Suddenly

Rating:
Summary: Definately 5 stars for "The Chairman of the Board"
Review: I just caught this film, finally; even if it was 3:00am. I agree with most folks; at times it really does seem to be like a cheesy '50's B movie but what superburb acting from Sinatra and in all a pretty good flick! I'm wondering if anyone can vouch for the quality of the Image Studios release. The copy I saw on TCM was about as rough as it gets. A nice, clean copy would go nicely with my copy of "The Manchurian Candidate", original version, of course.

Rating:
Summary: There's A Very Unusual Reason Why Some Must See This:
Review: I just saw this film yesterday, although it came out in 1954 when I was six years old. It's a relatively good example of Film Noir, and Sinatra fans especially love it, but it gained a new wave of cult interest in 1963 after President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

That's because this film has plot elements roughly matching up with what some Kennedy assassination conspiracy enthusiasts think happened; this includes gangsters plotting to kill the president, the use of a rifle with a telescopic sight, and setting the sniper's nest up in a window that's about 200 yards or more from the approaching target (But there's no grassy knoll involved).

Personally I don't give much credence to the Mafia theory: I think Oswald operated alone, then the government intentionally mixed the evidence up. A similar game of secrecy surrounded Roosevelt, and so the public wasn't allowed to see that he was too crippled to even walk unaided!

In Kennedy's case, perhaps the government just wanted to insure that there would be no international incident caused by anyone angry about "the communist conspiracy," and I think Oswald was indeed a Marxist in the government's view (and mine). Again like Roosevelt, Kennedy also wore a hidden prostatic appliance.

Hopefully mentioning this won't seem like drifting too far away from 'Suddenly,' and hopefully my own take on the Kennedy assassination won't outrage those who feel more passionately about the Mafia theory, as this is still a good movie even without that angle (But if you are into the Mafia theory, it belongs in your collection).

Rating:
Summary: goo moooie
Review: i touhgt thiz mooie wax sweell i wold lik to pee it agian

Rating:
Summary: This film is horrible.
Review: I watched this film early one morning on T.V,and I thought it would be pretty good. It had Frank Sinatra and had a good plot. But it was HORRIBLE! Sinatra is wasted and hammy in the role of the lead badguy. All the killers do is waste time! The other actors aren't any better, and the little boy was annoying. The ending is very ob- vious and stupid. The plot sounds like it can't go wrong, but don't be fooled! Stick to "The Manchurian Candidate".

Rating:
Summary: The Gambler
Review: Just two years before he made Suddenly, Frank Sinatra thought he was finished. His vocal cords hemorrhaged, and 'The Voice' almost fell silent. Movie producers lost interest in making musical comedies starring the Kid from Hoboken, and no one took him seriously as a dramatic actor, a field where he had no track record. And he could feel the love of his life, Ava Gardner, slipping out of his grasp. (Although Sinatra and Gardner had just married in 1951, following his divorce from first wife, Nancy, the affair had been going on for years, and the wedding was anti-climactic.)

Well, Sinatra got his vocal chords fixed. And after a manic lobbying campaign, he got the role of a lifetime, as the heroic but ill-fated, "Pvt. Angelo Maggio," in 1953's From Here to Eternity. With Sinatra's help, the movie won eight Oscars, including his own, richly deserved one for best supporting actor.

For the next 12 or so years (through Von Ryan's Express), until one of the longest midlife crises in world history took over, Frank Sinatra was among the world's greatest movie actors. Unfortunately, the third part of his life could not be saved. By 1955, he and Ava Gardner had split up, though as she wrote in her autobiography, Ava, they would have occasional 'reunions' in hotels around the world, over the next 30-odd years, until her death in 1990.

Going for the role of Maggio was a huge gamble for a man who had no history of straight dramatic acting. But then, Sinatra was nothing, if not a gambler. Existentialism was then a popular philosophy, but unlike pretentious types in French cafes, who knew only the words, he knew the music. From his thirties through his mid-forties, Sinatra lived a life of continual high drama, subsisting off tempestuous passions and guile, with little room left for prudence. (But unlike professional existentialists, Sinatra was no nihilist.)

