Monkey on My Back (1957)

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.

Directing:
  • André de Toth

Writing:
  • Crane Wilbur
  • Anthony Veiller
  • Paul Dudley

Stars:
Release Date: 1957-05-29
themoviedb icon 6.4/10
  • Country: US
  • Language: English
  • Runtime: 94

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Paul Richards
Paul Richards
Rico, Drug Pusher (as Paul E. Richards)
Dianne Foster
Dianne Foster
Cathy Holland
Cameron Mitchell
Cameron Mitch...
Barney Ross
Jack Albertson
Jack Albertso...
Sam Pian
Kathy Garver
Kathy Garver
Noreen
Lisa Golm
Lisa Golm
Barney's Mother
Barry Kelley
Barry Kelley
Big Ralph
Scotty Beckett
Scotty Becket...
Corpsman (uncredited)
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