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59-425: Mansfield plays three different characters and over time many have considered this film to contain one of Mansfield's finest performances as she demonstrates her dramatic acting abilities, something she had longed to do throughout her career. The film also features an introduction by Walter Winchell who was a close friend of Mansfield's. Pop, the janitor of a downtown New York City apartment building. While changing

118-410: A spiritualist group. Part of the bequest is a jewelled necklace. To steal the jewels, Nat Harbin forms a gang that includes two men, Baylock and Dohmer, and Gladden, the daughter of his mentor. Gladden cases the estate, posing as a devotee of the spiritual group's work and eventually discovers where to find Sister Sara's safe. During the robbery, Harbin parks near the mansion. Two officers approach

177-441: A vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and columnist for New York tabloids . He rose to national celebrity in the 1930s with Hearst newspaper chain syndication and a popular radio program. He was known for an innovative style of gossipy staccato news briefs, jokes , and Jazz Age slang. Biographer Neal Gabler claimed that his popularity and influence "turned journalism into

236-422: A career, but when Winchell disparaged Paar in print, Paar fought back and mocked Winchell repeatedly on the air. Paar's criticisms effectively ended Winchell's career. The tables had turned, now TV had the power." The Burglar (1957 film) The Burglar is a 1957 American crime thriller film noir released by Columbia Pictures , based on the 1953 novel of the same name by David Goodis (who also wrote

295-417: A deserted shack. Knowing that the man he heard with Della has been pretending to be Gladden's boyfriend, Harbin calls her hotel room and tells her to send the boyfriend away so that he can see her. When the man comes downstairs to the lobby, Harbin realizes that he is Charlie, one of the officers who questioned him on the night of the burglary. In Gladden's room, Harbin hides the necklace under her pillow after

354-636: A dispute with ABC executives in 1955. He starred in The Walter Winchell File , a television crime drama series that initially aired from 1957 to 1958, dramatizing cases from the New York City Police Department that were covered in the New York Daily Mirror . In 1956, he signed with NBC to host a variety program called The Walter Winchell Show , which was canceled after only 13 weeks—a particularly bitter failure in view of

413-472: A few years later, and he moved in with Elizabeth June Magee, who had already adopted daughter Gloria and given birth to her and Winchell's first child Walda in 1927. Winchell eventually divorced Greene in 1928, but he never married Magee, although they lived together for the rest of their lives. Winchell and Magee had three children. Daughter Gloria died of pneumonia at the age of nine and Walda spent time in psychiatric hospitals . Walter Jr. died by suicide in

472-533: A form of entertainment". He uncovered both hard news and embarrassing stories about famous people by exploiting his exceptionally wide circle of contacts, first in the entertainment world and the Prohibition era underworld, then in law enforcement and politics. He was known for trading gossip, sometimes in return for his silence. His outspoken style made him both feared and admired. Novels and movies were based on his wisecracking gossip columnist persona, as early as

531-438: A gun and points it at Eileen, to which she tells him to go ahead and shoot. Billy, not being able to shoot her, leaves the room and ultimately kills himself. Eileen, at first in a state of shock, sits down at her mirror and begins re-applying her makeup. The feature was Jayne Mansfield's final "filmed" starring role. The feature was shot in 1966, while Mansfield was married to her third (and final) husband, Matt Cimber . The movie

590-600: A gun on Harbin. Harbin, though, walks out, hoping that Della will not be able to shoot him, which she does not. Harbin calls Gladden at her room before Charlie can arrive. The two meet at Atlantic City's Steel Pier and retreat to an attraction to hide from Charlie, who finds them when Gladden drops the music box and it plays its tune. As the three sit together at a show, Harbin offers the necklace in return for Gladden's life. As Gladden leaves, Charlie shoots Harbin. The police arrive, having been alerted, and congratulate Charlie on stopping Harbin. Charlie claims that Harbin had thrown

