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PAUL MUNI could always be counted on to give an interesting performance, even if sometimes over-the-top (as he was in A SONG TO REMEMBER as Chopin's mentor). But here, in his last gasp as a screen actor, he does himself proud in an Oscar-nominated performance.

He's a Brooklyn doctor, a dedicated one with his own brand of honest values and not above making house calls when the need arises (a character trait that instantly dates the film). The story of how a clever TV man (DAVID WAYNE) tries to manipulate him in order to tell his life story on TV, is told in a very straightforward way with no unusual sub-plots or other distractions so that it ends up as a no frills entertainment and a time capsule of the late '50s-era Brooklyn, as well.

Interesting to note some top featured players had bit roles here. Television's BETSY PALMER has a more substantial part, but BILLY DEE WILLIAMS, CICELY TYSON, LUTHER ADLER, GODFREY McCAMBRIDGE and CLAUDIA McNEIL all make brief appearances.

Muni's performance was up against Charlton Heston's BEN-HUR--otherwise there's a strong possibility he might have won another Best Actor Oscar.

Directed with a sense of style by Daniel Mann and adopted by Gerald Green from his novel--and yet, oddly enough, it has the feel of a teleplay adapted for the screen.

Paul Muni is "The Last Angry Man" in this 1959 film directed by Daniel Mann and also starring Luther Adler, David Wayne, Betsy Palmer and Billy Dee Williams. This has the look and feel of a TV show, and evidently it may have been on Playhouse 90 before being done as a feature film.

The movie is interesting for a few reasons. First of all, it concerns reality television, which is very timely. A producer (David Wayne) takes an interest in an old doctor (Muni) working in a depressed neighborhood and wants to feature him on television. He's a little hard to pin down because he's always running off to take care of one of his patients. Of special concern is a black man (Williams) who has a brain tumor.

The other reason it was interesting to me is that the producer says that 30 million people would see the TV show. He's right - back then, 30 million people could tune in to a television show. A top TV show today can garner 8-10 million viewers.

Paul Muni was an interesting actor - in the 1930s, he basically hid himself in disguises, heavy makeup and costumes in order to create a role; as he proved in films like Scarface and I Was a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, he didn't need to resort to all of that. He was, however, like Luther Adler, a stage actor from another time, and also like Adler, a graduate of the Yiddish theatre, and some of the acting here by the two of them is bigger than what we're used to seeing today, so it comes off as hammy. In one of her classes, Stella Adler said, "You don't know any great actors." That was probably a quote from the 1970s. If we didn't know any great actors in the 1970s, we sure wouldn't know any today if they whacked us over the head. What is great changes; television was one of the big reasons that acting styles changed. Also, many of the characters are overtly Jewish in a way that today may seem stereotypical. It's also fascinating to see a very young Billy Dee Williams in an early role, along with Godfrey Cambridge and Cecily Tyson in smaller parts. Again, some of the depictions here of urban problems come off as overwrought. This is the kind of movie one needs to see in light of the time it was made and not by today's standards to be better appreciated.

This is the story of an elderly Jewish doctor who lives and works in the Brooklyn slums. He is dedicated to his work and his patients. The movie revolves around his nephew's attempts to produce a documentary based on the doctor's life. The movie is ok, but Paul Muni shines. He received an Oscar nomination for this, his last role. Billy Dee Williams makes his movie debut as one of the doctor's patients. He plays a young thug with a brain tumor. He's a difficult patient and the doctor has to chase after him in order to treat him. If you look closely at the girl left on the porch in the opening scene, you'll see that it's Cicely Tyson, also an unknown at that time.

Paul Muni is excellent as a doctor in Brooklyn. I remember doctors like him, from when I was a child. They'd leave their dinners to get cold if a patient needed help. Now they mostly give three minutes of their time at most.

The family is allowed to be clearly Jewish. I wonder, though, what the word galoot is about. Muni keeps using it. I think of it as a sort of comic strip term, like calling a boxer a big galoot. Luther Adler, as his friend, another doctor, using some Yiddish.

