Simply Perfect

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Director/producer bad boy Otto Preminger enjoyed giving the Hollywood Production Code the finger throughout the 1950s, and he did it again with this pretty harrowing movie about a heroin addict trying desperately to thwart his addiction.This was strong stuff for 1955. Good Lord, two years earlier Preminger's "The Moon Is Blue" had been denied a seal of approval from the Production Code for including the word "virgin," so I can only imagine what audiences at the time made of this. It's of course pretty tame by today's standards, but this movie had some major cajones to tackle the subject of heroin addiction, including a scene showing what it's like to detox, so frankly.Speaking of Frank, Sinatra proves himself to be a damn fine actor in this, and scored himself his second Academy Award nomination for his performance. Knowing the Academy, it's his showy scenes, like the detox one mentioned above, that wowed them, but it's his quieter ones, where you can see the struggle within him happening in his eyes only, that are more impressive. Darren McGavin, a long way from "A Christmas Story," is both terrifying and mesmerizing as a dealer who keeps Sinatra wanting a score. I could have done without a far-fetched side plot involving Eleanor Parker as Sinatra's enabler girlfriend (or wife? I was never sure) that feels like something from a different movie. On the other hand, this film's art direction and score (by Elmer Bernstein) are sensational, and both were also singled out by the Academy. The set in particular is impressive, a meticulous recreation of a seedy city block, which serves as a constant visual reminder of the cage Sinatra's character lives in and which he has to break out of if he ever has a chance of going clean. Grade: A

This sleeper film is great classic.Starring singer frank Sinatra as "Frankie machine"Also starring Eleanor parker as Frankie's wife.Kim novak play molly.Beautiful as always is Kim.Considered controversial in it's portrayal of addiction upon it's release in 1955.Shot in black and white.Produced and directed by Otto Preminger.This movie shows how one individual struggles to change his life situation.How his past nearly destroys his future.As this film show we can overcome our demons and let someone help us on our life pathway to recovery.This film is available on DVD and VHS.I really think frank Sinatra was and still is unrated as an actor.watch these following films,Manchurian candidate,from here to eternity,lady in cement,and a little gem of a film "Suddenly".Hope my review helped.

Frank Sinatra is "The Man with the Golden Arm" in this 1955 Otto Preminger film that also stars Eleanor Parker, Darrin McGavin, Kim Novak, and Arnold Stang. Sinatra plays Frankie Machine, a heroin addict who is treated during a six month prison stay and comes home determined to start a new life as a musician.Trying to follow the advice of his doctor, he refuses his old job, that of a card dealer. However, it doesn't take long for the old pulls on him to take root. His wife Zosch, is in a wheelchair due to an accident caused by Frankie, and she's extremely clingy and needy. His girlfriend Molly (Novak) is with someone else and isn't sure she wants to be involved with him again. Louie (McGavin) is constantly on him to buy a fix, and Schwiefka (Robert Strauss), his old boss, is desperate for him to work as a dealer. Frankie fairly quickly starts using again.The setting of this film couldn't possibly be more depressing - a seedy, dirty, old neighborhood peopled with weirdos, drug dealers, and criminal types. In the midst of this, Frankie's wife plays on his guilt for the accident, and then he has to face up to the fact that he went back to his addiction.Frank Sinatra is great as the downtrodden, pathetic Frankie who wants to get a job playing the drums and takes a detour. The supporting cast is marvelous with the exception of the miscast Eleanor Parker. Parker is simply not low-class enough for the role of Zosch -- her acting is very good as always, but she's too well-spoken. This would have been an excellent role for Coleen Gray who could have captured the necessary quality beautifully.Without giving away the ending, I had a problem with it - how the truth of the situation was learned is not explained.Films about drug use in later years were much more graphic and hard-hitting. Drugs in the '50s were not as mainstream as they became, and actually, they're hardly mentioned in the movie. I'm sure this was a difficult subject to handle in 1955, and given that, Preminger did an excellent job.

"The Man With The Golden Arm" is a disturbing drama about one man's battle against heroin addiction. It depicts very effectively some of the powerful forces around him which make it so difficult for him to break his habit and also shows the levels of despair and disillusionment that he experiences as he discovers that he's completely powerless to avoid the loss of his dreams and aspirations.This movie is widely credited as being the first Hollywood production to tackle the issue of drug addiction and at the time of its release was considered to be both challenging and controversial. It certainly defied the censorship standards of the time and although it obviously looks dated now, it's still clear to see just how fascinating and shocking it must have seemed to audiences in the mid 1950s.Ex-criminal and drug addict Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra) returns to his Chicago neighbourhood after serving a six month sentence during which he successfully managed to "get the monkey off his back". The new Frankie is full of good intentions as he plans to stay clean and make a career for himself as a jazz drummer. Soon it becomes clear, however, that his plans conflict with the interests of some of the people around him.Frankie was responsible for the car accident in which his wheelchair bound wife Zosh (Eleanor Parker) had been seriously injured and ever since she'd played on his feelings of guilt to get him to do whatever she wanted. She opposes his ambition to become a musician and would prefer him to return to his old job as a dealer in illegal poker games run by a guy called Zero Schwiefka (Robert Strauss). Frankie's skill as a dealer had been so admired that he'd become widely known as "The Man With The Golden Arm".After having made an appointment with a music agent, Frankie decides he needs a new suit and his loyal sidekick Sparrow (Arnold Stang) quickly acquires one for him. When he meets Schwiefka again, Frankie tells him that he has no desire to return to dealing cards and in retaliation Schwiefka informs the police that Frankie and Sparrow had stolen the suit. Both men then end up in a cell until Schwiefka bails them out subject to Frankie's agreement to go back into dealing.Things become difficult for Frankie when his agent fails to call him about an audition and money is needed to pay Zosh's medical bills. It's at this point that his old drug dealer Louis Fomorowski (Darren McGavin) offers him a fix and Frankie finds it impossible to resist. Louis triumphantly tells him that "the monkey never dies" and once again Frankie finds himself in the grip of his addiction.Life just gets progressively worse for Frankie from that point on as he finds himself compelled to deal for Schwiefka and when he makes an error in a particularly important game involving a couple of professional gamblers, gets beaten up by one of them. He fails an audition with a band because he's suffering from withdrawal symptoms and when Louis dies in suspicious circumstances, becomes the prime suspect. Even more torment follows when he goes into hiding and with the help of his ex-girlfriend Molly (Kim Novak) suffers more excruciating agonies when he goes cold turkey. The way in which his innocence is eventually established provides further evidence of Zosh's deceitful and controlling nature.Frank Sinatra gives an extraordinary performance as the junkie who's surrounded by a bunch of predators who all want to manipulate him for their own individual reasons. His character is a man who's trapped by his addiction but also by a group of people who are only concerned about using his skills or weakness for their own profit. Sinatra plays the role of the victim in situations which are sometimes poignant or distressing and creditably never sinks in to sentimentality or self pity.The supporting cast are also good with Darren McGavin standing out as the creepy pusher who's so confident in his beliefs about addict behaviour that he can comfortably bide his time until his prey inevitably turn to him in desperation at a point when they'll be ready to pay any price to satisfy their cravings.The success that this film achieved with the public and the critics provided a fitting reward for the courage shown by Otto Preminger in tackling a subject which, at the time, was taboo and challenging the censors in the process. The design of Saul Bass' opening title sequence is typical of the originality and quality that he showed in his work on a number of movies and Elmer Bernstein's theme from "The Man With The Golden Arm" is still one of the most distinctive and well known pieces of music in cinema history. This movie is definitely a film of its time but also merits the classic status that it's acquired in the years since its initial release.