And so in 1954, he starred in the kind of insane movie that could have ended his fledgling, dramatic movie career. Suddenly (what a lousy title!) is the name of a California hamlet, where the President of the United States will happen to pass through, for about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette. Only the Secret Service knows this ' and a small group of assassins posing as Secret Service agents, led by 'Johnny Baron' (Sinatra).

Johnny is a homicidal sociopath who has no qualms about doing what was then 'the unthinkable.' 'Sure, I like choppin'' (shooting). He has a $500,000 contract to kill the President, and so kill him, he will.

(Sinatra would go on, in 1962, to co-star in yet another movie about a plot to assassinate the president, The Manchurian Candidate. Directed by the late John Frankenheimer from Richard Condon's classic political thriller, in Candidate, Sinatra gave a now hilarious, now moving performance as insomniac Capt. Bennett Marco. But the following year, his friend, President John F. Kennedy, would be assassinated, and so for the next 30 years, Sinatra would get Suddenly and The Manchurian Candidate pulled out of distribution.)

The era of the anti-hero had just begun, with Marlon Brando's 1953 performance as motorcycle gang leader Johnny Strabler, in The Wild One. But not even the young Brando had guts like Sinatra. No one had shot a president since William 'Big Bill' McKinley in '01, and no one made movies about assassins.

But Sinatra did. Working almost entirely on one set, on a shoestring budget, and squaring off against dramatic (and physical) heavyweight Sterling Hayden (as 'Sheriff Tod Shaw'), he gave a towering performance.

Johnny and his accomplices take the Benson family hostage; their home has a clear shot at the spot where the President will get off his train. 'Pop Benson' (James Gleason) is a retired Secret Service agent, whose widowed, pacifist daughter-in-law, 'Ellen' (Nancy Gates) has been rebuffing Tod Shaw's attempts at courtship. Ellen Benson holds all who wield weapons equally in contempt.

Johnny likes to talk, and he has a captive audience. Literally. The set-piece around which the picture revolves, is the spellbinding soliloquy Johnny delivers, on his failed life as a civilian prior to World War II, as a lost soul, wandering about an anonymous, non-descript, unnamed metropolis.

'Before, I drifted and drifted and ran, always lost in a great, big crowd. I hated that crowd, used to dream about the crowd, once in a while. I used to see all those faces, scratchin' and shovin' and bitin.' And then the mist would clear, and somehow all the faces would be me. All me, and nothin.'

This is not the spirit of America on the eve of World War II, but of a different time and place altogether. It is the spirit of Hitler's Vienna on the eve of World War I, the spirit of fascism.

Now, I realize that logically, this doesn't jibe. After all, Johnny doesn't work in a collective, the way the fascists and Nazis, or the anti-Semitic socialists of pre-WWI Vienna did; he's more of a freelancer. And spoken abstractly, overlaying a 1910s, European mentality doesn't work for a story set in America in the mid-1950s. And yet, it does work, gloriously.

Here's the background: During and after the war, with the help of Soviet communist propaganda ' to paper over the Soviets' 1939 alliance with Nazi Germany -- many leftwing artists, academics, and journalists mindlessly pushed the notion that "fascism" was merely political gangsterism. This attitude was perpetuated most dramatically by communist playwright Bertolt Brecht's entertaining play, written in 1941 in Finnish exile, The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui.

But Suddenly doesn't owe its power to the propaganda of Bert Brecht, or of leftwing academics or journalists. Give credit, instead, to screenwriter Richard Sale, director Lewis Allen, and to ' The Gambler.

A Different Drummer, February 6, 2004.

