Monkey on My Back 66 years old

SHOCK by SHOCK...It Jabs Like a Hopped-Up Needle!

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.

Credits

Monkey on My Back Cast

Name Character
Lisa Golm She was 66, 72 years old when she died as Barney's Mother
Barry Kelley He was 48, 82 years old when he died as Big Ralph
Jack Albertson He was 49, 74 years old when he died as Sam Pian
Dianne Foster She was 28, 90 years old when she died as Cathy Holland
Cameron Mitchell He was 38, 75 years old when he died as Barney Ross
Paul Richards He was 32, 49 years old when he died as Rico, Drug Pusher (as Paul E. Richards)

Monkey on My Back Crew

Name Department
Anthony Veiller as Screenplay. He was 53 (62) years old when He died Writing
André De Toth as Director. He was 42 (now 108) years old Directing
Monkey on My Back poster
Monkey on My Back (66 years)

SHOCK by SHOCK...It Jabs Like a Hopped-Up Needle!

  • Release day: Wednesday, May 29, 1957
  • Runtime: 94 minutes