The Fat Man is a 1951 American mystery film directed by William Castle. It is based on a The Fat Man (radio), with J. Scott Smart reprising his role as Runyan, a detective.
The cast includes Rock Hudson and Julie London.
Plot
Portly amateur detective Runyan is hired by dental nurse Adams to investigate the unexplained murder of her boss. Suspicion falls on disappeared patient Clark, who had been helped by probable gangster Gordon. Runyan finds Boyd, Clark’s former lover and briefly his wife, who reveals that Clark had done time in jail. The police tell Runyan it was for robbery of half a million unrecovered dollars. In jail, Clark had a cellmate Deets, with whom he shared everything. On release, Deets had claimed Clark’s share of the loot from Gordon and had promised to eliminate Clark, whose corpse he left in a burnt-out truck. When he realised Clark had been having dental treatment, so his teeth could be identified, he killed first the unfortunate dentist and then the nurse as well. Runyan tracks him down and in a final shoot-out he meets his end.
Cast
- J. Scott Smart as Brad Runyan
- Julie London as Pat Boyd
- Rock Hudson as Roy Clark
- Clinton Sundberg as Bill Norton
- Jayne Meadows as Nurse Jane Adams
- John Russell (actor) as Gene Gordon
- Jerome Cowan as Det. Lt. Stark
- Emmett Kelly as Ed Deets
- Lucille Barkley as Lola Gordon
- Robert Osterloh as "Fletch" Fletcher
- Harry Lewis (actor) as Happy Stevens
- Teddy Hart as Shifty
Soundtrack
"A Dream Ago" (Music by Milton Rosen, lyrics by Everett Carter)
Category:1951 films
Category:American films
Category:American mystery films
Category:English-language films
Category:Black-and-white films
Category:Universal Pictures films
Category:1950s drama films
Category:Films directed by William Castle