Rating:
Summary: The Gambler
Review: Just two years before he made Suddenly, Frank Sinatra thought he was finished. His vocal cords hemorrhaged, and �The Voice� almost fell silent. Movie producers lost interest in making musical comedies starring the Kid from Hoboken, and no one took him seriously as a dramatic actor, a field where he had no track record. And he could feel the love of his life, Ava Gardner, slipping out of his grasp. (Although Sinatra and Gardner had just married in 1951, following his divorce from first wife, Nancy, the affair had been going on for years, and the wedding was anti-climactic.)

Well, Sinatra got his vocal chords fixed. And after a manic lobbying campaign, he got the role of a lifetime, as the heroic but ill-fated, "Pvt. Angelo Maggio," in 1953�s From Here to Eternity. With Sinatra's help, the movie won eight Oscars, including his own, richly deserved one for best supporting actor.

For the next 12 or so years (through Von Ryan�s Express), until one of the longest midlife crises in world history took over, Frank Sinatra was among the world�s greatest movie actors. Unfortunately, the third part of his life could not be saved. By 1955, he and Ava Gardner had split up, though as she wrote in her autobiography, Ava, they would have occasional �reunions� in hotels around the world, over the next 30-odd years, until her death in 1990.

Going for the role of Maggio was a huge gamble for a man who had no history of straight dramatic acting. But then, Sinatra was nothing, if not a gambler. Existentialism was then a popular philosophy, but unlike pretentious types in French cafes, who knew only the words, he knew the music. From his thirties through his mid-forties, Sinatra lived a life of continual high drama, subsisting off tempestuous passions and guile, with little room left for prudence. (But unlike professional existentialists, Sinatra was no nihilist.)

And so in 1954, he starred in the kind of insane movie that could have ended his fledgling, dramatic movie career. Suddenly (what a lousy title!) is the name of a California hamlet, where the President of the United States will happen to pass through, for about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette. Only the Secret Service knows this � and a small group of assassins posing as Secret Service agents, led by �Johnny Baron� (Sinatra).

Johnny is a homicidal sociopath who has no qualms about doing what was then �the unthinkable.� �Sure, I like choppin�� (shooting). He has a $500,000 contract to kill the President, and so kill him, he will.

(Sinatra would go on, in 1962, to co-star in yet another movie about a plot to assassinate the president, The Manchurian Candidate. Directed by the late John Frankenheimer from Richard Condon�s classic political thriller, in Candidate, Sinatra gave a now hilarious, now moving performance as insomniac Capt. Bennett Marco. But the following year, his friend, President John F. Kennedy, would be assassinated, and so for the next 30 years, Sinatra would get Suddenly and The Manchurian Candidate pulled out of distribution.)

The era of the anti-hero had just begun, with Marlon Brando�s 1953 performance as motorcycle gang leader Johnny Strabler, in The Wild One. But not even the young Brando had guts like Sinatra. No one had shot a president since William �Big Bill� McKinley in �01, and no one made movies about assassins.

But Sinatra did. Working almost entirely on one set, on a shoestring budget, and squaring off against dramatic (and physical) heavyweight Sterling Hayden (as �Sheriff Tod Shaw�), he gave a towering performance.

Johnny and his accomplices take the Benson family hostage; their home has a clear shot at the spot where the President will get off his train. �Pop Benson� (James Gleason) is a retired Secret Service agent, whose widowed, pacifist daughter-in-law, �Ellen� (Nancy Gates) has been rebuffing Tod Shaw�s attempts at courtship. Ellen Benson holds all who wield weapons equally in contempt.

Johnny likes to talk, and he has a captive audience. Literally. The set-piece around which the picture revolves, is the spellbinding soliloquy Johnny delivers, on his failed life as a civilian prior to World War II, as a lost soul, wandering about an anonymous, non-descript, unnamed metropolis.

�Before, I drifted and drifted and ran, always lost in a great, big crowd. I hated that crowd, used to dream about the crowd, once in a while. I used to see all those faces, scratchin� and shovin� and bitin.� And then the mist would clear, and somehow all the faces would be me. All me, and nothin.�

This is not the spirit of America on the eve of World War II, but of a different time and place altogether. It is the spirit of Hitler�s Vienna on the eve of World War I, the spirit of fascism.

