Featured Audience Ratings

• Stella D

  
  the film that changed the production code; it's hard to imagine the impact this must have had on movie audiences in 1955. the novel's super bleak ending was changed to be somewhat moralistic but hipster cool, the driving jazz score, plus sinatra's knock out performance… More
  the film that changed the production code; it's hard to imagine the impact this must have had on movie audiences in 1955. the novel's super bleak ending was changed to be somewhat moralistic but hipster cool, the driving jazz score, plus sinatra's knock out performance make up for that imo. even novak is great and she's never really impressed me

• Anthony L

  
  An American Classic. Sure, it's a little dated in the way it depicts drug addiction, especially with Heroin being the drug but it has all that greatness that 50s film has. It also took risks, the subject matter being more than a little taboo at the time. Frank Sinatra was very… More
  An American Classic. Sure, it's a little dated in the way it depicts drug addiction, especially with Heroin being the drug but it has all that greatness that 50s film has. It also took risks, the subject matter being more than a little taboo at the time. Frank Sinatra was very well cast and puts in a great performance, he is let down ever so slightly by an overacting supporting cast but it's all forgivable - especially as that cast includes the beautiful Kim Novak and personal favourite of mine, Arnold Stang.

• Cindy I

  
  Decent but not great movie about a ex-junkie and how he got sucked back into his habit. I'm not a Sinatra fan, but he did OK as heroin addict Frankie Machine. The title refers to Johnny's job, which is a card dealer for illegal card games. Eleanor Powell plays… More
  Decent but not great movie about a ex-junkie and how he got sucked back into his habit. I'm not a Sinatra fan, but he did OK as heroin addict Frankie Machine. The title refers to Johnny's job, which is a card dealer for illegal card games. Eleanor Powell plays Johnny's wife, who is in a wheelchair because of an accident that was Johnny's fault. Kim Novak plays Johnny's mistress with her usual stiff as a board portrayal (I'm not a Novak fan either) . I'm so used to Eleanor Powell playing strong women, that seeing her playing a weakling (although not as weak as she first appears...heheh) was interesting. Her performance reminded me a great deal of Joan Crawford in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, which wouldn't be for another seven years. Could Joan have based her protrayal on Powell's? My main complaint about this film is that it seems to be two films edited together. We have the carddealer/heroin addict story, and then we have the love triangle between Johnny, his crippled wife and Molly. They only slightly seem to be connected. I can't say that this film made me any more of a fan of either Sinatra or Novak, but I don't consider it a waste of time either.

• Chris W

  
  This is basically an overwrought melodramatic depiction of hard drug abuse (one of the first in cinema, I believe). It's a little tame by today's standards, but it features really good performances and an excellent score by Elmer Bernstein. I give it a B-.

• jay n

  
  Overwrought 50's drama with some good acting and some that is over the top, once shocking subject matter has lost some of its punch.

• xGary X

  
  Once again Otto Preminger prodded at the boundaries of cinema in this dramatization of drug addiction starring Frank Sinatra as an "ex" junkie trying to rebuild his life. Although a little tame by todays standards, it was ground breaking at the time and it contains some… More
  Once again Otto Preminger prodded at the boundaries of cinema in this dramatization of drug addiction starring Frank Sinatra as an "ex" junkie trying to rebuild his life. Although a little tame by todays standards, it was ground breaking at the time and it contains some intelligent insights into the psychology of addiction. Darren McGavin is great as the seductively smooth-talking pusher, and Kim Novak is a doll as the true object of his affections; the only weak link is the sub plot involving Frankie's "crippled" wife which would feel overcooked even if you could ignore Eleanor Parker's often painful over-acting. The happy ending also fails to ring true to the rest of the story, but the film belongs to Sinatra who really gets to prove his mettle as a serious actor.