649-683: A major reason as well as the delicate health of his companion, June Magee. Exactly one year after his retirement, Magee died at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona , while undergoing treatment for a heart condition. Winchell spent his final two years as a recluse at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Winchell died at the age of 74, in Los Angeles. He is buried at Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery in Phoenix. Larry King , who replaced Winchell at

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708-406: A prostitute at a nearby club. One night, she arrives to her apartment to find her lover Billy waiting for her. Billy is a sailor and is in love with Eileen, although she does not reciprocate this feeling. While she removes her makeup and undresses, Billy professes his desire to marry her, stating that he does not care about her past. She interjects by informing him of the many men she has been with and

767-402: A secret". Herman Klurfeld, a ghostwriter for Winchell for almost three decades, began writing four newspaper columns per week for Winchell in 1936 and worked for him for 29 years. He also wrote many of the signature one-liners, called "lasties", that Mr. Winchell used at the end of his Sunday evening radio broadcasts. One of Klurfeld's quips was "She's been on more laps than a napkin". In 1952,

826-435: A shift in power from print to television. Winchell had angered Paar several years earlier when he refused to retract an item alleging that Paar was having marital difficulties. Biographer Neal Gabler described the exchange on Paar's show in 1961: Hostess Elsa Maxwell appeared on the program and began gibing at Walter, accusing him of hypocrisy for waving the flag while never having voted [which, incidentally, wasn't true;

885-452: A similar vein, "new Garbo , trouser-crease-eraser", and "pash". Some Winchellisms for marriage are: "middle-aisle it", "altar it", "handcuffed", " Mendelssohn March ", " Lohengrin it", and "merged". "Paar's feud with newspaper columnist Walter Winchell marked a major turning point in American media power. No one had ever dared criticize Winchell because a few lines in his column could destroy

944-558: A son of a bitch." By the mid-1950s, he was widely seen as arrogant, cruel, and ruthless. While on an American tour in 1951, Josephine Baker , who would never perform before segregated audiences, criticized the Stork Club 's unwritten policy of discouraging black patrons, then scolded Winchell, an old ally, for not rising to her defense. Winchell responded swiftly with a series of harsh public rebukes, including accusations of Communist sympathies. He spurned any attempts by friends to mitigate

1003-535: A tap dancer. Winchell served in the U.S. Navy during World War I , reaching the rank of lieutenant commander . Winchell began his career in journalism by posting notes about his acting troupe on backstage bulletin boards. He joined the Vaudeville News in 1920, then left the paper for the Evening Graphic in 1924, where his column was named Mainly About Mainstreeters . He was hired on June 10, 1929, by

1062-546: A tenant in the building. While discussing Mae, Pop mentions another couple who live in the building, Flo and Charley. Charley was friends with Mae, who visited him one morning to announce that she was pregnant. Mae planned on putting the baby up for adoption once it was born. Charley, feeling sorry for Mae, asked her to marry him. Days later, Flo met Charley in a bar. Eventually, Charley realized that he loved Flo and that he could not marry Mae just because he felt sorry for her. He then asked Flo to marry him. As Pop finishes narrating

1121-551: Is about a ruthless journalist, J.J. Hunsecker, and is generally thought to be a thinly veiled commentary on the power wielded by Winchell at the height of his influence. It was made into the film Sweet Smell of Success (1957), with the screenplay written by Lehman and Clifford Odets . Walter Winchell is credited for coining the word " frienemy " in an article published by the Nevada State Journal on 19 May 1953. Winchell's colorful and widely imitated language inspired

1180-525: Is considered by Jayne Mansfield fans as one of her finest acting performances; some of her other dramatic performances were in Illegal , The Burglar , The Wayward Bus , all three Hollywood productions; and, two independent foreign films: Too Hot to Handle and The Challenge . Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally

