The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960)

TOMATOMETER

71%

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Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

83%

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Movie Info

The notorious Legs Diamond works his way up the underworld latter in a matter of fact, casually told depiction of the 1920s crime boss. Legs (Ray Danton) extorts money from gamblers, bootleggers and speakeasies after taking over for his slain mentor, Arnold Rothstein. He lights a girl's dress on fire in order to win a dance contest and seemingly murders as easily as he breathes.

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Cast

Ray Danton
as Jack "Legs" Diamond
Karen Steele
as Alice Sniffer
Elaine Stewart
as Monica Drake
Jesse White
as Leo Bremer
Simon Oakland
as Lt. Moody
Robert Lowery
as Arnold Rothstein
Judson Pratt
as Fats Walsh
Warren Oates
as Eddie Diamond
Frank de Kova
as Chairman
Gordon Jones
as Sgt. Cassidy
Joseph Ruskin
as Matt Moran
Dyan Cannon
as Dixie
Richard Gardner
as Vince Coll
Sid Melton
as Little Augie
Nesdon Booth
as Fence
Buzz Henry
as Bodyguard
Dyke Johnson
as Bodyguard
Roy Jenson
as Bodyguard
Joseph Marr
as Officer
Jim Drum
as Officer
Dorothy Neumann
as Woman
Frances Mercer
as Woman
Judd Holdren
as Haberdashery Clerk
George Taylor
as Switchboard Operator
Robert Herron
as Thug
Carey Loftin
as Thug
Norman DuPont
as Maitre d' Louis
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Critic Reviews for The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond

All Critics (7) | Top Critics (1)

A strange, cold, sordid movie about a strange, cold, sordid gangster.

Jul 13, 2015 | Full Review…
New Yorker
Top Critic

Director Budd Boetticher and screenwriter Joseph Landon are as fast on their feet as their hoofer-turned-gangster protagonist; the efficiency and momentum of their storytelling should be models of inspiration for today's filmmakers.

Sep 16, 2011 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Strange and often grim gangster film, notable for some off-trail approaches.

Aug 10, 2011 | Full Review…
Classic Film and Television

An unsentimental and inaccurate Warner Brothers action-packed biopic on ruthless twenties gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond.

Mar 2, 2005 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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Audience Reviews for The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond

Overlooked gangster picture with the fierce energy of the early classics. A rags to riches story with the typical hubristic, heartless, no-nonsense character battling to get to the top of the underworld.

Pierluigi Puccini
Pierluigi Puccini

Super Reviewer

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The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond Quotes

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