Suddenly (1954). Director: Lewis Allen with a screenplay written by Richard Sale. Cast: Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason and Nancy Gates.
Tod Shaw, the sheriff of a town called Suddenly, is dating Ellen Benson, a widow whose husband was killed in the War. Ellen and her young son Pidge live with her father-in-law, Pop Benson, a retired Secret Service agent. Ellen, is overprotective mother and will not allow her son to see war movies or play with toy guns. Ellen can not believe it when she sees that Tod has bought her son a toy cap pistol. Which puts a strain on their relationship.
Soon after Tod is made aware that a train carrying the President will be arriving at the town's railroad station later in the day. Then travel by car to a ranch for a fishing vacation. Tod meets with the secret service, led by agent Dan Carney. Carney and his men secure all the buildings around the station, including the Benson house. Carney is surprised to learn that his former boss Pop lives in the house. Soon, John Baron, Benny Conklin and Bart Wheeler, hired killers posing as FBI agents, arrive and ask to inspect the house. Pop, asks Baron why his men are there. Baron orders that no one is to leave the house, he tells Pop about the president's arrival and he has information about a potential threat to the president.
When Tod brings Carney to the house to see Pop, Baron shoots and kills Carney and Conklin shoots Tod in the arm. Baron then threatens to harm the little boy unless they follow his instructions. Will the Sheriff, Pop and Ellen be able to stop Baron from going though with his plans?
Even though it was a very different role for Sinatra performing as a vicious killer. I thought Sinatra was very believable playing his part. Nancy Gates, also gives an emotionally believable performance. James Gleason was perfect as a Gruff Old Man. "Suddenly", was surprisingly tough film for era which the film was made.
A Hole in the Head (1959) Comedy directed by Frank Capra. Cast: Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker, Keenan Wynn, Carolyn Jones, Thelma Ritter, Dub Taylor and Joi Lansing. The song in the film "High Hopes", was the song used as a John F. Kennedy campaign song. Wynn plays a character based on Walt Disney who agrees to go into a partnership with Sinatra's character to build an amusement park in Florida. The screenplay was written by Arnold Schulman. The hotel used for some of the scenes was the Cardozo Hotel, located on Miami Beach's Ocean Drive. The hotel was once owned by Gloria and Emilio Estevan.
Tony Manetta, a widower with an eleven-year-old son, moved from the Bronx to Miami Beach hoping to make it big. He lives like a high roller but in truth is in danger of losing Garden of Eden Hotel. The bank gives him forty-eight hours to come up with the money he owes in back payments, Tony calls his brother Mario in New York to ask for a $5,000 loan. Mario, who looks down on his brother's lifestyle, says "no". Desperate Tony lies to his brother and says that his son Ally, is sick. Concerned about her nephew Sophie tells her husband he should fly down to Miami. Mario, offers to help Tony open a five-and-dime store if he settles down and gets married.
Tony worried that his son might have to live with his brother agrees to meet a widow friend of Sophie's, Mrs. Eloise Rogers. Tony then explains to his bohemian girl friend that he is just doing this for his brother and promises to take her on a romantic get away.
When Mrs. Rogers arrives at the hotel, Ally hopes that Tony will marry her, but when Mario reveals his plan to set her and Tony up in a five and dime store, then rudely asks if her deceased husband left her any money, Mrs. Rogers wants no part of the plan. Tony runs after her and after a little smooth talking (Frank Sinatra style) and they decide to go to her place for dinner. While having dinner, Mrs. Rodger's talks about the accidental drowning deaths of her husband and son. Tony, feeling a little guilty admits that he only agreed to meet her so that Mario would loan him money. Mrs. Rogers invites him to stay any ways. When Tony returns to the hotel and says he had a wonderful time, Sophie and Ally are happy, but Mario, not trusting his brother, still is slow to give him any money until he opens the five and dime store himself.
Tony is invited to a high rollers party at the Fontainebleau Hotel by his old friend Jerry, who is now has come into money. At the party, Tony tells Jerry about his dream of buying property and building a Florida Disneyland. Tony believes that Jerry might be interested in investing so he plans to meet him at a dog track to talk about his ideas.