Now, I realize that logically, this doesn�t jibe. After all, Johnny doesn�t work in a collective, the way the fascists and Nazis, or the anti-Semitic socialists of pre-WWI Vienna did; he�s more of a freelancer. And spoken abstractly, overlaying a 1910s, European mentality doesn�t work for a story set in America in the mid-1950s. And yet, it does work, gloriously.

Here's the background: During and after the war, with the help of Soviet communist propaganda � to paper over the Soviets� 1939 alliance with Nazi Germany -- many leftwing artists, academics, and journalists mindlessly pushed the notion that "fascism" was merely political gangsterism. This attitude was perpetuated most dramatically by communist playwright Bertolt Brecht�s entertaining play, written in 1941 in Finnish exile, The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui.

But Suddenly doesn't owe its power to the propaganda of Bert Brecht, or of leftwing academics or journalists. Give credit, instead, to screenwriter Richard Sale, director Lewis Allen, and to � The Gambler.

A Different Drummer, February 6, 2004.

Rating:
Summary: Don't mess around. See VHS to appreciate
Review: Most have told about the basic plot. The President is scheduled to have a train stop at Suddenly, a small town near nowhere. The local folk called the town Occassionally at best. Sinatra & two thugs are hired to Oswald the Pres. But before Sinatra enters, we have dialogue between semi-Arnett sheriff Hayden and his lady friend, a woman who lost her husband in WW II and seems to be dodging reality. At an early point one telltale sign is given when the lady, while rebuffing the sheriff also listens. And, the sheriff is loved by her son and father.

Sinatra's crew enters the lady's house while the sheriff is there, posing as FBI agents. Then they take over the house, coldly shooting a Secret Service agent who is there visiting. The house overlooks the train's stopping point, again relating to JFK. The toy that Sheriff bought for the son comes into play. For some strange reason Sinatra deploys one of his thugs to check the station area. Being recognized by a deputy, there is a quick brutal exchange of gunfire. Sinatra, still seeking the 1/4 million due on completion of the task gets more vicious. But, the other thug gets careless. Don't worry. When the first gunshot is fired between the thug and deputy, the SS telegraphs train and Pres. to speed through the town with no sudden stop.

Sinatra plays an excellent role being at ease in a despicable cold role, despite his Section 8 military past. Hayden's role is believable. Pops is also likable. But the quiet shy shaken lady suddenly finds courage to take action, almost like a mirage. And at the end, she is standing by her car inviting the sheriff to join her (finally) at church the following week. The ensuing kiss is as flat and out of place as knight's armor in "Saving Private Ryan."

The movie moves along even though a bit of the banter is more obvious than necessary. Sinatra is highlighted for his talents and shows true acting ability. Contrary to others, I find Hayden to be believable and in character.

The film is shot in black and white to try and highlight contrasts between good and evil. This is also too obvious.

I have problems rating this video as a Film Noir. At the same time I wonder why those who have complained about the poor quality of the DVD version forget that VHS still exists. The VHS copy is clean and has good shots as well as inclusive sound.

This is a very good film, especially for those who like action without sex or cussing. It is stark yet one has to wonder if Sinatra as gang boss who carefully planned the hit could be so stupid. Maybe this adds to the realism: "A sure sudden thing."

I recommend the VHS version. It is less than 1 1/2 hours and much better than scores of films twice as long. This highlights Sinatra and shows "what if." One has to wonder if the film was shown to Secret Service and FBI agents before the JFK murder. If not, why not? Barring it for a while afterward???

Rent or buy used via VHS and enjoy. Add to your collection. The price is right in VHS. Adding this to "The Man with a Golden Arm" (with Kim Novak) along with a few LPs/CDs creates a fine inclusive collection of Sinatra's artistry and film library.

