Review: The Boss (1956)
My first exposure to John Payne, like so many others, was through 1947's Miracle on 34th Street, a feel-good holiday movie that finds the actor starring opposite Maureen O'Hara in a romantic, good guy role that remains a favorite of many, reportedly including Payne himself. But in the decade that was to follow, the actor would continue his career by appearing in a bevy of crime, noir, and western pictures that were about as far as you could get form the fantastical charm of his earlier successes. With titles like Kansas City Confidential, 99 River Street, and Hell's Island , Payne's career path took him down the dark side streets of cinema. 1956's The Boss is unlike any other John Payne movie I've seen, stripping this likable actor of any charisma and affability. He plays Matt Brady, a returning war vet (that's Dubya Dubya One) who has come home from the front lines to find his brother running an empire. But Matt has a mighty temper and a taste for liquor ...
