One of the few films directed by multi-talented Mickey Rooney, "My True Story" is an entertaining programmer, with a top-notch cast doing the best they can with a somewhat hackneyed script that is predictable most of the way.
What a wasted talent was Helen Walker. Her promising career was sunk by a traffic accident that involved the death of one of the passengers. In "My True Story," she gives a magnificent performance for such a low-budget entry. She is able to transform her character from a prissy, well-behaved model prisoner into a gun moll and then back into a good-hearted motherly type with such ease that the viewer longs to see her in a role more challenging to her acting abilities. Aldo Ray, who later suffered from many-a critic's barb, shows in his debut film that he was capable of much more than was asked of him. There is not a stinker in the crowd. Even the small roles are fleshed out.
The worst aspect of this flick is its nondescript title. Why the producers and director Mickey Rooney settled on such an abomination is a mystery. The title alone would keep many a moviegoer away.
The story concerns a setup in a small town by big-town hoodlums to heist a secret oil ingredient of an expense Parisian perfume kept hidden by the elderly widow of the concocter, the original formula having been lost. A parole is arranged for Ann Martin (Helen Walker) so she can get close to the old woman and uncover where the oil is kept. Though the rich old lady won't sell the oil in its entirety, she will parcel it out to a former paramour for $2000 a shot. The plot becomes complicated when Ann Martin falls for the local pharmacist who in turn seeks to romance Ann.
As the old banjo player, Floyd Holland, used to say before performing, "If you don't expect much, you won't be disappointed." "My True Story" is worthwhile for the fine acting and to see how Mickey Rooney directs on a minuscule budget.
