The Gambler: Frank Sinatra in Suddenly

A Different Drummer ^ | 6 February 2004 | Nicholas Stix

[mrustow]

The saying goes "It's Sinatra's world we just live in it". Every since he died, its been slowly sinking down the debotchury hell hole! Here's to the chairman! Aint the same without you!

Bump to that!

[MHGinTN]

Hear here! Bump to that!... Hollywood has converted to hollyweird, and before long it will just be Hollyhell.

[mrustow]

Here's to spittin' in Fatso's eye.

Existentially speaking.

I just checked, and at 87, "Fatso's" still working!

[mrustow]

Thanks for the background. I just stumbled across Hamann for the first time about an hour ago, when I did a google search of "Hitler" and "Vienna," checking out verginius' tip.

[Free ThinkerNY]

[skeeter]

I just checked, and at 87, "Fatso's" still working!

Yes, he is. In fact last December he addressed a group of veterans in Hawaii in commemoration of PH day.

[mrustow]

I just read the DVD reviews of Suddenly at amazon, and people complained not only that the DVD is of poor quality, but that there's a skip in the middle of Sinatra's big speech. Someone said the best thing to do is to tape it off TV when it is broadcast, since TV stations appear to have better prints than the DVD maker.

[mrustow]

Wow! Thanks so much for the great pics!

[mrustow]

I just checked, and at 87, "Fatso's" still working!

Yes, he is. In fact last December he addressed a group of veterans in Hawaii in commemoration of PH day.

That's nice. I just read at his imdb.com bio today, that he was a sailor from 1935-1945, so he was the real deal.

[IndyTiger]

Here's to the chairman! Aint the same without you!

Big bump to that. Think I'll have a jack daniels and coke (Frank's favorite drink) tonight in his honor!

[StoneColdGOP]

Damn it I miss Frank.

[Johnny Gage]

Von Ryan's Express.

A decent movie that kept well with the book up until the very end.

Movie:
Ryan is killed by the germans will trying to climb aboard the rolling escape train

Book:
Ryan makes it on the train, they stop/deboard the train at the top of the mountain, and shift it in reverse and it goes back down and destroys the troop train that was following them.

[mrustow]

When he died, it should have been a relief. After all, he'd been going downhill for so long. The only time before that that I was affected by the passing of a famous person, was when Nixon died. (But then I was less upset than inspired; I wrote a two-class lecture that I delivered to my philosophy students.) And yet, when Sinatra died, I was in a funk for days.

[mrustow]

I never read the book, and I saw the movie so long ago, on the WABC 4:30 movie, that I can't remember it, but with its happy ending, the book sounds more like a movie than the movie.

[Springfield45]

I bought the VHS tape of "Suddenly" a while back at a dollar store because I like vintage 1950s movies, anyway. I found out there was a good bit of railroad-related footage (the "president" is supposed to be riding through the small town on a passenger train, and there is a fair bit of Southern Pacific train action in the film) and liked that because I'm a railroad enthusiast...I also liked the street scenes.
Sterling Hayden does indeed put on a good, believable performance in his sheriff role, as does Nancy Gates as the widow, but the rest of the actors aren't that great and the performances are kind of routine.
In my opinion, Sinatra delivered an amazing, knockout performance. He was simply riveting in the role. Believe it or not, it often takes a good, gifted actor to be an effective movie villain, and Sinatra deftly pulled the role off. He had the subtlety to understand the nuances of the character and how to play the role properly without turning the bad guy into a caricature or an ambulatory target and he doesn't overplay and ham it up and make the guy seem hysterical. He really made you hate the would-be assassain. I thought Sinatra was absolutely brilliant in his role and was the biggest thing keeping the action taut in the movie (he practically carried it) because "Suddenly" really WAS cheaply made and dependent upon the actors' performances to keep the tension up. Sinatra's performance was the one thing that held "Suddenly" together. You could tell he did his homework and made the performance believable.
I am not saying all this because I'm a big Sinatra fan, either (kinda so-so, I liked Nat King Cole a little better, but the Chairman has had his moments, too)...but I can speak from experience critiquing this movie and Sinatra's performance because I've seen "Suddenly" about 3 or 4 times just to enjoy the 50s scenery. I never cease to be amazed at Sinatra's performance in that film. It is one fine piece of acting, no doubt about it. That The Chairman would pull strings to mothball the movie for a while even after having pulled off one of his greatest performances as an actor says something positive about Frank, indeed.

