In spite of a strong, Oscar-nominated performance from Frank Sinatra, director Otto Preminger’s controversial-for-the-time drama is strangely unengaging.
Exploring the taboo subject of drug-addiction, Sinatra plays Frankie Machine, the weak-willed Chicago card dealing gambler. Fresh from time spent inside, he’s looking to break his habit. But the need for a quick buck keeps Frankie close to home and his old haunts. It’s only Molly (Kim Novak) who has faith – and a key to keep him locked in the apartment when needed.
It’s a solid adaptation of Nelson Algren’s novel with its hard-nosed, occasionally strident, early soundtrack from Elmer Bernstein. Yet the staginess of the setting along with the melodramatic Eleanor Parker as Frankie’s wheelchair-bound wife create an imbalance that’s hard to overcome.
Nominated for 3 Oscars in 1956 (including Sinatra and Bernstein).
Rating: 59%
Director: Otto Preminger (Laura, Anatomy of a Murder)
Writer: Walter Newman (Ace in the Hole, Cat Ballou), Lewis Meltzer (The Jazz Singer, Shark River) – based on the novel by Nelson Algren
Main cast: Frank Sinatra (From Here to Eternity, The Manchurian Candidate), Kim Novak (Vertigo, Picnic), Eleanor Parker (Caged, The Sound of Music)
Soundtrack: Elmer Bernstein (Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Magnificent Seven)
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