Synopsis
An 'untouchable' theme…an unusual motion picture!
A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
1955 Directed by Otto Preminger
A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
Frank Sinatra Eleanor Parker Kim Novak Arnold Stang Darren McGavin Robert Strauss John Conte Doro Merande George E. Stone George Mathews Leonid Kinskey Emile Meyer Shorty Rogers Shelly Manne Herschel Graham Frank Mills Harry 'Snub' Pollard Jeffrey Sayre Jered Barclay Leonard Bremen Paul E. Burns Pete Candoli Harold 'Tommy' Hart Mike Lally Frank Marlowe Joe McTurk Gordon Mitchell Jack Mulhall Ralph Neff Show All…
El hombre del brazo de oro, O Homem do Braço de Ouro, Kultainen käsivarsi, Der Mann mit dem goldenen Arm, L'uomo dal braccio d'oro, L'Homme au bras d'or, האיש בעל יד הזהב, Az aranykezű férfi, Человек с золотой рукой, Мъжът със златната ръка, Altın Kollu Adam, Mannen med den gyllene armen, 金臂人, 황금팔을 가진 사나이, 黄金の腕, L'home del braç d'or, Złotoręki, Manden med den gyldne arm
Watching Sinatra act is kinda like watching Michael Jordan play baseball, he’s not bad but his talents are best suited for other things. He’s quite charismatic, though Brando who was up for this part would have taken this film to a new level.
Still, the script and the themes of addiction and recidivism that the film tackles are quite ahead of its time. Drugs are seen as the antagonist and the drug users the victims which I appreciated.
Adapted from the 1948 novel by Nelson Algren, The Man with the Golden Arm distinctly displays a memorable opening animated title sequence courtesy of graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker Saul Bass. It embodies a provocativeness from its director Otto Preminger who continues to increase the dramatic anxieties throughout; which serves this intensely grimy and distinctive noir about the moral degradations of drug addiction admirably. It’s strengthened by a terrific cast which includes Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker and Kim Novak and is further accentuated by an outstanding jazz score by Elmer Bernstein. This was a highly controversial movie in its day and continues to be a significant big-budget cautioning story about the ugliness of drug misuse.
Hmmm, okay this isn’t how I remembered it. First off, I don’t remember it being black and white but more of a lovely sepia-like monochrome. Oh well. This version I just watched looked like complete shit.
So the real reason I chose this was for Old Blue Eyes. I think everyone could admit Sinatra’s the best thing about it. As a matter of fact, he outacts all of the actual actors in this. That Sparrow character was obnoxious and annoying am I right? Sinatra is one of those guys that thinks he’s so damned cool and good at everything that I just want to hate him. The problem is he was that fucking cool and good at everything. Dammit. Some…
There are parts of this that seem a little silly or a little pat now, and I'm not naive enough to think that they didn't seem so in 1955, but one thing that doesn't is Sinatra's lead performance, you see his every doubt and waver in his eyes and face, like blood in the water for all the selfish predators circling him from the moment he steps off the bus.
There was a q&a by an addiction expert after the screening, and she talked about how modern science sometimes characterizes addiction as a brain disease rather than a weakness in the will or a character flaw, and how this movie (and I would argue, Sinatra's performance specifically) possesses an implicit empathy for addicts that science is still catching up to. She also talked about how, sad as it is, the worst place for a person in recovery to go to is often their home.
“Man with the Golden Arm” is a Casio watch made out of the parts of a Rolex.
“Golden Arm” is what would, in modern parlance, be deemed ‘Oscar bait.’ A roster of legends is is on its credit lines. Sinatra did thorough research with actual drug addicts to justly portray the part of a suffering junkie. But Preminger’s usual line-treading between gravity and camp is almost totally lost, given the grim subject matter.
