Most enjoyable film with Sinatra and Shelley Winters in a love triangle and messy criminal goings on. Specifically interesting is the part of Raymond Burr, who is a real meany, and cameo roles abound including Tony Curtis and Jeff Chandler, among others who look like they're waiting for something to happen! It does! The music and singing is great! The acting is great! Be ready to enjoy! 7/10
20 Reviews
Sinatra and Winters
SnoopyStyle19 August 2022
Danny Wilson (Frank Sinatra) and Michael Francis (Alex Nicol) are a struggling entertainment duo. Hot head Danny keeps getting them into trouble. Joy Carroll (Shelley Winters) grabs them off the streets. She needs drinking company after a bad break. Danny hits a policeman and the guys get arrested. Joy bails them out and gets them jobs in a nightclub owned by gangster Nick Driscoll (Raymond Burr).
This movie is going all out on Sinatra's crooning. His real stardom helps although in his post-war real life, he did fall into a small dip. This has a lot of old classics. Winters is playing the sexy dame but she does it with force. She surprises me with some sassy singing. Notoriously, she and Sinatra had a big dust up during the filming. One doesn't really sense the animosity although their romantic chemistry is not that great. Winters could never do that demure lovey-dovey romantic stuff that well. It's not really in her bag of tricks. The movie takes a hard turn into gangster violence which doesn't really fit. Sinatra's big fight scene before that is his opponent laughing at his weak punches. Sinatra is not really the hard hitting type. The movie is a mishmash of elements. Some of them like Sinatra's singing is great. Some others are ill-fitting. All in all, it's an interesting intersection for these two legendary entertainers.
This movie is going all out on Sinatra's crooning. His real stardom helps although in his post-war real life, he did fall into a small dip. This has a lot of old classics. Winters is playing the sexy dame but she does it with force. She surprises me with some sassy singing. Notoriously, she and Sinatra had a big dust up during the filming. One doesn't really sense the animosity although their romantic chemistry is not that great. Winters could never do that demure lovey-dovey romantic stuff that well. It's not really in her bag of tricks. The movie takes a hard turn into gangster violence which doesn't really fit. Sinatra's big fight scene before that is his opponent laughing at his weak punches. Sinatra is not really the hard hitting type. The movie is a mishmash of elements. Some of them like Sinatra's singing is great. Some others are ill-fitting. All in all, it's an interesting intersection for these two legendary entertainers.
A very pleasant, very surprising surprise
movieswithgreg19 August 2022
I just started watching this on TCM, figuring it would be a throwaway 50s romantic drama. It's better than that.
The first thing that grabbed me was the dialogue. It's unusually sophisticated, natural, and modern in its rhythms. They situations aren't overly simplified. They're not saccharine, they're not melodramatic. They're modern.
Second, who knew Shelly Winters could sing?
Winters is refreshing and wonderful as a well-adjusted, successful professional. Here, Winters is not burdened by her usual portrayal as damaged goods.
And despite a shaky start, Sinatra turns in a good acting performance. His buddy, Alex Nicol, is bit of a stuff, but a likeable one. Burr is a refreshingly lighter touch as his usual heavy villain.
And it's beautifully photographed as well.
The first thing that grabbed me was the dialogue. It's unusually sophisticated, natural, and modern in its rhythms. They situations aren't overly simplified. They're not saccharine, they're not melodramatic. They're modern.
Second, who knew Shelly Winters could sing?
Winters is refreshing and wonderful as a well-adjusted, successful professional. Here, Winters is not burdened by her usual portrayal as damaged goods.
And despite a shaky start, Sinatra turns in a good acting performance. His buddy, Alex Nicol, is bit of a stuff, but a likeable one. Burr is a refreshingly lighter touch as his usual heavy villain.
And it's beautifully photographed as well.
When He Doesn't Sing
bkoganbing24 September 2006
Any excuse like Meet Danny Wilson you can get to hear Frank Sinatra sing some great old standards is something to take advantage of. Problem with Meet Danny Wilson is that when Sinatra stops singing, he's really one obnoxious boor in this film.
Singer Frank Sinatra and his accompanist piano player Alex Nicol are making a meager living in a whole lot of dives until top singer Shelley Winters hears them and gets them hired by her gangster boss Raymond Burr. Burr's got eyes for her, Sinatra has eyes for her, but she only sees Nicol. That leads to a whole lot of complications.
What further leads to complications is Raymond Burr's verbal contract to get 50% of Sinatra's earnings. Burr doesn't like things in writing just fork over the money and he has 32 caliber lawyer if needed.
Some have said this is a thinly veiled Sinatra autobiographical film. If so it's a picture of Frank no one could take. I'm still trying to figure out why Nicol puts up with him. They're old army buddies, but that only takes you so far.
