The charm of the film lies for the most part in its simple, straightforward story and the utterly natural and sincere performances of sylvia sidney who has never looked better and george raft in. The george raft story was made in 1961 and a character in francis ford coppolas cotton club was based on raft richard gere played that part. The picture was retitled spin of a coin for release in the united kingdom, a reference to rafts characters nickelflipping trick in scarface 1932, the film that launched rafts career as an actor known for portraying gangsters. Rent, buy, and watch movies and tv shows with vudu.
Not too many people have had their life stories filmed while they were still alive, but george rafts life reads like a series of showbusiness plots. He was portrayed by ray danton in the biopic the george raft story 1961. Ray danton portrays raft and the film was directed by joseph m. In the 1991 biographical movie bugsy, the character of george raft was played by joe mantegna. Newmans 1961 film biography of the nightclub dancerturned movie star. Apart from that, she was a nightclub entertainer and singer. September 26, 1901 november 24, 1980 was an american actor, comedian and dancer. Filmography show list info george raft 1901 1980 was an american film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s.
I biopic of the hollywood star, starring ray danton george raft incarnated the image of the gangster. George raft was born and grew up in a poor family in hells kitchen, at the time one of the roughest, meanest areas of new york city. Bolero is a 1934 american precode musical drama film directed by wesley ruggles and starring george raft and carole lombard. George raft movies can be ranked 6 ways in this table the really cool thing about this table is that it is usersortable. Ray danton plays the title role in director joseph m. Nov 05, 2014 raft had a nice part in marilyn monroes some like it hot, with a stellar cast including marilyn monroe, jack lemmon and tony curtis. Sort george raft movies by yearly domestic box office rank. Were sorry but jwapp doesnt work properly without javascript enabled. Buy or rent the george raft story movie now family video. Buy or rent the george raft story movie now family video javascript seems to be disabled in your browser. George raft 26 september 18951 24 november 1980 was an american film actor most closely identified with his portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. Jayne mansfield biography childhood, life achievements. The george raft story 1961 kaleidescape movie store.
Then he goes to hollywood where he eventually finds fame in the film scarface and gets typecast as a gangster. Raft refused to appear in the story of temple drake 1933 with miriam. The george raft story dvd, 2009 for sale online ebay. Read about the the george raft story dvd and browse other dvd movies. The george raft story movie trailer video dailymotion.
Sort george raft movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie. George raft had perhaps the worst judgement of any film star in hollywood. In the mid 60s he was denied entry into england where he managed a highclass gambling club due to his underworld associations. Siegel actually lived at raft s home in hollywood for a time while trying to make inroads for organized crime within the movie colony. George raft celebrity profile check out the latest george raft photo gallery.
International products have separate terms and are sold from abroad and may differ from local products including fit. Read the the george raft story movie synopsis, view the movie trailer, get cast and crew information, see movie photos, and more on. Watch the george raft story movie trailers, exclusive videos, interviews from the cast, movie clips and more at. Ray danton played raft in the george raft story 1961, which costarred jayne mansfield.
A dancer who found success during prohibition moves to hollywood where he rockets to fame as a silver screen gangster. George raft biography, movie highlights and photos. George raft was an american film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. Sort george raft movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost. Well, what makes george unique is that for all the actors whove played gangsters, george was the one actor who played gangsters and also had someone else play george playing gangsters. The picture was retitled spin of a coin for release in the united kingdom, a reference to raft s characters nickelflipping trick in scarface 1932, the film that launched raft s career as an actor known for portraying gangsters. The cast also includes jayne mansfield, barrie chase, julie london, neville brand and frank gorshin. The george raft story 1961 stream and watch online. Get it today with same day delivery, order pickup or drive up. George and carole lombard one of many actresses he was intimate with. The george raft story 1961 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
The george raft story movie trailer and videos tv guide. Watch online or on your favorite connected device with the vudu app. Famed for tossing a coin in the howard hawks classic scarface 1932, george raft also claimed to have met the real al capone. The george raft story starred ray danton and featured frank gorshin, jayne mansfield and julie london 1961. Another person who shares my view is stone wallace, film historian and author of george raft. May 06, 2016 ann dvoraks precode dance in front of raft was a highlight in howard hawks scarface. The george raft story is a film directed by joseph m. Raft was born george ranft 1902 according to census, in washington heights 163rd st. This actionfilled drama tells the story of this incredible man from his humble beginnings as an exhibition dancer to his meeting with al capone. George raft biography, movie highlights and photos allmovie. The amounts of lengthy digressions become so tiresome that i lost interest in the movie entirely and never fully gained it back.
Actor and dancer george raft gave an interview to dean jennings that was published serially in sep under the title out of my past. Jayne mansfield in the george raft story 1961 by sam pena. This wellresearched and informative reference book spares no efforts in describing and evaluating all of rafts surviving films from 1929 to 1980. Sort george raft movies how they were received by critics and audiences. Her first big break on stage was will success spoil rock hunter. Coming attractions for you 2020s most anticipated movies. Then he goes to hollywood where he eventually finds fame in the film scarface and gets typecast as a. Was a close friend of notorious gangster benjamin bugsy siegel since their childhood in new york. The subtitle shame of the nation and a tagged on morality ending is evidence that, on its release, hawks fictionalisation of the al capone story hit a chord with the campaigners who thought the burst of gangster movies coming out of hollywood were too violent for their own good. The late entry the george raft story 1961 turns the formula inside out with the biopic of an actordancer who played gangsters in the movies and mixed with them in real life as well.
