He had experienced a series of mediocre post-war flops, including RKO""s romantic comedyMagic Town (1947), the musical comedy anthologyOn Our Merry Way (1948)from UA, another romantic comedyYou Gotta Stay Happy (1948)from Universal,and MGM""s melodramatic-adventure filmMalaya (1949).Each of them greets - often in Sicilian - the camera as it tracks fluidly and gracefully through the restaurant and leads the audience on a tour:Anthony Stabile (Frank Adonis)Frankie Carbone (Frank Sivero)Mo Black""s brother Fat Andy (Louis Eppolito)Frankie the Wop (Tony Lip)Freddy No Nose (Mikey Black)Pete the Killer (Peter Cicale)Nicky Eyes (John Manca)Mikey Franzese (Joseph Bono)Jimmy Two Times (Anthony Powers)The glamorous, macho life of socializing with other indulgent, high-status ""family"" members and ""wiseguys"" who lived on the cutting edge and splurged is intoxicating." However, Prewitt insists that he hasn""t been boxing for over a year, because of a tragic accident - he blinded an opponent while sparring in the ring.The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and won six - Best Director (the first Oscar for Stevens), Best Screenplay (Michael Wilson and Harry Brown), Best B/W Cinematography (William Mellor), Best Dramatic Score, Best Film Editing, and Best B/W Costume Design (Edith Head).