Frank Sinatra will do anything to escape from Eleanor Parker's over-the-top histrionics
Though hardly one of Otto Preminger's better films, The Man with the Golden Arm is worth a look for two reasons: It's quite likely the first major Hollywood motion picture — since the implementation of the moralistic Production Code in the mid-1930s — to deal with drug addiction, and it boasts what may well be Frank Sinatra's most effective performance.
The film itself, however, is pure melodrama. As a cripple, Eleanor Parker, in particular, disappoints. Parker could be an outstanding actress — as she was in Caged, Pride of the Marines, and even in The Sound of Music – but here she is so shrewishly over the top that her presence alone all but castrates the drama.
And while Sinatra shoots up and Parker hams it up, Kim Novak stands around looking pretty.
Press Release:
New York, NY — In celebration of Academy Award®-nominated director and producer Otto Preminger's centennial, the "Monday Nights with Oscar®" film series will screen The Man with the Golden Arm on Monday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International in New York City.
Hosted by Foster Hirsch, a professor in the film department at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and author of an upcoming biography of Otto Preminger, the program will feature a newly restored print from the Academy Film Archive's Otto Preminger Collection and an onstage discussion with Hope Preminger, the director's widow.
The Man with the Golden Arm, nominated for three Academy Awards®, stars Frank Sinatra as an ex-con struggling with heroin addiction, a disabled wife (Eleanor Parker) and his desire for his ex-girlfriend (Kim Novak) in a gritty, groundbreaking drama.
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"Monday Nights with Oscar" is a monthly series showcasing high-quality prints of films that have been nominated for or won Academy Awards.
The Academy Theater at Lighthouse International is located at 111 East 59th Street in New York City. Tickets for the screening are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID.
Tickets may be reserved by calling 1-888-778-7575. Depending on availability, tickets may be purchased the night of the screening. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Photo © A.M.P.A.S.
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I agree. Of the five nominees that year, Frank Sinatra was the best one.
I also like him in another movie — one that flopped miserably — "First Deadly Sin." His last film, in fact. The movie sucked, but Sinatra was excellent.
Great,great film!! This is the film that FS should have recieved a academy award for.