1239-410: Is in danger, Harbin drives toward Atlantic City with Blaylock and Dohmer, but a toll booth operator recognizes him from the sketch and calls the authorities. The gang's car is later stopped by an officer for a routine traffic violation. Panicking, Dohmer shoots the policeman, who fires back and kills him. Harbin and Blaylock abandon the car with Dohmer's body near Atlantic City, where they take refuge in

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1298-516: The Miami Herald , recalled: He was so sad. You know what Winchell was doing at the end? Typing out mimeographed sheets with his column, handing them out on the corner. That's how sad he got. When he died, only one person came to his funeral: his daughter. Several of Winchell's former co-workers had expressed a willingness to go but were turned back by his daughter Walda. Even during Winchell's lifetime, journalists were critical of his effect on

1357-530: The New York Daily Mirror , where he became the author of the first syndicated gossip column, entitled On-Broadway . The column was syndicated by King Features Syndicate . He made his radio debut over WABC in New York, a CBS affiliate, on May 12, 1930. The show, titled Saks on Broadway , was a 15-minute feature that provided business news about Broadway. He switched to WJZ (later renamed WABC ) and

1416-609: The New York Evening Graphic , and Louella Parsons in Los Angeles. He wrote in a style filled with slang and incomplete sentences. Winchell's casual writing style famously earned him the ire of mobster Dutch Schultz , who confronted him at New York's Cotton Club and publicly lambasted him for using the phrase "pushover" to describe Schultz's penchant for blonde women. Winchell's best known aphorisms include: "Nothing recedes like success" and "I usually get my stuff from people who promised somebody else that they would keep it

1475-531: The New York Post revealed Mr. Klurfeld as Mr. Winchell's ghostwriter. Klurfeld later wrote a biography of Winchell entitled Winchell, His Life and Times , which was the basis for the television film Winchell (1998). Winchell opened his radio broadcasts by pressing randomly on a telegraph key , a sound that created a sense of urgency and importance, and using the catchphrase "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America from border to border and coast to coast and all

1534-702: The German-American Bund , especially its leader Fritz Julius Kuhn . He was a staunch supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal throughout the Depression era , and frequently served as the Roosevelt Administration's mouthpiece in favor of interventionism as the European war crisis loomed in the late 1930s. Early on, he denounced American isolationists as favoring appeasement of Hitler, and

1593-460: The Lindbergh kidnapping and subsequent trial received national attention. Within two years, he befriended J. Edgar Hoover . He was responsible for turning Louis "Lepke" Buchalter of Murder, Inc. over to Hoover. His newspaper column was syndicated in a wide array of newspapers worldwide, and he was read by millions, every day from the 1920s until the early 1960s. His Sunday night radio broadcast

1652-531: The NBC Blue (later ABC Radio ) in 1932 for the Jergens Journal . By the 1930s, Winchell was "an intimate friend of Owney Madden , New York's no. 1 gang leader of the prohibition era," but in 1932 Winchell's intimacy with criminals caused him to fear he would be murdered. He fled to California and "returned weeks later with a new enthusiasm for law, G-men , Uncle Sam , [and] Old Glory ". His coverage of

1711-501: The National Maritime Union , the labor organization for the civilian United States Merchant Marine , which he said was run by Communists, instancing West Coast labor leader Harry Bridges . In 1948 and 1949, he and influential columnist Drew Pearson attacked Secretary of Defense James Forrestal in columns and radio broadcasts. Subsequently, Winchell began to denounce Communism as the main threat facing America. During

1770-430: The 1950s, Winchell supported Senator Joseph McCarthy 's quest to identify Communists in the entertainment industry. His weekly radio broadcast was broadcast on ABC television on the same day. His program debuted on TV on October 5, 1952. Sponsored by Gruen Watch Company, it originated from WJZ-TV from 6:45 to 7 p.m. ET. By 1953, his radio and television broadcasts were simulcast until he ended that association because of

