Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Big Operator Blu-ray Movie Review

Little Big Man.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 12, 2014

When Mickey Rooney died on April 6 of this year at the splendid age of 93, many trade paper obituaries understandably concentrated on the actor’s reign as box office champion back in the 1930s and 1940s, when the diminutive performer was frequently paired with the likes of Judy Garland or meandered through a perhaps too long series of Andy Hardy films. Variety published a very nice retrospective on Rooney’s post-World War II foray into noir, an era in Rooney’s career that never really paid the box office dividends that his earlier, lighter weight material did, but which serves as a potent reminder of just how forceful an actor Rooney could be when called upon to step out of his song and dance or comedy comfort zones. Even the Variety article overlooked The Big Operator, one of the last films from this underappreciated aspect of Rooney’s remarkably long career, though one that admittedly can't be seen as a noir as much as a traditional crime thriller. As with at least a few other 1950s outings starring Rooney, the actor gets to play the heavy in 1959’s The Big Operator, in this case a scheming, duplicitous and actually murderous labor union boss named Little Joe Braun. This Little Joe is about as diametrically opposed to another Little Joe who was causing skipped beats in female hearts in 1959, Michael Landon’s character in Bonanza. Little Joe Braun has absolutely no redeeming characteristics whatsoever, and it’s fascinating to see Rooney tear into a character this inherently despicable. While the film relies on a number of thriller genre conventions that will probably strike modern day viewers as fairly hackneyed, performances are surprisingly facile throughout the film, and The Big Operator manages to be an unexpectedly compelling viewing experience.

Despite Little Joe’s moniker and Rooney’s bantam weight size, there’s little doubt Braun is a larger than life character from the moment we meet him. We’ve already seen one of Braun’s goons, a thug named Oscar “The Executioner” Wetzel (Ray Danton), rub out some hapless businessman named Tragg, but when Wetzel delivers Tragg’s papers to Braun outside of a union hall, Braun is enraged at the possibility he’ll be seen in public with the henchman. That turns out to be an important plot point when two regular union guys, Bill Gibson (Steve Cochrane) and Fred McAfee (Mel Tormé), show up to attend a meeting where Braun will be the guest of honor.

Already the film has tipped into near comedic territory with Wetzel’s none too subtle attempts to shield his face as passers by mingle in front of the union hall (wouldn’t it have been easier to have simply turned around and walked away?), and that somewhat humorous aspect will recur throughout the film, despite an overabundance of rather graphic violence. That said, there’s a completely peculiar socioeconomic subtext at work in this quickie exploitation flick (what exactly did they think they were expoiting?). Bill and Fred typify everyday American working stiffs, down to their proud union membership. And yet the union chief Braun is a corrupt racketeer who’s as vicious as they come. That kind of turns typical proletariat unionizing doctrine on its head, though one gets the impression that this is more than likely unintentional, especially given the fact that this film bears the imprimatur of producer Albert Zugsmith, a man not exactly known for injecting his films with profound philosophizing (though some might argue the great “beat” poems in High School Confidential constitute philosophy). Perhaps surprisingly, the screenplay is based upon a magazine story by Paul Gallico, the author who would later win renown for The Snow Goose and The Poseidon Adventure.

It turns out that a Senate committee is investigating Braun (with televised hearings and everything!), and that the man murdered in the opening sequence was supposed to have been testifying against the union boss. Braun repeatedly pleads the fifth (though in a vernacular that most will find at least a bit unusual), but it’s obvious that the heat is on the little guy and that he’s becoming increasingly desperate. Subliminal memories percolating in the minds of Fred and Bill suddenly blossom, and Braun then has a whole new set of problems to contend with. Fred suffers a pretty horrendous fate, in one of the film’s most shocking scenes, though perhaps the biggest shock here is seeing the ultra-suave Mel Tormé portraying a hot headed blue collar shlub.

Ultimately things go completely hyperbolic when both Bill and his son Timmy (Jay North, here with brown hair rather than the blonde he was about to play on Dennis the Menace) are kidnapped. Again the film kind of goes for the jugular with Bill having to endure quite a bit of a pummeling at the hands of Braun’s goons. The pulchritudinous Mamie Van Doren goes all domestic in this film, playing the wife and mother of Bill and Timmy. Two holdovers from High School Confidential, Jackie Coogan and Charles Chaplin, Jr., also show up here, as does Jim Backus as a labor investigator. The rather eclectic supporting cast also sports Vampira and Norm Grabowski.

A lot of The Big Operator is just downright silly, including an almost laugh out loud sequence that just goes on and on where Bill is trying to retrace the steps of his kidnapping, this time in a car stuffed with all the good guys (and gals) of the film's final act. But any film that has Mickey Rooney chewing the scenery with lines like, "Listen, you don't set anybody on fire unless I tell you to, understand?" is hard not to like.

The Big Operator Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Big Operator is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Elements utilized for this transfer are in quite good condition, with fairly typical though pretty minimal age related wear and tear. The image is nicely clear and stable, with good contrast and nicely gradated gray scale. Blacks are occasionally a bit lackluster and the film lacks any substantial shadow detail in the nighttime sequences, but this is a nicely organic looking presentation with no signs of probematic digital tweaking.

The Big Operator Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Big Operator's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track nicely supports dialogue, sound effects, and the swingin' score by Van Alexander. There's just the slightest hint of distortion in some of Alexander's brass drenched riffs, but otherwise this is a problem free track boasting very good fidelity.

The Big Operator Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are offered on this Blu-ray disc.

The Big Operator Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Big Operator is often a pretty goofy affair, and its politics are a bizarre grab bag at best, but there's one thing this film has going for it: Mickey Rooney. Just watch the way Rooney in character cuts the much larger and more imposing Danton down to size (repeatedly), or the way Rooney the actor just walks away with scenes inhabited by at times several other performers. Also keep an eye on the stogie Rooney utilizes as a prop throughout the film, especially when the curvaceous Ms. Van Doren is around. Sometimes a cigar is—well, you know the rest. Recommended.