He's a cocky, sneering young punk, the sort who needs some straightening out before someone gets seriously hurt. The trouble is he's already robbed a store, and now he's in jail acting like a swaggering celebrity. Worse, being in lineups gives him a stage to perform on. With that attitude and all the tough cons and hardened cops, something drastic is bound to happen. But what.
As the punk, Rip Torn turns in a bravura performance. He's got a great natural sneer, and the camera knows it. At this early career stage, the cartoonish name led people to think the young actor must be some kind of joke. But as this entry, plus some 50 years of stage and screen prove, he's really a very fine actor. 'Rip' may be just a nickname, but 'Torn' is in fact his real surname.
There's also a fine supporting cast of familiar faces from the day—Teal, Sanders, Picerni, Leeds, but especially Russell Collins. Usually, he plays broken-down old men. Here, however, he's convincing as all-get-out as a savvy old con who knows how to put the punk in his place. Notably, the story is from author Evan Hunter, fresh off his triumph with the similarly delinquent-themed Blackboard Jungle, (1955). Except for Torn's eye-catching performance, however, the episode is basically an average one.
As the punk, Rip Torn turns in a bravura performance. He's got a great natural sneer, and the camera knows it. At this early career stage, the cartoonish name led people to think the young actor must be some kind of joke. But as this entry, plus some 50 years of stage and screen prove, he's really a very fine actor. 'Rip' may be just a nickname, but 'Torn' is in fact his real surname.
There's also a fine supporting cast of familiar faces from the day—Teal, Sanders, Picerni, Leeds, but especially Russell Collins. Usually, he plays broken-down old men. Here, however, he's convincing as all-get-out as a savvy old con who knows how to put the punk in his place. Notably, the story is from author Evan Hunter, fresh off his triumph with the similarly delinquent-themed Blackboard Jungle, (1955). Except for Torn's eye-catching performance, however, the episode is basically an average one.