The Man with the Golden Arm

Rating:
Summary: Sinatra at his best!!
Review: This has got to be one of the best movies ever made which has depicted the heroin addict and his predicament. Frank Sinatra, in one of his earlier roles, plays the part of an ex-convict/drug addict who returns back to the "old neighborhood," and wants to "come clean," and pursue a career as a big band drummer, but he unfortunately comes face to face with the "dealer" (Darren McGavin) and things cook from there. McGavin is a wonderful portrayal of the neighborhood supplier who keeps baiting Sinatra and baiting him until the he cannot say no any longer. Coupled with his own domestic situation, which I dare not give away, but only to tell you that the ensemble cast which makes up this movie is outstanding. The soundtrack is pulsating and keeps your adrenaline moving upward, and that is one of the most unnerving parts of the film, and one which keeps you on the edge of your seat, as the saying goes. This could be classified as a family movie, as there is no sex, nudity, profanity, but only the theme of drug addiction, and a family could watch this film and discuss these issues in an enlightened way. Sinatra once said he thought he should've gotten an Oscar for this movie, and I agree. Highly recommended!!!

Rating:
Summary: Sinatra at his best!!
Review: This has got to be one of the best movies ever made which has depicted the heroin addict and his predicament. Frank Sinatra, in one of his earlier roles, plays the part of an ex-convict/drug addict who returns back to the "old neighborhood," and wants to "come clean," and pursue a career as a big band drummer, but he unfortunately comes face to face with the "dealer" (Darren McGavin) and things cook from there. McGavin is a wonderful portrayal of the neighborhood supplier who keeps baiting Sinatra and baiting him until the he cannot say no any longer. Coupled with his own domestic situation, which I dare not give away, but only to tell you that the ensemble cast which makes up this movie is outstanding. The soundtrack is pulsating and keeps your adrenaline moving upward, and that is one of the most unnerving parts of the film, and one which keeps you on the edge of your seat, as the saying goes. This could be classified as a family movie, as there is no sex, nudity, profanity, but only the theme of drug addiction, and a family could watch this film and discuss these issues in an enlightened way. Sinatra once said he thought he should've gotten an Oscar for this movie, and I agree. Highly recommended!!!

Rating:
Summary: This is one Sinatra's 10 best films
Review: This is one of Frank Sinatra's most powerful and believing performances.The music is great-dynamic and haunting at the same time.A great jazz score.The young Kim Novak turns in a good performance as Frankie's wife.The odd lot of other minor-yet important-characters adds to the films appeal.First class!

Rating:
Summary: good movie
Review: This was a good movie. It was almost like Elvis Presley's King Creole only in this movie the guy's a heroin addict. I had just seen it about a month ago on TCM and I watched to see what it was going be like. After a while I got hooked. I thought it was a good movie. Although not as good as Elvis Presley's King Creole however. I

Rating:
Summary: broken spirits, wasted lives
Review: Viewing this film is like lifting a rock to see what has been existing under its dark weight, and from the stylish Saul Bass titles and jazzy Elmer Bernstein score, it is a riveting film, with a brilliant, intense Sinatra performance.
As an ex-con trying to beat a heroin addiction, "Frankie" (Sinatra) slips back into his old habits and friends upon release from prison, and is chained to a guilt-based relationship with Eleanor Parker, who is excellent as "Zosch", a woman who manipulates from her wheelchair, blaming "Frankie" for her fate, and resenting his friendship with "Molly", beautifully played by the gorgeous Kim Novak, who exudes vulnerability and a soft, sweet soul.

Well written from the Nelson Algren novel, and visually interesting with superb b&w cinematography by Sam Leavitt, the details of the costuming are also worth noting...I love Molly's old threadbare chenille bathrobe...and like much of the clothes in the film, looking like it was bought in a thrift shop.
I don't find this 1955 film dated at all; its themes and "types" are timeless and occur in every class and level of society, and the characters can be found in the Bowery or Beverly Hills.
The film was nominated in three Oscar categories: Best Actor (losing to Ernest Borgnine in another gritty film, "Marty"), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration ("The Rose Tattoo"), and Best Score (losing to the romantic "Love is a Many Splendored Thing").
Total running time is 119 minutes, and this film has been released under many labels in many grades, including some "cheapies" that are less than perfect in clarity and audio, but present a good value for the price.


Rating:
Summary: Otto Preminger Defiles a Great American Novel
Review: While other reviews are accurate in the assessment that this is a groundbreaking film for its time in its treatment of the illness of drug addiction, it is unfortunate that the director AND producer, Otto Preminger, lacked the courage to maintain the story in its original, poignant, compassionate - to ALL the characters - naturalist form.

The book is about the inability of humans to rise above their circumstances when everyone and everything around them, society, law enforcement, economics, conspire to keep them down. It's about the individual need to hold on to what belongs to them, knowing that there's something better, but clinging to what is familiar and comfortable, however unhealthy and ultimately fatal.

It's about human courage in the face of constant, unrelenting defeat.

Preminger makes the story trite and two-dimensional. The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good, there's compassion for the protagonists, but not the antagonist. Algren was not so narrow in his perspective. His subtlety of intention and complexity of characters - which could have been conveyed in a single close up - is lost in Premingers depiction whose black and white celluloid unfortunately extends beyond the color of the footage.

This is certainly not Frank Sinatra's best performance, although a good one. He could have been given so much more to work with, given some direction toward more depth and dimension. If you want to see a great performance by Sinatra, get the ORIGINAL "Manchurian Candidate." The only film I can think of which more poorly utilizes the ability of its performers was the 1999 production of "Titus," with Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. Preminger's ability to coax sub-par performances from great actors with great material AND great music to work with was also evidenced in his "Anatomy of a Murder."

If you want a real look into an original, campassionate, controversial and honest look into the human condition, drug addiction, and economic and social oppression, read Algren's book. The prose is beautiful, his treatment of the characters is gentle and compassionate with characters who received very little generosity or compassion in life. And while you're at it, if you happen to be able to find a copy of Algren's own account of his dealings with Preminger, it'll make you think twice about Preminger's product, intention, and skewed vision of a true classic of literary naturalism.