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The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) 7.4
Strung-out junkie deals with daily demoralizing drug addiction while crippled wife and card sharks continue to pull him down. Director:Otto Preminger |
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Title: The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Frank Sinatra | ... | ||
| Eleanor Parker | ... |
Zosch Machine
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| Kim Novak | ... |
Molly
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| Arnold Stang | ... |
Sparrow
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| Darren McGavin | ... |
Louie
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| Robert Strauss | ... |
Schwiefka
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John Conte | ... |
Drunky
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Doro Merande | ... |
Vi
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| George E. Stone | ... |
Sam Markette
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George Mathews | ... |
Williams
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Leonid Kinskey | ... |
Dominiwski
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Emile Meyer | ... |
Detective Bednar
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Frankie Machine is a skilled card dealer and one-time heroin addict. When he returns home from jail, he struggles to find a new livelihood and to avoid slipping back into addiction. Written by Mike Campanelli <mjc@rubinbaum.com>
Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
16 January 1956 (Brazil) See more »Also Known As:
Der Mann mit dem goldenen Arm See more »Filming Locations:
RKO Studios - 780 Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USACompany Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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[Molly suggests he quit using]
Frankie Machine: You mean just stop? Cold turkey? You don't understand... the pain...
Molly: What else can you do?
Frankie Machine: All I need is one shot, just one.
Molly: All right.
[She takes money from a drawer]
Molly: Here. Take it. Go on and take it all. Cause all that you're gonna need after that one shot is another and then another and then another. Take it.
[She throws her money at him]
Molly: Take it. Why should you hurt like other people hurt? Yeah, so ...
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The movie's poster was as #14 of "The 25 Best Movie Posters Ever" by Premiere. See more »Goofs
Zasha's scrapbook is titled "My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidence" (instead of "accidents"). See more »Quotes
Frankie Machine: Right now I need a fix. Just one fix to help me stop hurting'...[Molly suggests he quit using]
Frankie Machine: You mean just stop? Cold turkey? You don't understand... the pain...
Molly: What else can you do?
Frankie Machine: All I need is one shot, just one.
Molly: All right.
[She takes money from a drawer]
Molly: Here. Take it. Go on and take it all. Cause all that you're gonna need after that one shot is another and then another and then another. Take it.
[She throws her money at him]
Molly: Take it. Why should you hurt like other people hurt? Yeah, so ...
See more »
We have moved far beyond this tentative foray into a forbidden area-drug addiction-for the 1950s. As such, the film may seem dated. The Man with the Golden Arm served its function is peeling back a layer of the underside of society, an eye-opener to a Southern country boy in 1955 when I first viewed this film in the theater. After some serious consideration about being too young, I was allowed to go. It was powerful and affecting then and still maintains some sharp, painful moments of the soul stripped naked. As a movie depicting the loneliness at the core of being, it succeeds.
Filled with angst, Frank Sinatra, in his best role, creates a vulnerability that makes him sympathetic to the viewer. He conveys his helplessness and ineffectualness in a beautifully restrained performance. As a voice of common sense in the dead-end urban jungle, Kim Novak as Molly is quite good. She is compassionate and yet stands on solid ground. The interaction between Sinatra and Novak is really good. Darren McGavin plays a slimy character and does it very well. Eleanor Parker is superbly irritating and painfully insecure in her role of the pathetic Zosch, the crippled wife of Sinatra. Arnold Stang is another unlikely survivor of the street. Regarded as pitiful and despicable, his character Sparrow provides tart comedic moments.
The music is almost the star of this film-brooding, frenetic, moody, poignant. Elmer Bernstein's score perfectly accentuates the tensions of Frankie Machine's spiritual weakness and physical need for heroin. Molly's theme is bittersweet and captures aurally what the film depicts visually. I know of no other soundtrack that effectively complements the tension and defeat within a man as effectively as does this one.