• Antony S

  
  Otto Preminger, ever the boundary-pusher, turns his hand towards the perils of drug addiction in this ace tale of urban squalor and degradation. Frank Sinatra is our main man here, trapped between several rocks and hard places; indebted to the local gambler and forced into an unhappy… More
  Otto Preminger, ever the boundary-pusher, turns his hand towards the perils of drug addiction in this ace tale of urban squalor and degradation. Frank Sinatra is our main man here, trapped between several rocks and hard places; indebted to the local gambler and forced into an unhappy relationship with a girl he accidentally paralysed from the waist down. Sinatra gives oen his career-best performances, as this is not a role upon which to hang his smooth nature or good looks. Rather, he's more than willing to get his hands dirty expressing the realism of constantly going back to the needle. In some cases, the film falters. The brass blares when his pusher takes out each instrument for his shooting up are particularly unsubtle, and Eleanor Parker's turn as manipulative 'cripple' Zosch is proper stagey, all fidgets and melodrama. Having said that, her character does contribute a great deal towards the overall tension propelling the film: that everyone needs to leech off someone else, be it for money or affection. This is also reflected in Frankie's simple buddy, he's comic relief, but as quick to pull a deceptive scam as anyone else. On the plus side, the legendary Saul Bass contributes a diamond title sequence, and the ever-reliable Preminger keeps the material from getting stagey by offering some trademark smooth, unbroken shots. The best include the sexually-charged linger over Frankie and Molly's re-encounter, and the final scene's gorgeous three-storey pan after... now that'd be telling. A little dated, but a fine addiction movie, with mostly solid performances, neat camerawork and jazzy score.

• Michael G

  
  Great, great movie. If you ever doubted Sinatra's ability to act this will prove you wrong.

• Mike T

  
  Considering the era of release, this is a boldly explicit piece that dared to stray into the actual reality of drug abuse instead of the typical "dope fiend" approach that was so popular at the time. Frank Sinatra performs well in the lead role, but Arnold Stang is… More
  Considering the era of release, this is a boldly explicit piece that dared to stray into the actual reality of drug abuse instead of the typical "dope fiend" approach that was so popular at the time. Frank Sinatra performs well in the lead role, but Arnold Stang is insufferably obnoxious in an out-of-place comedic character. The excellent art direction and Otto Preminger's stylistic approach to the movie give it a nice surface gloss.

• Duncan R

  
  Back in ye olden tymes, filmmakers didn't need flashy special effects or fancy-nancy camera moves in order to make a good movie. All they needed was a compelling script, actors with enough talent to make an audience connect with it, and a camera with film to capture it all. Such… More
  Back in ye olden tymes, filmmakers didn't need flashy special effects or fancy-nancy camera moves in order to make a good movie. All they needed was a compelling script, actors with enough talent to make an audience connect with it, and a camera with film to capture it all. Such is <i>The Man with the Golden Arm</i>, a slow-paced yet riveting account of an extreme form of the human experience. In the lead role, we have Frank Sinatra, giving possibly the best performance of his career as a recovering smack-addict struggling to get away from the lifestyle that almost destroyed him. We root for him in this attempt, especially when that lifestyle threatens to engulf him yet again. This is about Sinatra's character, but thankfully, it manages to never be "The Frank Sinatra Show". Part of this is because of Sinatra's genuine and realistic performance, and the other is because the film feels like an ensemble piece, despite it's centering around one character. All the supporting members of the cast are on-par with the leading man. My personal favorite being Darren McGavin as the manipulative snake of a dealer, calling Sinatra's character back to his former drug of choice like the serpent drawing Eve to the forbidden fruit. Elenor Parker also gets props as his psychotic wife, as does Kim Novak as the female friend who stands by him and helps him when he needs it the most. All in all, this movie is excellent, and is sure to tug on the heartstrings of people patient enough to sit through it.

• MJS M

  
  The first Hollywood studio film to tackle the issue of hard drug abuse. The film was directed by Otto Preminger who was known for introducing mature themes to studio films. This is a smart depiction of drug abuse, more Lost Weekend than Reefer Madness. Frank Sinatra gives a very good… More
  The first Hollywood studio film to tackle the issue of hard drug abuse. The film was directed by Otto Preminger who was known for introducing mature themes to studio films. This is a smart depiction of drug abuse, more Lost Weekend than Reefer Madness. Frank Sinatra gives a very good performance and the film's visual style works great. There's also a great Saul Bass opening credit sequence, and a great jazz score. That said the film is probably more groundbreaking than it is extraordinary, and will probably be remembered for its ballsyness than its script.

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