David Wayne is thoroughly convincing as the crass TV man who decides doc's story would sell pills for his network's sponsor. Everyone is good, really,.

Though the patient we see Muni treating is black, it is not a forced racial drama. His played by Billy Dee Williams and the fine Claudia McNeil is his mother.

I feel this movie tugging on my sleeve and saying, "Hey! Hey! Look how significant I am!" It isn't a great movie but it does its job well and Muni is superb.

The Last Angry Man marks the farewell big screen appearance of Paul Muni who had been for about a dozen years concentrating on his stage career. Muni goes back to his roots in this one playing an elderly Jewish doctor in a mixed Brooklyn neighborhood of 1959. He upholds a lot of values that the present generation seems to have lost. He's a man content to be a general practitioner and even makes house calls. He lives with wife Nancy Pollock and nephew Joby Baker.

Baker is an aspiring journalist and writes a story about his uncle when he saves a young black woman played by an unknown Cicely Tyson at the time. A local paper picks it up and it comes to the attention of TV producer David Wayne who thinks the doctor might be a good subject for a television documentary.

Wayne gets a lot more than he bargained for, Muni is quite the opinionated crusty old soul and not willing to just go on the air like a Queen for a Day contestant. He likes his life the way it is, doing good work for it's own reward and enough to live on. This puts him in conflict with Baker and with Wayne who are a pair that could have been working models for Budd Schulberg's Sammy Glick. People like that who want a quick buck without the work, Muni calls galoots and they seem to be multiplying in his life.

Daniel Mann directs a finely tuned cast in support of Paul Muni's swan song. This film marks an early appearance of Billy Dee Williams as a brain tumor stricken teenager who his mother, Claudia McNeil brings to Dr. Muni for help. Muni of course takes him to his lifelong friend, a Park Avenue neurosurgeon played by Luther Adler.

Adler has one of his great screen roles also here. He and Muni both went way back over 40 years to the Yiddish Theater on New York's Lower East Side. That helps in both of their performances as lifelong friends and colleagues because they actually were.

Others of note in the cast are Dan Tobin as the sleazy network executive Betsy Palmer as Wayne's supportive wife and Robert F. Simon as the head of the drug company that would sponsor the show.

It's Paul Muni's show and a really grand farewell to one of the finest actors ever.

Remember when doctors made house calls and were totally dedicated to their patients? Paul Muni sure was that and a lot more in "The Last Angry Man."

Working and living in a depressed neighborhood, Muni was the embodiment of what medicine is supposed to be all about. When he took the Hippocratic Oath, he meant it.

Muni as the crusty but beloved doctor turned in a truly memorable performance. He received an Oscar nomination. Too bad it was the same year as Charlton Heston's winning portrayal of Judah Ben-Hur.

They sure don't make doctors like that anymore. A definite requirement for new doctors and HMOs to watch. The film is absolutely terrific as it embodies the ideals of what it means to be a dedicated doctor caught up in a world of physicians in it for the precious dollar. Steadfast in his beliefs, Muni gave a brilliant performance. He would never compromise his ideals and would always say that so and so is my patient. Just before his untimely demise, he sees that even a violent criminal may yet have some good left in him. This film is a definite call for the positive in humanity. David Wayne is tremendous as the television producer. He hadn't had such a good part since playing opposite Susan Hayward in 1952's "With A Song in My Heart." As Dr. Vogel, Luther Adler showed what the medical profession has come to, but yet shows what it means to be a doctor when his beloved friend is stricken.

The Last Angry Man explores the themes of living with integrity and not being corrupted or co-opted by the world's materialism. Paul Muni plays a Jewish doctor living in a Brooklyn neighborhood that has, to use a euphemism, changed. He continues to treat the neighborhood's residents for minimal fees, including a very young Billy Dee Williams, who plays a gang-banger, angry at the world, who Muni believes has a brain tumor.

