© 2026 The Couch Critic
"Ripped Raw and Roaring from Real Life!"
Nick Romano lives in a poor tenement building on the south side of Chicago with his well-meaning but drug-addicted mother, Nellie. She encourages him to pursue his piano-playing talent in hopes that it will bring him a better life. Nellie's neighbors, like the alcoholic ex-lawyer who secretly loves her, help her in keeping Nick away from Louie, the resident drug dealer. But a chance meeting between Nick and Louie could change things forever.
46 Cast Members
Burl Ives
Judge Bruce Mallory Sullivan
Shelley Winters
Nellie Romano
James Darren
Nick Romano
Jean Seberg
Barbara Holloway
Ricardo Montalban
Louie Ramponi
Ella Fitzgerald
Flora
Rodolfo Acosta
Max
Philip Ober
Grant Holloway
Jeanne Cooper
Fran
Bernie Hamilton
Goodbye George
Walter Burke
Wart
Francis De Sales
Night Court Magistrate
Michael Davis
Nick Romano - as a Child
John Barton
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Oscar Blank
Bar Patron (uncredited)
Phil Bloom
Man in Shelter (uncredited)
Nesdon Booth
Mike the Saloon Owner (uncredited)
Peter Brocco
Salesman at Florist Shop (uncredited)
Jack Bryan
Wally (uncredited)
Malcolm Cassell
Boy (uncredited)