1829-626: The Damon Runyon Cancer Memorial Fund, since renamed the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation . He led the charity with the support of celebrities, including Marlene Dietrich , Bob Hope , Milton Berle , Marilyn Monroe , and Joe DiMaggio , until his death from cancer in 1972. In 1950, Ernest Lehman , a former publicity writer for Irving Hoffman of The Hollywood Reporter , wrote a story for Cosmopolitan titled "Tell Me About It Tomorrow". The piece

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1888-453: The building's kitchen to talk. Maria admits her admiration for Eileen's beauty and supposedly exciting lifestyle. Pop then begins to tell Maria the story of Johnnie, a young woman who used to live in the building with her husband Frankie about ten years earlier. Frankie was unhappy with his life, leaving Johnnie, who was pregnant with their baby, to feel isolated. One day, Frankie mentioned an old friend whom he had recently seen. This old friend

1947-567: The family garage on Christmas night of 1968. Having spent the previous two years on welfare, Walter Jr. had last been employed as a dishwasher in Santa Ana, California ; for a time, he wrote a column in the Los Angeles Free Press , an underground newspaper published from 1964 to 1978. In the 1960s, Winchell wrote some columns for the film magazine Photoplay . He announced his retirement on February 5, 1969, citing his son's suicide as

2006-426: The heated rhetoric. The ensuing publicity resulted in the termination of Baker's work visa, forcing her to cancel all her engagements and return to France. It was almost a decade before U.S. officials allowed her back into the country. The adverse publicity of this, and similar incidents, undercut his credibility and power. In his radio and television broadcasts on April 4, 1954, Winchell helped to stoke public fear of

2065-417: The lights in the hall, he overhears an argument coming from an apartment. The argument is between a young woman named Maria and her Italian mother, who is concerned that her daughter is bringing shame to the family name by associating with Eileen, a tenant in the building who works as a prostitute. After storming out of the apartment, Maria encounters Pop, who begins to calm her down. The two eventually go into

2124-551: The media. In 1940, St. Clair McKelway , who had earlier written a series of articles about him in The New Yorker , wrote in Time : the effect of Winchellism on the standards of the press... When Winchell began gossiping in 1924 for the late scatological tabloid Evening Graphic , no U.S. paper hawked rumors about the marital relations of public figures until they turned up in divorce courts. For 16 years, gossip columns spread until even

2183-499: The necklace and get their share of the money. However, Harbin says that they have to wait until news of the robbery die down to increase the return they might get from a fence . One of the officers that talked to Harbin later makes an artist create a sketch of the suspected robber. At the gang's hideaway, Harbin tells Blaylock about his and Gladden's past. After an altercation with Dohmer, who lusts after Gladden, Harbin sends her off to Atlantic City to wait for him. When Gladden takes

2242-435: The play and film Blessed Event in 1932. As World War II approached in the 1930s, he attacked the appeasers of Nazism , then in the 1950s he aligned with Joseph McCarthy in his campaign against communists . He damaged the reputation of Josephine Baker as well as other individuals who had earned his enmity. He returned to television in 1959 as the narrator of the 1930s-set crime drama series The Untouchables . Over

2301-480: The point that he could not effectively respond. The New York Daily Mirror , his flagship newspaper for 34 years, closed in 1963; his readership dropped steadily, and he faded from the public eye. Winchell became known for his attempts to destroy the careers of his political and personal enemies as his own career progressed, especially after World War II. Favorite tactics were allegations of having ties to Communist organizations and accusations of sexual impropriety. He

2360-623: The polio vaccine, immediately responded that the vaccine, which had been recently tested on 7,500 school children at the University of Pittsburgh, had been triple tested for the absence of live virus by its manufacturers, the National Institutes of Health, and in his own research lab, and that similar testing would continue to screen out future batches containing live virus. Many other columnists began to write gossip soon after Winchell's initial success, such as Ed Sullivan , who succeeded him at

