King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein

Is it a buddy picture? A romance? A rise-and-fall story of a big time operator in Prohibition era America? Impossible to tell, because it keeps going back and forth between the different genres. I actually like crime and mystery, so I was hoping to see a crime story in early 60s spartan black and white. But no, this ultimately meaningless romance between Arnold Rothstein and his wife just keeps eating up celluloid.

I don't expect consistency in films about Arnold Rothstein. I've seen four films tackle this material so far, and from the script you couldn't tell that any of them were talking about the same person, but I'm OK with that as long as the script is compelling and coherent. This one is neither. Rothstein takes actions, in particular in regards to his childhood friend grown to partner, Burke (Mickey Rooney) that just make no sense. Even when he tries to explain his actions they make no sense.

The performers are what saves this from being a four out of ten. Even if the director can't seem to convey to the players who exactly they are supposed to be, it is interesting to see them try.