Film star george raft, playing at one of the baccarat tables in the colony club in berkeley square, of which he is a director. Mar 29, 2016 george raft was an american film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s was born on september 26, 1901. The george raft story 1961 have i mentioned that the 1960s was not the time to have a biopic about you made. Dec, 2011 now thats the george raft we know and love. Marin, george raft, june havoc, helena carter, adventure, crime, drama, filmnoir september 25, 2017 adventure, crime, drama, filmnoir dishonorably discharged from the army air corps, brad dunham george raft disconsolately decides to try his luck with shanghais postwar black market. George raft movies ranked in chronological order with ultimate movie rankings score 1 to. Newmans 1961 film biography of the nightclub dancerturnedmovie star. Cast in credits order complete, awaiting verification. Stone wallace on george raft part 2 this is part two of an interview i completed with george raft biographer, stone wallace. Who can forget 1961s allied artists production of the george raft story, costarring ray danton as raft. Who can forget 1961s allied artists production of the george raft story, costarring ray danton as raft and one jayne mansfield as his lover of the time, lisa lang.
Ray danton, who bears no resemblance to raft, wisely foregoes any attempt at duplication and seeks to create his own interpretation of the wellknown actor. It will satisfy the ardent film buff as well as the general viewer who is curious to know more about rafts film career. Later, she made several stage appearances and performed in nightclubs. The film was based on the debut novel by 23 year old maritta wolff who wrote it in her senior year at the university of michigan. The george raft story bbc two england 5 august 1994. A serious automobile accident in long island in july 1957 damaged her spleen, and another serious automobile accident in southern california in. The george raft story movie trailer by horrormovieshows. He was born george ranft, and was the son of eva glockner and conrad ranft, a department store deliveryman. Tbt how george raft made humphrey bogart a star almost holmes. Bolero a big hit for paramount in early 1934, including a scene where. Trivia point raft is one of the few hollywood actors to have a movie based on his life filmed while he was still alive. Jan 10, 2012 you can see raft dance in the 1932 cagney film taxi. With ray danton, jayne mansfield, julie london, barrie chase.
Newman, with ray danton, jayne mansfield, julie london, at turner classic movies. Lombard reportedly told close friends that raft was, in the bedroom sense, the best lover she ever had made two dance films together. George raft simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. George raft american film actor story of fame and journey. September 26, 1901 november 24, 1980 was an american film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. He graciously gave me an interview on everything george raft his films, career and all the juicy facts about his much publicized personal life. In real life, too, he lived on the fringes between the real dangers of the underworld and the glitter of show business. In fact, he fit the type so well that his rather shady background became the object of endless speculation, and both the public and the studio refused to accept him in any but the.
Released 1961, the george raft story stars ray danton, jayne mansfield, julie london, barrie chase the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 46 min, and received a score of out of 100 on. Newman with ray danton, jayne mansfield, julie london, barrie chase, year. The george raft story is a 1961 american biographical film of hollywood film star george raft. Dvorak, a dancer who had appeared as a chorus girl in a few films, attended a hollywood party at howard hawks home.
George raft was instrumental in the development of the character of the hardboiled gangster, a character that became a standard of the american cinema for decades. Jayne mansfield was a popular american actress who acted in films, theatre, and television. Overview of the george raft story, 1961, directed by joseph m. He lives with actress lisa lang jayne mansfield in a.
Jan 24, 2017 george raft was an american film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. Dancer george raft ray danton finds himself involved with the criminal underworld. May 26, 20 after the first twenty minutes, the george raft story turns into everything but george rafts story. The george raft story 1961 cast and crew credits, including actors. George raft celebrity profile check out the latest george raft photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. The george raft story sheila patton 1961 rawhide anne 1 episode 1959. George raft was an american film actor and dancer identified with portrayals. The paramount production was a rare chance for raft to star and to play a dancer, which had been his profession in new york city, rather than portraying a gangster. Starring ray danton, jayne mansfield, julie london, and barrie chase. It is enormously readable and comes highly recommended. For starters, george gets involved with the mob and goes to meet a throwaway ladylove played by julie london. Raft has two stars on the hollywood walk of fame for contributions to motion pictures, at 6150 hollywood boulevard, and for television at 1500 vine st.
This is an interesting biography of the actor known for his gangster roles in films, and though ray danton plays the part of george raft without. Plus, watch over 4,500 free movies on vudu movies on us. The george raft story 1961 journeys in classic film. George raft september 26, 1895 november 24, 1980 was an american film actor and dancer who famously portrayed gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s.
Another story, though, is that once george completed his business, he was playing bridge when an. Feb 01, 2017 dancer george raft finds himself involved with the criminal underworld. Raft himself, however, excoriated the film upon its release due to inaccuracies. This actionfilled drama tells the story of this incredible man from his humble. Most of his film appearances after 1960 were cameos. Not many actors in hollywoods history have lived as notorious a life as george raft the subject of scarface. Ray danton and jayne mansfield in the george raft story 1961 ray danton in. Without getting into any indepth plumbing of the actors life, the story begins with the young raft making his way in new york as a dancer and rubbing shoulders with underworld figures. In doing this series, theres been several actors throughout the fifties and sixties who have given away the rights to their life story, for various reasons, while theyre still alive.
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