The Garment Jungle (1957)

A returning Korean War veteran (Kerwin Mathews) comes home to New York to join his father's (Lee J. Cobb) garment business. He is shocked to find his father is paying protection money to a mobster (Richard Boone) to keep the unions out of his company. The mobster is not above murder to keep the unions out. Based on the non fiction magazine story GANGSTERS IN THE DRESS BUSINESS (what a movie title that would have made) by Lester Velie and directed by Vincent Sherman (MR. SKEFFINGTON), who took over directing the movie after Robert Aldrich was fired. Aldrich clashed with studio head Harry Cohn over the tone of the film. Aldrich wanted a gritty filmed on the streets of New York look to the film whereas Cohn wanted it filmed on the Columbia soundstages which gave it a slicker look. The behind the scenes drama might have made a better picture than we got here. The end result is is a decent enough noir-ish crime film but it never rises above its B movie status. The characters don't behave logically but rather behave in a manner suited to the contrivances of the screenplay. Normally, Kerwin Mathews isn't the most interesting of actors but his lowkey performance is a breath of fresh air next to the heavy overacting by Cobb and Boone. With Gia Scala, Valerie French, Robert Loggia, Joseph Wiseman, Harold J. Stone, Wesley Addy and Joanna Barnes.