Muni's nephew is an aspiring journalist who is caught up in glitz and glamor. When Muni saves the life of a young black woman who has been dumped on his doorstep after an assault, his nephew senses an opportunity and writes the story in the newspaper. A television producer picks up on it and sees profiling Muni on his new television program as his ticket to fame.

Muni's character is really too complex to portray completely in this film, but the interplay between the doctor and his patients portrays him as both compassionate and moral. He relates on a spiritual level to the character Billy Dee Williams plays, sensing that both of them are rebelling in their own ways against injustice and abuses of power. Dr. Abelman's last act is to visit Williams in jail rather than proceed with his greatly anticipated television appearance, reinforcing his determination to live a life of integrity and in the words of Thoreau (an author quoted frequently throughout the film), "march to the beat of a different drummer."

Paul Muni came out of retirement from films to make this movie--the first in about a dozen years. According to Robert Osborne (from Turner Classic Movies) this was because Muni was so incredibly difficult to work with that he was virtually blackballed from films. However, you'd never suspect this when you see the film as his performance is flawless. Perhaps it was because Muni might have been playing a part close to heart--a cranky old doctor who was devoted to his patients but also who wasn't afraid to say exactly what was on his mind! The story begins with cranky old Paul having a patient literally dumped on his front steps in the poor part of Brooklyn. You learn that despite working as a doctor for many years, he wasn't concerned with wealth or success as many people would see it. This devotion to duty resulted in a small article in the newspaper and a TV producer (David Wayne) decided an interview show about the doc would be great television. The problem, however, is that cranky old Paul has no interest in fame and getting him to agree to be on TV was a major problem. Just when you think that perhaps he'll finally do the show, other events intercede--leading to a touching but perhaps a bit too melodramatic an ending. I liked the way the film ended but my wife thought it was a bit too much to believe. Regardless, you can't ignore the rest of this lovely film--the acting and writing were exceptional. With minimal stunts and action, the film managed to entertain and make you think.

Overall, a powerful and interesting film that is perhaps marred a tad by a bit too much sentimentality and melodrama--but not so much that you should avoid the movie.

PS--Didn't David Wayne's boss remind you of Larry Tate from "Bewitched"? See the film and you'll understand what I mean.

Paul Muni fans are going to rent The Last Angry Man. It's a fact. After a famous retirement from Hollywood, Paul returned in 1959 to make his last film and earn one last Oscar nomination. Due to Ben-Hur's well-deserved sweep during the 1959 awards season, Paul didn't stand a chance, but it was nice to see him nominated.

Remember all those decades ago when Paul was a young man and would don age makeup and a white wig? In The Last Angry Man, you can either pretend he's doing the same thing he always did, or you can see him without the need for the prosthetics. Whichever view you take, he's still playing someone older than he was at the time. Paul plays a doctor who's been practicing in the same Brooklyn neighborhood for forty-five years. His patients are poor and he treats them without asking payment. When his ambitious nephew, Joby Baker, writes a newspaper article praising the big-hearted doctor, a television station gets wind of the human interest story and tries to exploit it. David Wayne gets involved, as the television producer, and tries to convince Paul to go on television, even when Paul doesn't want to.

An unexpected treat for viewers is a very young Billy Dee Willliams in his first movie! He plays one of Paul's difficult patients, and while it serves the story to show how devoted Paul is to Billy, it would have been more effective if Paul was shown giving the same selfless devotion to multiple patients. It's easy to sympathize with Paul Muni, as always, but the film had the potential to be even sadder and more poignant. You'll definitely want to rent this one, and you'll be rewarded by a solid performance to watch that makes you wish Paul Muni hadn't retired.