“Golden Arm” is important not as an anti-drug morality tale, but an example of how filmmakers can create change together. United Artists blew past the stodgy production code to release “Golden Arm,” putting it into cinemas without a ‘pass’ seal, and, to massive box office success. It’s a daring fest even by today’s standards, and one that begs to be channeled to escape major studio box office monopolies.
i don’t know, man. something about sinatra playing a guy named frankie who talks about how great he is while everyone around him humors it just seems so phony to me.
A Year of Film History Challenge
(watching a little bit of film history month by month, decade by decade)
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There's a very clever manipulation of perspective in The Man with the Golden Arm that I keep thinking about: when first we meet clandestine backroom card dealer Frankie Machine (played by Frank Sinatra) he's walking around his home neighborhood in Chicago, fresh out of the joint but in recovery for an unnamed addiction that looks and smells an awful lot like heroin, and as we watch him walk it's usually from a distance, as it we're spying on him. When Frank talks of his addiction he frequently refers to it as the monkey that was on his back… but his…
Oof. Big Preminger fan—Daisy Kenyon, Anatomy of a Murder, Laura—but this was oddly bland considering the subject material. Read that Sinatra’s part was originally offered to Brando, and I’m not convinced that’d have been an improvement. Which is saying something. Every aspect is fine. Neutral. No impact. And it’s an addiction film with a fascinating backstory, so—what gives?
Perhaps if I’d seen this in ‘55, The Man with the Golden Arm would’ve had shock value, but it falls short compared to The Lost Weekend a decade earlier or Days of Wine & Roses in ‘62. C’est la vie.
NOIRvember
Kompromisslose Zerfallssstudie eines Drogensüchtigen und viel zu leicht einzuschüchternden Mannes.
Wo Schatten ist, ist auch Licht und nach einem sechsmonatigen Sanatoriumsbesuch wittert Franke Machine neue Aufbruchsstimmung.
Musiker möchte er nun werden und da ihm ein Talent als Schlagzeuger attestiert wurde, hat er auch nur noch dieses Ziel vor Augen.
Nach der Rückkehr in sein Stadtviertel aber wartet nicht nur seine im Rollstuhl sitzende Frau, sondern mitunder auch Gestalten die mit Frankie´s Zukunft andere Pläne haben...
Kompromisslos ist vielleicht zu dick aufgetragen, aber dies liegt im Auge des Betrachters.
Ich bin jedenfalls ziemlich beeindruckt vom Mimenspiel aller Beteiligten. Frank Sinatra gibt alles und überzeugt in seiner facettenreichen und fordernden Rolle. Der kalte Drogenentzug gegen Ende haut rein. Da fühlte ich…
Don't do drugs kids...
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A drug addict gets back home after someone rehab, just to find himself deep into the world of betting and drugs.
Easily the best role from Sinatra, his inherent suave persona is just magnetic and helps you lash onto his character, especially when he's going through some harsh times.
The story plays very well with the conventions of other films that share the same themes, though it nevertheless reaches the same highs as a Requiem For A Dream. Thoughts there are still some nice twists and turn that makes it much engaging.
It takes a while for the film to actually pick up, and the whole final sequence with him battling with the abstinence seem…
Films Watched in 2022 - Film 420
This movie really knows how to use a score. I don’t even mean that the score itself is great (it is), but it utilises that great score better than essentially any movie I can think of.
I really liked how effortless the camera movement seemed but even with all that this seemed really slow-paced for me. There’s also some unintentionally hilarious moments even if the general gist of the film is undoubtedly ahead of its time.
There's a scene in this where Frank Sinatra is trying to think up a good stage name for himself if he makes it as a professional drummer. But there's one problem with this.
His real name is Frankie Machine.
Why the fuck would you need a stage name when your real name is FRANKIE MACHINE. I know you're on heroin, Frankie, but come on! It's staring you right in the face!
Kicking off with a brilliant Saul Bass / Elmer Bernstein opening, The Man with the Golden Arm is alarmingly on point for a mid-1950s film about addiction. Not just in terms of its shattering scenes of Sinatra scrounging for money and going cold turkey…