The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Really Surprised!

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I haven't seen this film since 1971, but then it made e such an impression, that it stuck for life, and I felt no need to see it again, as the memory of it was sharp enough. Just for curiosity, I decided to renew its acquaintance after 44 years just to see what would happen, - and the impact was repeated and as good as new. This is probably the best junkie film ever made, in its naturalistic and actually horrific realism, with Frank Sinatra (100 years just the other day) in his best performance in the lead as the junkie with a crippled wife in a wheel- chair (Eleanor Parker, splendid acting on her part too,) and Kim Novak as the saving angel - it stands clear from the beginning that only she can save him, and she does, in also one of her best performances, actually better than in "Vertigo". The triumph however is the direction combined with the music by Elmer Bernstein. It's asphalt jungle music all the way, hard and merciless in its ruthlessly importuning rough disharmonics and nightmare style (with a few exceptions for a change), and Sinatra is even convincing as a failed drummer. Otto Preminger stands for the direction, one of many original films of his, and they are many, but this black-and-white social documentary naturalistic gutter nightmare is perhaps the one most sticking out - you recognize much of this half slum humdrum environment as he returns to it in "Porgy and Bess" three years later. In brief, it's a triumph of a film, completely naked in shocking social realism with as perfectly convincing and natural performances as in any Italian neo-realistic masterpiece. It was a perfectly enjoyable nightmare to see it again after 44 years to observe it had lost nothing of its timeless actuality - this could happen to you.

This was a fantastic, truly seminal movie at the time it was released, as it dealt with taboo subject matter (heroin addiction) deemed "unsuitable" by the Review Board and certainly outside 1955's "Father Knows Best" squeaky-clean societal norms and standards.As I watch TMWTGA for the dozenth time and note some of the career risks that were taken by the actors, I am beginning to question if Otto Preminger ever made a "bad" movie....because it seems that he always got the very best performances out of his actors. It also seems many of his movies pushed boundaries and challenged societal assertions and beliefs.How so? Well, in Preminger's "In Harm's Way"...Preminger introduces audiences to the somewhat risqué idea that not only is casual, non- committed sex "OK" in polite society, it happens quite frequently between consenting unmarried adults (operating in the harsh circumstances and environs of WWII warfare). "In Harm's Way" also included an incredibly controversial forcible-rape sequence, both violent and nasty, which results in both the attacker and the victim's committing suicide to avoid public condemnation and consequences.Or, in Preminger's "The Moon is Blue".....where two men are pursuing one woman, not for marriage, but for sex.In "The Man with the Golden Arm", moviegoers got a firsthand taste of what it really means to be an addict; the unmitigated cravings, the self-deceptions, the pains of withdrawal, the unavoidable destruction of relationships and loved ones, etc. Although Sinatra was magnificent in this movie, so was Eleanor Parker, along with great performances by Arthur Strang, and notably, Darin McGavin, who creates an especially nasty, reprehensible drug pusher who knows exactly how to pull the strings and make the addict Sinatra "dance".Although films aren't Black and White anymore, and the 1950's won't ever return, the concepts and characters in this movie still exist in full force here in present-day 2014. Just peer down a dark side-street, out behind the bowling alley, or in the parking lot of your closest seedy motel. You can find the same set of REAL players revolving around money and drugs on a corner of Your Town, USA, or any place where desperation and shattered dreams are laid bare, and pain is mitigated via the needle, the pill, the puff, or the snort.

............................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL If you're under 70, there's probably no way you can remember how controversial and cutting edge MAN WITH The GOLDEN ARM was when it was released in 1955. Fortunately, my parents were very liberal in permitting me to see films and even took me to see it just after turning Eight. WOW! What a tremendous impact it had on me. It was the first "Grown-up" film that made me realize there was more to cinema than just Sci-Fi/Horror, Westerns and Kids' movies! Mainstream cinema had never touched the subjects of drug addiction and heroin withdrawal, which were considered taboo topics, even at the dinner table, let alone as the focus of a movie to be shown in public! The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) refused to give its seal of approval to GOLDEN ARM, forcing Producer/Director Otto Preminger and Distributor United Artists to release it without the MPAA's seal. This, of course, contributed greatly to both the films commercial and critical success! It also opened the door to new ways of making, distributing and classifying films.Before my recent third viewing, I had only seen it once at age 8, mentioned above, and again, in my late teens (Perhaps the 10th Anniversary Re-Release?). Despite some of the production elements and dialog that do date the film considerably, the last half of GOLDEN ARM had me in a headlock. The acting, Bernstein music, photography and editing all contribute to the mood of the movie, precisely as Otto Preminger intended! The scene where Machine(Sinatra) undergoes withdrawal pains is still unbelievably hard-hitting today.In general, Sinatra's performance is quite surprising. His Oscar nomination was very well deserved. When you consider this performance in conjunction with Sinatra's role in MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and From Here to Eternity, you begin to appreciate just how underrated OLD BLUE EYES was as an actor! 9*STARS*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!Any comments, questions or observations, in English or Español, are most welcome! [email protected]

A strung-out junkie (Frank Sinatra) deals with daily demoralizing drug addiction while crippled wife (Eleanor Parker) and card sharks continue to pull him down.While this is not the first film to deal with drugs, it is probably the first to deal with them in a very serious manner. "Reefer Madness" and "Cocaine Fiends", for example, can be written off as humorous nostalgia. This film, on the other hand, is decades ahead of "Trainspotting" and "Requiem For a Dream". (Did you even know heroin addiction was prominent in the 1950s?) Variety called the film "a gripping, fascinating film, expertly produced and directed and performed with marked conviction by Frank Sinatra as the drug slave." I agree for the most part, though I really did not enjoy Sinatra's acting as much as many others did, I think. Otto Preminger is a first-rate director, and I hope this film gets the respect it deserves over the long run (I found the 50th anniversary release to be not nearly cleaned up enough).While the focus is heroin and addiction, one could also make a case about this film being about love. Frankie's wife brings him down, encourages him to go back to his old habits, turns him away from his dreams. Molly (Kim Novak) does just the opposite. Divorce and adultery are hardly ever positive topics, but in this film you almost hope that Frankie goes that route.