Gerald Green's novel about a slum doctor in Brooklyn whose sudden positive notoriety has left him with a bitter aftertaste comes to the screen with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Paul Muni (in his final film, for which he was inexplicably Oscar-nominated) plays the stereotypical 'old humbug' practitioner who helps save a young girl's life one night and is hailed in print a local hero; soon, a documentary team wants to turn their cameras on Muni, who finds himself caught between good intentions and insincere sympathy. Too many targets--and too much heavy-handed chatter--cloud this picture's alleged focus on the elderly doctor who only wants to do right by his young patients. Daniel Mann directed, poorly; his actors seem encouraged to be theatrical, while the hysterical pitch of the piece steadily climbs to a ridiculous level. A handful of scenes work (particularly the moments between Muni and troubled youth Billy Dee Williams), yet the doctor's relationships with his eager-beaver nephew and stalwart wife are wholly artificial. ** from ****

Gerald Green adapted his novel "The Last Angry Man" to the screen and the movie brings the affection for his characters lovingly to life. The role of a strong-minded general practitioner in a poor neighbourhood is a lovely swan song for iconic actor Paul Muni. We view the life of this dedicated doctor through the eyes of a television producer played by David Wayne. A program is planned on the life of this doctor and through putting the show together the harried producer gains a new friend and a new perspective on his hectic lifestyle. The wonderful David Wayne and an exceptional cast of professionals bring this sweetly sentimental yet timely story of ideals amidst the rat race to life.

Television producer (David Wayne) wants to do a special on a testy old doctor (Paul Muni) who lives and works in a slum neighborhood. He finds the task harder than imagined, as the doctor wants nothing to do with fame or recognition and certainly nothing to do with a television show. Eventually he succeeds in getting the doctor to agree to do the show but more and more obstacles keep popping up to prevent it.

Paul Muni's last film is an unassuming little drama about idealism and nobility. Sentimental at times, sure, but never dumb or condescending. The cast is strong. Muni is flawless, which should come as little surprise. David Wayne, Luther Adler, and Betsy Palmer are all great. It's the film debut of Billy Dee Williams, who does an excellent job. The fact that he can say he once arm wrestled Paul Muni in a movie should stand up there among his career highs. Look fast for Cicely Tyson in a bit part. It's really a fine movie, a bit slow perhaps but definitely worth your while.

This overly sentimental drama is well-acted by Paul Muni, but no so much by the rest of the cast. David Wayne reminds me of a good-looking Jerry Lewis, and has an uncanny resemblance to his voice. Lili Palmer does not add to the story. We are introduced to a young Billy Dee Williams, who showed promise as well The TV execs, however, are quite good in their roles, and bring comparisons to the later film "Network" which was a much better film. The highlight of the film is Big Pharma and its stranglehold on the American public. We can see those mechanisms at work during the Covid crisis. Worth viewing despite the over-sentimentality. Ignore the horribly written story in the beginning of the film.

Paul Muni's (the original Scarface/The Good Earth) last film role is in this 1959 film directed by Daniel Mann (The Rose Tattoo/Willard) detailing the schism between giving your all in the medical profession even when your own life depends on it. Being a kindly doctor in an ever changing New York neighborhood (this being the 50's when minorities were displacing Caucasians since they were moving en masse to the suburbs) he tries to save every life he can while anguishing over those he can do nothing for (Billy Dee Williams in an early critical role) which attracts the attention of a TV magazine story editor (shades of a 60 Minutes piece) who wants to spotlight this medical officer. Muni, the consummate actor of his generation, shows even in his last effort he can hold his own w/the burgeoning new acting styles (the Method) emerging in that time period w/a story which smacks of vital Stanley Kramer (the message picture). Co-starring David Wayne (he played the Mad Hatter on TV's Batman) & Betsy Palmer (Jason Voorhees' Mom).

Paul Muni had long been out of pictures when in the fifties his success on the Broadway stage in 'Inherit the Wind' reawakened Hollywood's interest in him.

Two decades after his thirties heyday when he usually played older than his years, now in the era of television he was actually playing a genuinely old man with the result that his 68 year-old Brooklyn slum doctor Sam Abelman looks hardly distinguishable from his Louis Pasteur.

Some of the attacks the trenchant old codger makes on the drugs company that sponsors his show are still relevant today. Muni wears the makeup which leaves the field clear for David Wayne to play a surprisingly 'straight' role.

