Monkey on My Back

Monkey on My Back

1957
1h 34m
6.4

6.4/10

5 votes • View on IMDb

"SHOCK by SHOCK...It Jabs Like a Hopped-Up Needle!"

Overview

The painfully true story of welterweight boxing champion Barney Ross is detailed in Monkey on My Back. Cameron Mitchell stars as Ross, whose meteoric ring career is interrupted when he joins the Marines at the outset of WWII. A highly decorated hero, Ross contracts malaria oversees and is given morphine to assuage the pain. By the time he returns to the states, Ross is a confirmed drug addict. Before he can rise to the top again, he must hit rock bottom and his descent into the hell of narcotics dependency is graphically illustrated (so much so that the film was almost denied a Production Code seal). Though a cured Barney Ross served as technical advisor for Monkey on My Back, he ended up suing the producers for defamation of character -- and lost.

Status: Released

Language: EN

Watch "Monkey on My Back"

Open in New Tab

Production Information

Production Companies
Edward Small Productions
Production Countries
United States of America
Spoken Languages
English

Keywords

Quick Facts

Release Date May 29, 1957
Status Released
Language EN
IMDb ID tt0050719

Cast

Cameron Mitchell
Cameron Mitchell

Barney Ross

Dianne Foster
Dianne Foster

Cathy Holland

Paul Richards
Paul Richards

Rico, Drug Pusher (as Paul E. Richards)

Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson

Sam Pian

Kathy Garver
Kathy Garver

Noreen

Lisa Golm
Lisa Golm

Barney's Mother

Barry Kelley
Barry Kelley

Big Ralph

Scotty Beckett
Scotty Beckett

Corpsman (uncredited)

Key Crew

André de Toth
Director
Paul Dudley
Screenplay
Anthony Veiller
Screenplay
Crane Wilbur
Screenplay
Edward Small
Producer