2419-572: The polio vaccine. Winchell said, "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America ... and all the ships at sea. Attention everyone. In a few moments I will report on a new polio vaccine claimed to be a polio cure. It may be a killer." Winchell claimed that the U.S. Public Health Services found live polio viruses in seven of ten vaccine batches it tested, reporting, "It killed several monkeys ... the United States Public Health Service will confirm this in about 10 days." Dr. Jonas Salk , developer of

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2478-465: The script). The picture stars Dan Duryea in the title role and Jayne Mansfield . The movie was the first feature film directed by Paul Wendkos . John Facenda , a well-known Philadelphia sportscaster , is featured as a news anchor in one scene. Much of the film was shot on location in Philadelphia and Atlantic City . A wealthy Philadelphia man's property is left to "Sister Sara", the leader of

2537-545: The ships at sea. Let's go to press." He would then read each of his stories with a staccato delivery (up to a rate of 197 words per minute, though he claimed a speed of well over 200 words per minute in an interview in 1967), noticeably faster than the typical pace of American speech. His diction can also be heard in his breathless narration of the television series The Untouchables (1959–1963), as well as in several Hollywood films. On August 11, 1919, Winchell married Rita Greene, one of his onstage partners. The couple separated

2596-506: The show later issued a retraction]. Paar joined in. He said Walter's column was "written by a fly" and that his voice was so high because he wears "too-tight underwear" … [H]e also told the story of the mistaken item about his marriage, and cracked that Walter had a "hole in his soul". On subsequent programs, Paar called Winchell a "silly old man" and cited other examples of his underhanded tactics. No one had previously dared to criticize Winchell publicly, but by then his influence had eroded to

2655-473: The staid New York Times whispered that it heard from friends of a son of the President that he was going to be divorced. In its first year, The Graphic would have considered this news not fit to print... Gossip-writing is at present like a spirochete in the body of journalism... Newspapers... have never been held in less esteem by their readers or exercised less influence on the political and ethical thought of

2714-414: The story to Maria, Flo comes into the kitchen; she is pregnant with Charley's baby. Flo explains that while she and Charley got married, Mae had her baby and put it up for adoption. Flo also elucidates that Mae, like she had done before, changed her name, this time to Eileen. Maria then realizes that her friend Eileen is the subject of the stories she has been told. Flo tells Maria about Eileen, who works as

2773-405: The success of his longtime rival Ed Sullivan in a similar format with The Ed Sullivan Show . ABC re-hired him in 1959 to narrate The Untouchables for four seasons. In 1960, a revival of the 1955 television simulcast of Winchell's radio broadcast was cancelled after six weeks. In the early 1960s, a public dispute with Jack Paar effectively ended Winchell's career—already in decline due to

2832-468: The term "Winchellism." An etymologist of his day said, "Winchell has achieved the position of dictator of contemporary slang." His use of slang, innuendo and invented euphemisms also protected him from libel accusations. Winchell invented his own phrases that were viewed as slightly racy at the time. Some of the expressions for falling in love used by Winchell were: "pashing it", "sizzle for", "that way", "go for each other", "garbo-ing it", "uh-huh"; and in

2891-439: The thieves' car while Harbin's two cohorts hide nearby. Harbin tells the policemen that he has had car trouble and is waiting until morning when he can get help. The policemen leave. Harbin then enters through the mansion's window, opens the safe and takes the necklace. The thieves change their car's license plates and make their getaway. They are followed, however, by another car. At their hideout, Blaylock and Dohmer want to fence

2950-492: The things she has done with them, before then reflecting of a time when she was in love with a man whom she planned to marry. However, he was killed in an accident before their wedding. Billy still expresses his wish to marry her and while doing so, accidentally breaks a porcelain doll given to her by the man she once loved. Eileen becomes hostile towards Billy, and begins mocking him, saying that she would never marry him and that she would never love him. Billy incidentally brandishes

