie that takes place in an anonymous Las Vegas casino. His wife comes in to surprise him and, when he won’t leave the craps table for her, she begs him for a divorce. There are no shots of Las Vegas and no casino signage. Joe is holding a handful of chips, but I couldn’t make out what they looked like. 1 “chip”