Mickey Rooney has been so thoroughly pigeonholed into handful of roles that is hard to believe he actually has some range. 1959’s The Big Operator is one of the few films I have seen that allows Rooney to play the bad guy, and he does so with relish.
He plays a corrupt union boss who doesn’t hesitate to order the deaths of anybody who threatens his hold on the organization. And the stakes are getting higher as the Senate starts investigating him.
Also playing against type is Steve Cochran as our hero, a laborer and union member. His best friend is played by Mel Tormé, who I never knew was anything but a singer.
There’s a good rapport between these two friends, it feels natural. I especially like how Tormé shows up at Cochran’s house while breakfast is being eaten. He refuses all offers of food but keeps mooching from Cochran’s plate until he has eaten his friend’s entire breakfast.
Unfortunately, these two nice guys just happen to see Rooney at a time which negates an alibi he has for a murder. Trying to buy their silence, Rooney offers them cushy jobs, which they decline.
The two are also dismayed when they arrive at their workplace and discover there’s a strike going on—a strike they weren’t aware of and which is being conducted by guys they’ve never seen before. At the next union meeting, Rooney announces his strike has secured a raise for everybody. Rooney is upset and confused when some of the men are unhappy with his methods.
This is a surprisingly violent film. Even before the opening credits, there’s a man knocked unconscious and put in the mixing part of a cement mixer. At the strike with the fake strikers, some of the brawling which breaks out looks like it may be real. They even flip a car over and break out the windows. Later, we’ll see somebody set on fire, and Cochran will be tortured.
One of the most interesting aspects of this picture occurs when Cochran is let go after his torture, and he helps the police find where he was held by following the sounds he heard when henchmen drove him back to his house.
The Big Operator is an exciting movie that didn’t bore me for a second of its runtime. And yet, I most appreciated the very human moments in it, such as Tormé’s mooching or a moment where both Cochran and his wife, independently and without the other’s awareness, sneak food up to their son whom they sent to his room without dinner. Recommended.
Dir: Charles F. Haas
Starring Mickey Rooney, Steve Cochran, Mel Tormé
Watched on Olive Films blu-ray