A Hole in the Head (1959)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Fantastic!

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The story is set in Miami, where down-on-his-luck Tony (Frank Sinatra) is struggling to keep his shabby hotel in the black. He's also got his hands full raising his precocious son Ally (Eddie Hodges) and romancing a free-spirit (Carolyn Jones). His wealthy brother (Edward G. Robinson) agrees to support Tony but in exchange, Ally must come to live with him.This is a wonderful, feel-good comedy/drama with excellent acting all around. Sinatra's Tony is a handsome and cool dreamer who can't seem to catch a break but he's a loving father and has many tender scenes with young Eddie (who mugs a bit too much but is very talented). Robinson and Thelma Ritter as the rich relatives provide a lot of dry, Brooklyn humor and are wonderful as is Eleanor Powell in a small but endearing role.This 1959 movie is a bit dated but still quite enjoyable. I had a smile on my face and a little tear as well. Sweet and wholesome; highly recommended.

Before this movie even began, I marveled that any of the movie execs could have been crazy enough to cast Edward G. Robinson as Frank Sinatra's brother! They seemed as unlike as they could be. Perhaps with the big age difference between them Robinson (22 years) could have been cast as Sinatra's uncle or father...but his brother?! Plus, they looked nothing like brothers! Other than both being short, I can't see any reason for them to be cast together in the film other than they were available! Frank plays a widower who has a young son. He owns a hotel that is just inches away from bankruptcy and he lives a carefree lifestyle--chasing women and being rather irresponsible. The only real good thing in his life is the boy--a nice kid who idolizes him. When the money finally runs out, he contacts his brother (Robinson) who will bail him out financially IF he marries and settles down with a "nice" lady. In fact, Robinson has picked out a widow (Eleanor Parker) for him. But, Sinatra can't bring himself to marry a woman he doesn't love--plus he's smitten with a crazy bohemian (Carolyn Jones). So, if he doesn't marry, he won't get the money--he'll lose his business and perhaps his son as well, as Robinson wants to take the boy away from this less than wholesome atmosphere.Despite having the Oscar-winning song ("High Hopes") and some decent acting, it was hard to love this film. The reason is that despite trying to say that Sinatra loved his kid, he sure didn't act like it. He was just too selfish and too interested in having a good time--and it was darn hard to like the guy. His latest love interest (Jones) didn't like kids--and this didn't seem to bother him! What a cad! Instead, had they made him be a bit less selfish and more of a dreamer, it would have worked much better. As it was, he just seemed like a jerk who needed to grow up--fast. And unfortunately, the ending seemed very abrupt and impossible to believe--tying everything up too neatly and inexplicably. Too bad, as I really wanted to like the film.Overall, a glossy time-passer but unfortunately not much more as the film is hopelessly flawed.

Well I've not seen this since I was 10 or so--they showed it to us in grade school, all of us kids seated in the gym. Never remembered it's title-but certainly remember things like 'High Hopes', some cartoon lamb running through a calender(?), and the kid we were supposed to root for.My impression as I sat and watched it-I distinctly remember thinking that the lead looked kinda grumpy and wasn't nice. Never having heard of Sinatra back then-well you can imagine later on how accurate I think that was. Kids just call'em as they see'em.I'd be interested in seeing this again as an adult, just to see late-era Capra, w/ Edward G in a comedy etc. Am sure it's worthwhile, plus Thelma Ritter is good too.*** from wayyyy back there, old memories.

This movie is a classic case of how a good storyline (about a loser who can not or will not overcome his personal flaws) is ruined by an "everything will work out if you let it" ending.You get the feeling the producers did not feel the audience had the maturity to accept a less-than-pleasant finale'.This is disappointing, but not unusual. During the time period, "feel good" family movies were the rule rather than the exception. It was very rare to see a family film that didn't have some sort of sugary-sweet happy ending. It was that mentality the nearly ruined the Disney industry.You make sense of it!