3009-450: The times. Winchell responded to McKelway saying, "Oh stop! You talk like a high-school student of journalism." Despite the controversy surrounding Winchell, his popularity allowed him to leverage support for causes that he valued. In 1946, following the death from cancer of his close friend and fellow writer Damon Runyon , Winchell appealed to his radio audience for contributions to fight the disease. The response led Winchell to establish

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3068-429: The train to Atlantic City, she is followed by a man. The man eventually approaches her, and the two strike up a relationship. In Philadelphia, Harbin meets Della, a woman who invites him to her apartment. Having fallen asleep, Harbin awakens to find her gone. Stepping outside, he sees her with the same man who has been getting close to Gladden, and hears the two conspiring about getting the necklace. Realizing that Gladden

3127-513: The two quarrel. When Harbin returns to the shack, Gladden finds the jewels and hides them in her musical jewel box. Charlie, meanwhile, calls Della and tells her to come to Atlantic City. At the shack, Charlie kills Blaylock. He then offers to spare Harbin and even give him a cut of the money he will get if Harbin surrenders the necklace. Once Della arrives, Harbin reveals that he hid the jewels in Gladden's room, and Charlie heads out, leaving Della to hold

3186-597: The years he appeared in more than two dozen films and television productions as an actor, sometimes playing himself. Winchell was born in New York City , the son of Jennie (Bakst) and Jacob Winchell, a cantor and salesman; they were Russian Jewish immigrants. He left school in the sixth grade and started performing in Gus Edwards 's vaudeville troupe known as the "Newsboys Sextet", which also featured Eddie Cantor and George Jessel . During this time, Winchell performed as

3245-528: Was briefly released in the mid months of 1966, but was quickly pulled from theaters. The feature was released "legally" and "officially" in 1968; which was nearly a year after Mansfield's death in a car crash at the age of 34. After filming Single Room Furnished in 1966, Mansfield filmed only character acting roles in films. Her legally final film appearance was in 1967's A Guide for the Married Man playing an uncredited cameo role. Today Single Room Furnished

3304-513: Was explicit in his attacks on such prominent isolationists as Charles Lindbergh , whom he dubbed "The Lone Ostrich", and Gerald L.K. Smith , whom he denounced as "Gerald Lucifer KKKodfish Smith". Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Winchell was also an outspoken supporter of civil rights for African Americans, and frequently attacked the Ku Klux Klan and other racist groups as supporting un-American, pro-German goals. During World War II, he attacked

3363-599: Was heard by another 20 million people from 1930 to the late 1950s. In 1948, Winchell had the top-rated radio show when he surpassed Fred Allen and Jack Benny . One indicator of his popularity was being mentioned in Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart 's 1937 song " The Lady Is a Tramp ": "I follow Winchell and read every line." Winchell was Jewish and was one of the first commentators in America to attack Adolf Hitler and American pro- fascist and pro-Nazi organizations such as

3422-570: Was in the Navy, and was traveling all over the world. Frankie was fascinated with Navy life and the prospects it could bring to him. Johnnie realized that Frankie desired to leave her for a better life and tried to change the subject. Weeks later, Johnnie woke one morning to find that Frankie had left her and their unborn baby. Maria asks what happened to the baby and Pop says that Johnnie had a miscarriage. He also adds that Johnnie eventually changed her name to Mae and moved on with her life. However, she remained

3481-662: Was not above name-calling; for example, he described New York radio host Barry Gray as "Borey Pink" and a "disk jerk". Winchell heard that Marlen Edwin Pew of the trade journal Editor & Publisher had criticized him as a bad influence on calling him "Marlen Pee-you". For most of his career, his contracts with newspaper and radio employers required them to hold him harmless from any damages resulting from lawsuits for slander or libel . He unapologetically would publish material told to him in confidence by friends; when confronted over such betrayals, he typically responded, "I know—I'm just

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