Stream it now The Man with the Golden Arm Reset Status Want to Watch Already Watched Don't Want to Watch

-hihi Great !

So, I ate Turkey dinner with some old friends, and then went and saw:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Directed by: Mike Newell




Otto Preminger was always willing to tackle subjects others wouldn't, and show the gritty side of things when others didn't want to look. That said, he had enough problems in his style, mostly his wandering on too much and lack of focus, that his films are never unqualified sucesses, but rarely are they poor either. This film is no exception.

This film, about heroin addiction, borrows heavily from Billy Wilder's film about alcoholism 'The Lost Weekend', yet maintains enough of its own thing to be a good movie. Sinatra is very good, and Novak is excellent. I liked how the film was able to take Sinatra's girlfriend Zash, and make her simultainously a sympathetic and hated figure. She's quite a piece of work, and makes the film interesting.

Anyhow, this film is overlong, and some of it's humor is out of place. Yet it's also one of the first truly 'gritty' films about a 'gritty' topic I've seen. Worthwhile.

7.5

Otto Preminger Rocks...and so does the Chairman in this move about heroin addiction. Darrin McGavin plays the dealer!

Sad, depressing film with some excellent peformances, especially from Sinatra. Great score, too. Very famous opening titles from Saul Bass make this memorable.

The Man With the Golden Arm (Preminger, 1955)

T-Meter :fresh:89%
My Rating :fresh:8/10

"What do you mean Frank Sinatra's a heroin addict :eek:?! What's that? Oh!, you mean to say he gives an excellent performance as a former junkie, drug dealer whose trying to get his life straightened out, but is finding it very hard to do because his former business partners are pressuring him to come back. Okay, AND you say that the beautiful Kim Novak also tosses in a strong performance as his wife. Well gee golly jeepers, I better go out and see this classic film from Otto Preminger. Hey wait a minute!.... isn't Otto Preminger the same guy who directed that cool courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder, and he provided a good performance in Billy Wilder's underrated Stalag 17? He is! No way! I better rent those other two along with The Man With the Golden Arm, and I can have an Otto Preminger triple feature night"

6.5/10. A little melodramatic, but still a powerful film with very fine performances. It has good atmosphere and well thought out cinematography.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM

This movie is a very good 1950s era drama that grapples with issues of drug addiction and co-dependency. The film is considered groundbreaking for its treatment of these highly controversial topics which were not depicted up to this time by the industry in such a clear and honest manner if at all. The story is depressing but ultimately uplifting. The movie is based on an award-winning novel by Nelson Algren set in postwar late 1940s Chicago about a WWII combat veteran who gets hooked on pain medication and can't break loose. It is not rated, but due to its mature content should best be considered appropriate viewing for adult audiences I think. The film was shot entirely in black-and-white and stage directed by Otto Preminger. It was nominated for several Academy Awards, including one for Elmer Bernstein's musical score.

Frank Sinatra gives a solid acting portrayal in the leading role as Frankie Machine, a recovering heroin addict trying to straighten out his life with the best of intentions. Eleanor Parker was stunning in the part of Frankie's fragile, mentally ill young wife. Darren McGavin and Kim Novak are also standouts in the supporting cast. Fans will recognize Arnold Stang as Frankie's good buddy, who at one time was the well-known voice behind the cartoon character Top Cat and also some early Chunky Chocolate commercials.

I had to ask myself repeatedly while watching this film, why was it that the police kept arresting poor Frankie and his buddy for petty crimes, but didn't ever get the sleazy drug pusher or the shady guy in cahoots who ran the back room gambling marathons that were feeding his habit?--an interesting story.