Needing money quick to look like a big shot, Tony sells his Cadillac convertible for $500. At the track, when Jerry and his beautiful girl friend Dorine each bet $500 on a dog, Tony is able to match their bets. His dog comes in a winner and his winnings are enough for him to make up his payments on the hotel. He can not believe his luck and calls Ally. When Mario hears the good news, he is not happy that Tony can go on with his plans without his help. Later, Tony makes another bet on a dog by the name of "Lucky Ally". The dog loses. Now what will happen to Tony's Hotel and his son?
Video: High Hopes.
Joi Lansing, played an uncredited role in, Singin' in the Rain.
She received top billing in Hot Cars (1956).
In the opening sequence of, Touch of Evil (1958), she performed as Zita, the dancer who dies at the end of the famous first tracking shot, during which her character says to a border guard, "I keep hearing this ticking noise inside my head!"
Lansing had a brief role as an astronaut's girlfriend in the 1958 sci-fi classic Queen of Outer Space.
During the 1950's, she performed in short musical films for the Scopitone video-jukebox system. Her songs included "The Web of Love" and "The Silencers".
Lansing played "Lola" in Marriage on the Rocks (1965) with Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, and Dean Martin.
ON THE TOWN (1949). A wonderful musical, about three sailors (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin) on a twenty-four hour shore leave, looking for adventure and romance.
The three sailors go on a sightseeing tour of Manhattan. First on their list: the Empire State Building, Central Park and Rockefeller Center. Ozzie and Gabey, quickly becoming bored with sightseeing and want to check out the beautiful women of New York. The three sailors see a poster of Ivy Smith, "Miss Turnstiles", for the month of June. Ozzie thinking that she is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.
They tell her life story in a dance number. They can not believe that they find her, as soon as they arrive at the subway station, where Ivy is posing for a photo shoot. Gabey poses with her for a photograph, but she quickly disappears. Gabey, Chip and Ozzie follow Ivy in a taxicab driven by Brunhilde, who has eyes for Chip. With the poster of Ivy's as their only information, Gabey and his friends look for her in places where she might be working.
Brunhilde, takes the sailors to look for Ivy at the Museum of Natural History, where Ozzie meets Claire, an anthropologist, who quickly joins them in their search. When they break into a dance, Ozzie and Claire accidentally knock over a dinosaur skeleton at the museum. They run for their lives, but the police are hot on their heels. The group splits up and search for her separately, agreeing to meet later that evening at the Empire State Building.
Alone at last with Chip, Brunhilde takes him to her apartment, only to be disturbed by her quirky, roommate, Lucy.
Gabey eventually finds Ivy in a dance studio, where they make plans to go on a date later that evening. Ivy promises to return from her date, in time to make her performance as a coach dancer at Coney Island. Because she owes her dance instructor a lot of money for her lessons.
Chip, Brunhilde, Ozzie, Claire and Gabey meet at the top of the Empire State Building, where they hide Ozzie from the policemen who are still looking for him. When Ivy arrives, the three couples begin their night... "ON THE TOWN".
The evening comes to an abrupt halt when Ivy disappears without explanation, leaving behind only a note. His friends try to cheer him up by quickly having Lucy fill in for for Ivy. Gabey has a few drinks and thinks about his new love, Ivy. Will the two love birds find each other again?
I loved the fact that this movie was filmed on location in New York. I really enjoyed the dance numbers, for me they seemed to go with the plot instead strictly for entertainment. I also, loved the dance number where the guys dress up in Hiram costumes and sing like girls.
In her screen debut, Alice Pearce (the roommate with the sneezing problem). Alice is also known as the first actress to play the nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz on the show Bewitched (1964).
Jules Munshin (February 22, 1915 – February 19, 1970) was a Jewish song-and-dance artist who had made his name on Broadway when he starred in, Call Me Mister(picture to the left).
Additional Broadway credits: The Gay Life and Barefoot in the Park.
Although Munshin was in successful MGM musicals such as Easter Parade and Take Me Out to the Ball Game, audiences would always remember him as one of the trio of sailors (along with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra) singing "New York, New York" in the hit film On the Town (1949).
Another of his great roles was Bibinski, a Russian Commisar in Silk Stockings (1957).