Monkey on My Back
SHOCK by SHOCK...It Jabs Like a Hopped-Up Needle!
1957 | 94m | English
Popularity: 0.4 (history)
| Director: | André de Toth |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Paul Dudley, Anthony Veiller, Crane Wilbur |
| Staring: |
| The painfully true story of welterweight boxing champion Barney Ross is detailed in Monkey on My Back. Cameron Mitchell stars as Ross, whose meteoric ring career is interrupted when he joins the Marines at the outset of WWII. A highly decorated hero, Ross contracts malaria oversees and is given morphine to assuage the pain. By the time he returns to the states, Ross is a confirmed drug addict. Before he can rise to the top again, he must hit rock bottom and his descent into the hell of narcotics dependency is graphically illustrated (so much so that the film was almost denied a Production Code seal). Though a cured Barney Ross served as technical advisor for Monkey on My Back, he ended up suing the producers for defamation of character -- and lost. | |
| Release Date: | May 29, 1957 |
|---|---|
| Director: | André de Toth |
| Writer: | Paul Dudley, Anthony Veiller, Crane Wilbur |
| Genres: | |
| Keywords | |
| Production Companies | Edward Small Productions |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Jan 19, 2026 Entered: May 01, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Cameron Mitchell | Barney Ross |
| Dianne Foster | Cathy Holland |
| Paul Richards | Rico, Drug Pusher (as Paul E. Richards) |
| Jack Albertson | Sam Pian |
| Kathy Garver | Noreen |
| Lisa Golm | Barney's Mother |
| Barry Kelley | Big Ralph |
| Scotty Beckett | Corpsman (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| André de Toth | Director |
| Paul Dudley | Screenplay |
| Anthony Veiller | Screenplay |
| Crane Wilbur | Screenplay |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Robert E. Kent | Associate Producer |
| Edward Small | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
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| 2024 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 32 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | 11 | 63 | 0 |
| 2025 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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