DramaCrime

The Man with the Golden Arm

- An 'untouchable' theme… an unusual motion picture!

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

Release Date : 1955-12-26

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Carlyle Productions

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Frankie Machine

Original Name : Frank Sinatra

Gender : Male

Character Name : Zosch Machine

Original Name : Eleanor Parker

Gender : Female

Character Name : Molly

Original Name : Kim Novak

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sparrow

Original Name : Arnold Stang

Gender : Male

Character Name : Louie

Original Name : Darren McGavin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Schwiefka

Original Name : Robert Strauss

Gender : Male

Character Name : Drunky

Original Name : John Conte

Gender : Male

Character Name : Vi

Original Name : Doro Merande

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sam Markette

Original Name : George E. Stone

Gender : Male

Character Name : Williams

Original Name : George Mathews

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dominiwski

Original Name : Leonid Kinskey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Detective Bednar

Original Name : Emile Meyer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Band Leader

Original Name : Shorty Rogers

Gender : Male

Character Name : Drummer

Original Name : Shelly Manne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Club Safari Patron (uncredited)

Original Name : Herschel Graham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Street Vagrant (uncredited)

Original Name : Frank Mills

Gender : Male

Character Name : Street Vagrant (uncredited)

Original Name : Harry 'Snub' Pollard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Club Safari Patron (uncredited)

Original Name : Jeffrey Sayre

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Jered Barclay

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Leonard Bremen

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Paul E. Burns

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Pete Candoli

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Harold 'Tommy' Hart

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Mike Lally

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Frank Marlowe

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Joe McTurk

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Gordon Mitchell

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Jack Mulhall

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Ralph Neff

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Norman Papson

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Ernest Raboff

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Frank Richards

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Suzanne Ridgway

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Charles Seel

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Martha Wentworth

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Will Wright

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-11-14

This story has quite a well trodden feel to it. Frank Sinatra's "Frankie" is released from a stint in prison and heads straight back to the drug-infused melting pot from whence he came. Initially intent on staying clean, soon peer pressures and his struggle to survive, with his high-maintenance wife "Zosh" (Eleanor Parker) have him back at square one. It might just be that his salvation can come from his lover, the excellent Kim Novak ("Molly"), and from his drum kit? Sinatra proves he has some versatility as an actor here, and both Parker and Novak - alongside an un-nerving effort from Robert Strauss as his supplier "Schwiefka", makes this a far grittier, harder hitting drama than we might have expected. It shows us the relentlessness and hopelessness of his situation; also of the relative futility of the attempts at rehabilitation he went through in jail. It is too long, the first twenty minutes establish the characters, but at the expense of any decent pace - but once the ducks are in a row here, Otto Preminger elicits characterful performances from the cast that make this film quite realistic, and tough to watch at times.

r96sk

@r96sk

2024-05-29

Bit of a slow-moving picture, one that might've ended sooner, though I do class 'The Man with the Golden Arm' as something rather quite good. Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak keep events moving along with strong showings, Sinatra especially. Eleanor Parker is, though, the person onscreen that I appreciated most whilst watching, there's just something about her performance that puts her ahead of her co-stars; I'd even say she overacts in parts, yet it absolutely still worked for me. The story does go round the houses a little, but even with that being the case it didn't actually affect my personal enjoyment all that much - it just totally could've been trimmed and we probably wouldn't have missed anything. Elsewhere, the score is excellent - especially the theme for when Frankie desires his habbits. I'd have to be in the right mood to revisit this. Nonetheless, it do be a very good film from 1955 - ahead of its time, that's for sure.