The Joker Is Wild /

The Joker is Wild (1957) is a film starring Frank Sinatra, Jeanne Crain, and Mitzi Gaynor, and Eddie Albert which tells the story of Joe E. Lewis, the popular singer and comedian who was a major attraction in nightclubs during 1920s to early 1950s. Joe E. Lewis (Sinatra), a successful Chicago night-club entertainer is invited to work for the Mob during the Prohibition era. His refusal results in his face being slashed and his throat cut, preventing him from continuing with his current act as a singer. Lewis soon develops an acerbic and witty sense of humor and is given a break as a stand-up comedian from singer Sophie Tucker (playing herself). Soon, Lewis makes a career for himself, but a self-destructive streak leads him to question his way of living and what his life has become. Sinatra read Art Cohn's book The Joker is Wild: The Story of Joe E. Lewis during the mid-'50s, was immediately taken by the story, and bought the rights to the book after Lewis himself turned down a reported $150,000 from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for the film rights to his story. Variety reported in November 1955 that Paramount Pictures would finance what was, for all intents and purposes, an independent