I'm as old as Dr Abelman (68). I've heard of this film many times, and was expecting something special. It //is// special... e'specially bad. It's irritating from the start, and one wishes it would just go away.

Dr Abelman (note his obvious name) has been a physician since 1912. He tends to the poor and needy, "without a thought for himself", but has no trouble condemning everything wrong with the world -- and everyone, including his patients. Is it any surprise he suffers a fatal heart attack while attending to a "rotten" young man who, on a merely personal level, doesn't deserve it?

The director has no idea how to set or maintain tone. Is this supposed to be a straight drama, or a subtly comic satire? Nor does he understand that one can be angry or impassioned //without raising one's voice//. Though Daniel Mann directed several successful films, my reaction to "The Last Angry Man" is that I (who have never directed a film) could have done better. Much, much better.

The acting is mostly loud and amateurish, especially from Muni and Joby Baker. How Paul Muni -- a distinguished actor and Oscar winner -- could have been nominated for another Oscar for such an unconvincing and unsubtle performance, is hard to understand. David Wayne -- whom I normally think of as a rather "broad" actor -- underplays his role as a TV producer. But there isn't a single //really good// performance.

The dialog rarely rises above exposition, and when things get serious, we mostly hear boilerplate text. As director, I would have rewritten the script.

This is a film that wants to speak Important Truths about the world (which haven't changed in 60 years), but can't find a way to do it much beyond speechifying. (Contrast it with "A Face in the Crowd" and "Network".)

The use of the framing device of a TV producer wanting to make an honest TV show about Dr Abelman mostly distracts from Abelman's war with the world. What could have been a moving story about one man's struggle to make the world a better place, ends up as a sad and soggy "drama of the week".

In a seedy section of Brooklyn, NY, juvenile delinquent teenagers dump a young woman on the doorsteps of 68-year-old Paul Muni (as Samuel "Sam" Abelman), a doctor they know will care for the woman with no concern for her race or socio-economic status. After the incident, Mr. Muni's copy-boy nephew Joby Baker (as Myron Malkin) writes an article about his uncle's good deed for the "New York Mirror". The story makes page one and catches the eye of "Americans USA" TV producer David Wayne (as Woodrow "Woody" Thrasher). He wants to star the "Good Samaritan of the Slum" on his show, but Muni declines. Concerned about his uncle's financial security and tempted by an offer to work in television, Mr. Baker agrees to help Mr. Wayne get Muni on TV...

This was the last feature film for Paul Muni, an acclaimed actor from the "golden age" of Hollywood. There were notable TV drama appearances both before and after "The Last Angry Man" – airing in 1958 and 1962. Interestingly, Muni played a character named "Sam" in these last three appearances. During this time, Muni had several health challenges. An instinctive and dedicated actor, he wisely chose few roles and excelled always. He succumbed in 1967. For this film, Muni placed second (after James Stewart in "Anatomy of a Murder") in the "New York Critics" annual "Best Actor" contest; he was likewise nominated for the "Academy Award". Muni had previously won both, as well as others. Among good support is a very green Billy Dee Williams (as Josh Quincy).

******** The Last Angry Man (10/22/59) Daniel Mann ~ Paul Muni, David Wayne, Joby Baker, Luther Adler

Paul Muni gives an annoying over-the-top performance that is similar to his many other performances. There is just so much over-acting that's it's distracting. It's practically amateurish. The histrionics are just not needed!

This is the type of show that used to be produced weekly on Playhouse 90. Many of those dramas were later re-made as motion pictures. It even has a television drama feel. There seem to be commercial breaks built into it. The acting is strictly Ham-Ola. And for all the comments about Muni's performance - he is as bad as he ever was. Luther Adler plays his friend. Adler was the original "Golden Boy" in Clifford Odets Broadway play (opposite Frances Farmer) here he gives a surface performances.

A completely self-indulgent project that is saved only by the performances of a few of the supporting players including Billy Dee Williams and Betsy Palmer. David Wayne was never good in any role, this one included.