The Fat Man (film)
Encyclopedia
The Fat Man is a 1951 American film directed by William Castle
. It is based in a radio drama of the same name
.
William Castle
William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Castle was known for directing films with many gimmicks which were ambitiously promoted, despite being reasonably low budget B-movies....
. It is based in a radio drama of the same name
The Fat Man (radio)
The Fat Man, a popular radio show during the 1940s and early 1950s was a detective drama based on characters by Dashiell Hammett. It starred J...
.
Plot
Portly amateur detective Runyan is hired by dental nurse Adams to investigate the unexplained murder of her boss. Suspicion falls on disappeared patient Clark, who had been helped by probable gangster Gordon. Runyan finds Boyd, Clark’s former lover and briefly his wife, who reveals that Clark had done time in jail. The police tell Runyan it was for robbery of half a million unrecovered dollars. In jail, Clark had a cellmate Deets, with whom he shared everything. On release, Deets had claimed Clark’s share of the loot from Gordon and had promised to eliminate Clark, whose corpse he left in a burnt-out truck. When he realised Clark had been having dental treatment, so his teeth could be identified, he killed first the unfortunate dentist and then the nurse as well. Runyan tracks him down and in a final shoot-out he meets his end.Cast
- J. Scott SmartJ. Scott SmartJ. Scott Smart, also known as Jack Smart , was an American radio, film and stage actor during the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s....
as Brad Runyan - Julie LondonJulie LondonJulie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
as Pat Boyd - Rock HudsonRock HudsonRoy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
as Roy Clark - Clinton SundbergClinton SundbergClinton Sundberg was a stage and film character actor.Sundberg was born in Appleton, Minnesota on December 7, with sources differing on his year of birth...
as Bill Norton - Jayne MeadowsJayne Meadows-Early life:Jayne Meadows was born as Jayne Cotter in Wu-ch'ang, in Heilongjiang, China, to Episcopal missionary parents, the Rev. Francis James Meadows Cotter and his wife, the former Ida Miller Taylor, who had married in 1915. Meadows is the older sister of the late actress Audrey Meadows. She...
as Nurse Jane Adams - John RussellJohn Russell (actor)John Lawrence Russell was an American actor, and World War II veteran, most noted for playing Marshal Dan Troop in the successful ABC western television series Lawman from 1958 to 1962....
as Gene Gordon - Jerome CowanJerome CowanJerome Palmer Cowan was an American film and television actor. At eighteen he joined a travelling stock company, shortly afterwards enlisting in the navy in World War I. After the war he returned to the stage and became a vaudeville headliner, then gained success on the New York stage...
as Det. Lt. Stark - Emmett KellyEmmett KellyEmmett Leo Kelly , a native of Sedan, Kansas, was an American circus performer, who created the memorable clown figure "Weary Willie", based on the hobos of the Depression era.- Career development :...
as Ed Deets - Lucille Barkley as Lola Gordon
- Robert Osterloh as "Fletch" Fletcher
- Harry Lewis as Happy Stevens
- Teddy HartTeddy HartTeddy Annis , is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Teddy Hart. He is currently working on the American independent circuit for promotions such as Jersey All Pro Wrestling and Dragon Gate USA...
as Shifty