[mrustow]

Thanks for posting your observations. I'll have to look closely for the railroad stuff, next time I see the flick. BTW, I used to act on the amateur stage, and I always preferred playing the heavy or ne'er-do-well. More red meat.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

In Honor of Valentines Day:

"My funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine, you make me smile with my heart

Your looks are laughable, unphotographable, yet you're my favourite work of art

Is your figure less than Greek, is your mouth a little weak,
When you open it to speak, are you smart?

But don't change a hair for me, not if you care for me

Stay little Valentine stay, each day is Valentine's day

Is your figure less than Greek? Is your mouth a little weak?

When you open it to speak, are you smart?

But don't you change one hair for me, not if you care for me

Stay little Valentine stay, each day is Valentine's day"
****
Artist: Frank Sinatra
Lyrics by: Lorenz Hart
Music by: Richard Rodgers

[VOA]

from "Marty": Angie: What do you wanna do tonight? Marty Pilletti: I dunno, Angie. What do you wanna do? Borgnine deserved the Oscar for "Marty"...but I did like his turn in "Escape From New York"...

"Hey, Snake...don't go in there..."

[Dr. Scarpetta]

"Reckless Rogue, Sentimental Softy"

A Tribute to Francis Albert Sinatra by Gregory Peck
(taped June 1996 on Sinatra's birthday)-----

(With Sinatra's music in the background, Gregory Peck sits on a stool and says this:)

The Time 1974.
The Place: Madison Square Gardens, New York.
The Man: The Man Himself - LIVE.

Ole blue eyes was back after a period of self imposed retirement, back to reclaim his title: Heavy Weight Champ of the Singing World!

( Sinatra's voice fades in, saying: "We'll now do the National Anthem, but you need not rise. And, now the time is near and so I face the final curtain…My friends, I'll make it clear, I'll state my case of which I'm certain… I've lived a life that's full; traveled each and every highway, but more, much more than this, I did it my way.)

(Gregory Peck continues, his voice over Sinatra's)

Reckless rogue, sentimental softy, there he stood in the ring.

Back in the arena at 60, the champ facing the fans and the skeptics,

Spinning tales of love gone wrong, fame gone south.

Smiles and sunsets of world on a string, lyrics flowing lyrically;

From that well-spring of feeling, that purveyor of passion,
Passing the praises to the unsung heroes.

Let's have a hand for the boys in the band...

Remembering the days and nights on the bus, one of the guys

Before being touched by the god of fortune; yet, still one of the guys.

Sentimental softy, reckless rogue,

Weaving a musical garment of the threads of his life

Golden threads from the golden years.

The gold record years, the gold statuette years.

Darker threads from the "knocking-on-the-door, nobody-wants-ya" years.

And, green from the green backs of rolling in years.

Blue threads woven into the cloth from the "where-has-she-gone" years.

And the "one-for-the-road" years.

And the pure white thread of the decent deeds

Done in the name of the nameless needy years.

And the threads worked their way into the pattern of his life,

Forming a garment for protection and a banner of defiance.

Reckless softy, sentimental rogue, re- entering the ring at 60,

Fit and fiesty! Frail and Fabulous!

He's back! Wily and warm, winking and winning.

Hey Champ, no more early retirement for you.

Twenty MORE years of cheers and stomping, standing ovations.

Twenty MORE years, at least, of knock out Main Events and accolades.

Hey, reckless rogue, sentimental softy.

Winner and STILL Heavy Weight Champ...YOU ARE THE MAN!

[gonzo]

Yeah - Right! You bump me on a Sinatra thread. Like I don't know all of his songs by heart.

My employees make me wear a tuxedo every year at the Company Christmas Party, and actually FORCE me to sing: 'I've Got You Under My Skin'.

If it wasn't for the influence of The Everly Brothers, I'd be opening in Vegas for Wayne Newton today............FRegards