Let No Man Write My Epitaph

Adapted from Willard Motley's novel about life on Chicago's South Side, this is a heavy-handed drama further dragged down by weak performances. Winters plays a junkie mother trying to raise her kid right. Darren is her son, who becomes a concert pianist. Ives is the local force for morality who takes on sleazy drug dealer Montalban. Winters' overacting is a real problem since she's on the screen the majority of the time. Ives isn't much better, while Darren's acting style shows why his career was short-lived. Only Montalban comes off reasonably well in his cliched role. Director Leacock did manage to create a properly gritty mood for the film, and many of the lesse...