Dr. Alan Kardoff, Mgmtdr

Rating:
Summary: Don't mess around. See VHS to appreciate
Review: Most have told about the basic plot. The President is scheduled to have a train stop at Suddenly, a small town near nowhere. The local folk called the town Occassionally at best. Sinatra & two thugs are hired to Oswald the Pres. But before Sinatra enters, we have dialogue between semi-Arnett sheriff Hayden and his lady friend, a woman who lost her husband in WW II and seems to be dodging reality. At an early point one telltale sign is given when the lady, while rebuffing the sheriff also listens. And, the sheriff is loved by her son and father.

Sinatra's crew enters the lady's house while the sheriff is there, posing as FBI agents. Then they take over the house, coldly shooting a Secret Service agent who is there visiting. The house overlooks the train's stopping point, again relating to JFK. The toy that Sheriff bought for the son comes into play. For some strange reason Sinatra deploys one of his thugs to check the station area. Being recognized by a deputy, there is a quick brutal exchange of gunfire. Sinatra, still seeking the 1/4 million due on completion of the task gets more vicious. But, the other thug gets careless. Don't worry. When the first gunshot is fired between the thug and deputy, the SS telegraphs train and Pres. to speed through the town with no sudden stop.

Sinatra plays an excellent role being at ease in a despicable cold role, despite his Section 8 military past. Hayden's role is believable. Pops is also likable. But the quiet shy shaken lady suddenly finds courage to take action, almost like a mirage. And at the end, she is standing by her car inviting the sheriff to join her (finally) at church the following week. The ensuing kiss is as flat and out of place as knight's armor in "Saving Private Ryan."

The movie moves along even though a bit of the banter is more obvious than necessary. Sinatra is highlighted for his talents and shows true acting ability. Contrary to others, I find Hayden to be believable and in character.

The film is shot in black and white to try and highlight contrasts between good and evil. This is also too obvious.

I have problems rating this video as a Film Noir. At the same time I wonder why those who have complained about the poor quality of the DVD version forget that VHS still exists. The VHS copy is clean and has good shots as well as inclusive sound.

This is a very good film, especially for those who like action without sex or cussing. It is stark yet one has to wonder if Sinatra as gang boss who carefully planned the hit could be so stupid. Maybe this adds to the realism: "A sure sudden thing."

I recommend the VHS version. It is less than 1 1/2 hours and much better than scores of films twice as long. This highlights Sinatra and shows "what if." One has to wonder if the film was shown to Secret Service and FBI agents before the JFK murder. If not, why not? Barring it for a while afterward???

Rent or buy used via VHS and enjoy. Add to your collection. The price is right in VHS. Adding this to "The Man with a Golden Arm" (with Kim Novak) along with a few LPs/CDs creates a fine inclusive collection of Sinatra's artistry and film library.

Dr. Alan Kardoff, Mgmtdr

Rating:
Summary: A great actor in a mediocre film
Review: One more of these films with Frank Sinatra that is entirely carried by the main actor. The situation, the attempt to assassinate the President in the little town of Suddenly, is dramatic for sure but the plot is too loose to be believable. But the acting of Frank Sinatra as a killer, born to kill, and all his ambiguities, dilemmas and other self-righteous contradictions, gives to the film some credibility. It is surprising that Frank Sinatra accepted to play in such films where his talent was wasted on incongruous and incredible scenarios. He could have been a better remembered actor in films that would have had some real depth.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Rating:
Summary: Sinatra is the bad guy, Hayden is the hero
Review: One of two Frank Sinatra movies that dealt with assasination. The other was "Manchurian Candidate." In this one Frank is the bad guy. Sterling Hayden shows no signs of the future characters he will play in major films of the 60s and 70s (Dr. Strangelove, Godfather). Hayden is just the hick town by-the-book sheriff with the Barney Fifeish assistant. This is not a great movie but it moves along nicely and never gets boring. It has some good "what if" situations. It also has wonderful footage of old cars and trains. This would make a good double feature with "Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" because one film pushes the pro gun totin' policy, and one is opposed to the use of weapons. It may surprise you which is which. This is not the best movie of the 1950s but the issues raised are still out there. Tom Willett