Gordon Douglas and Henry Levin directed Mr. Soft Touch, a noir crime film, starring Glenn Ford and Evelyn Keyes.
Glenn Ford playa Polish American Joe Miracle (Mirakowski), who returns from fighting in WWII, only to find his San Francisco nightclub under the mob’s control, and his friend and partner Leo missing.
To get even, he robs $100,000 from his former business, planning to leave the country. He goes to the apartment of Victor Christopher, Leo’s brother, where he picks up a ticket purchased for him. However, he discovers that they could only book him on a ship sailing for Yokohama on Christmas Eve, the next night. Until then, he has to hide.
When the police come to stop Victor, Joe pretends to be him in order to spend the night in jail. However, Jenny Jones, a kindhearted social worker, gets him into her custody instead.
She takes him to the Borden Street Settlement House. Jenny and Joe begin falling in love, though she turns down his advances, believing he is a wife beater.
Meanwhile, Joe causes trouble, accidentally falling on old piano, breaking it. Feeling responsible, he goes to a nearby piano store, and, pretending to be newly assigned policeman, cons the owner into donating a piano in return for Joe ignoring the illicit activities.
Joe enters the nightclub through secret passageway and takes the money again from the new boss, Barney Teener. He hires some men to dress up as Santa Claus to distribute presents to the children at the settlement house. Joe slips in as another Santa and leaves the money to pay for the rebuilding.
As he slips away, Jenny chases him out, calling his name, and the mobsters shoot him in the back. The film ends with an embrace of Jenny and wounded Joe (in the gutter!), leaving it unclear whether he was fatally shot or not.
A moderate success, Mr. Soft Touch was the last of 6 films that Glenn Ford and Evelyn Keyes made together.
Cast
Glenn Ford as Joe Miracle
Evelyn Keyes as Jenny Jones
John Ireland as Henry “Early” Byrd
Beulah Bondi as Clara Hangale
Percy Kilbride as Rickle
Clara Blandick as Susan Balmuss
Ted de Corsia as Rainey
Stanley Clements as Yonzi
Roman Bohnen as Barney Teener
Lora Lee Michel as Sonya
Harry Shannon as Police Sergeant Garrett
Credits:
Directed by Gordon Douglas and Henry Levin
Screenplay by Orin Jannings; Story by Milton Holmes
Produced by Milton Holmes
Cinematography Charles Lawton Jr.; Joseph Walker
Edited by Richard Fantl
Music by Heinz Roemheld
Production and Distribution: Columbia Pictures
Release date: August 1, 1949
Running time 93 minutes
Box office $1.6 million
