Budd Boetticher's innovative direction and Lucien Ballard's cinematography earned The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond its critical tag--“slick, shiny entertainment” (New York Times). The story traces the rise of Jack “Legs” Diamond, “the man who couldn't be killed,” from small-time nightclub hoofer to big-time syndicate kingpin. Ray Danton smoothly interprets Diamond as a psychopath whose cool bravado is a mask not for insecurity, but for the intense excitement he feels as he guns down enemies and colleagues alike. Warren Oates appears as Eddie Diamond, an early sacrifice to his brother's rise, and Karen Steele gives a sympathetic portrayal of Legs' mistress-turned-wife and widow. “In real life Diamond was a son of a bitch,” Boetticher has said. “Al Capone...the Purple Gang and the Mafia were decent individuals compared with him....” Not wanting to make another Scarface, Boetticher took a different tack with Legs Diamond: “Inside a serious framework I adopted a comic style and a comic tone, treating tragic scenes in quite a light manner, with gags....”