Danny Wilson is one of the least attractive characters Sinatra ever brought to the screen. But when he's singing, my oh my.
Singer Frank Sinatra and his accompanist piano player Alex Nicol are making a meager living in a whole lot of dives until top singer Shelley Winters hears them and gets them hired by her gangster boss Raymond Burr. Burr's got eyes for her, Sinatra has eyes for her, but she only sees Nicol. That leads to a whole lot of complications.
What further leads to complications is Raymond Burr's verbal contract to get 50% of Sinatra's earnings. Burr doesn't like things in writing just fork over the money and he has 32 caliber lawyer if needed.
Some have said this is a thinly veiled Sinatra autobiographical film. If so it's a picture of Frank no one could take. I'm still trying to figure out why Nicol puts up with him. They're old army buddies, but that only takes you so far.
Danny Wilson is one of the least attractive characters Sinatra ever brought to the screen. But when he's singing, my oh my.
Frankie and Shelley were lovers
Lejink26 June 2018
Firstly, I like the directness of the title. Apparently one of those films Sinatra made when he was on his career downward curve before "From Here To Eternity" on screen and Capitol Records on vinyl set him aright a couple of years later. Me, I really enjoyed it and wouldn't wonder it might have gotten a better reception and been better remembered if it had been made after 1953 and all that.
The story's pretty far fetched as Sinatra, Alex Nicol, Raymond Burr and a young Shelley Winters play out a love-rectangle if you will with surprisingly, Nicol being the one who gets the girl. Burr is the mobster with designs on her after he employs her as a singer at one of his clubs and who then takes singer and pianist duo Nicol and Sinatra on as their agent but at a hefty 50% cut of their earnings. Nicol is the nice guy, older than Frank's Danny Wilson and obviously some sort of mentor / father figure to him which is just as well as Frank's clearly going through his wild years (thanks, Tom Waits) always one misheard remark or misunderstanding away from a fist fight, from which Nicol usually extricates him.
How the intertwining love stories and the duo's situation with Burr resolve themselves are a little rushed and pat into the bargain, but there's enough grit and drama to see it through to a satisfactory conclusion.
The story goes that Sinatra and Winters didn't get along on set, but you wouldn't really know it here as they make a feisty and watchable couple. I don't recall seeing Nicol in a movie before but liked his work here, the straight man to firecracker Frankie. Burr actually isn't much on camera but conveys a credible sense of malevolence when he does.
The main attraction for Sinatra aficionados is the chance to see the still young Francis Albert looking good and sounding great rendering a nice selection of well known songs in fine style, including "All Of Me", "When You're Smiling", "That Old Black Magic" and "I've Got A Crush On You". He also has a knockout duet with Winters singing "A Good Man Is Hard To Find".
Other things to like were the New York settings, although much of it was probably recreated I'd guess, a one-line cameo by Tony Curtis and there's a cute scene where Sinatra effectively invents the first flash-mob at the airport to try to stop Winters leaving him, just after she's reluctantly become engaged to him.
So there you have it, part musical, part drama, part thriller, an unusual cocktail of a movie but these shaken up ingredients settle well together and made for a good 90 minutes well spent.
The story's pretty far fetched as Sinatra, Alex Nicol, Raymond Burr and a young Shelley Winters play out a love-rectangle if you will with surprisingly, Nicol being the one who gets the girl. Burr is the mobster with designs on her after he employs her as a singer at one of his clubs and who then takes singer and pianist duo Nicol and Sinatra on as their agent but at a hefty 50% cut of their earnings. Nicol is the nice guy, older than Frank's Danny Wilson and obviously some sort of mentor / father figure to him which is just as well as Frank's clearly going through his wild years (thanks, Tom Waits) always one misheard remark or misunderstanding away from a fist fight, from which Nicol usually extricates him.
How the intertwining love stories and the duo's situation with Burr resolve themselves are a little rushed and pat into the bargain, but there's enough grit and drama to see it through to a satisfactory conclusion.
The story goes that Sinatra and Winters didn't get along on set, but you wouldn't really know it here as they make a feisty and watchable couple. I don't recall seeing Nicol in a movie before but liked his work here, the straight man to firecracker Frankie. Burr actually isn't much on camera but conveys a credible sense of malevolence when he does.
The main attraction for Sinatra aficionados is the chance to see the still young Francis Albert looking good and sounding great rendering a nice selection of well known songs in fine style, including "All Of Me", "When You're Smiling", "That Old Black Magic" and "I've Got A Crush On You". He also has a knockout duet with Winters singing "A Good Man Is Hard To Find".
Other things to like were the New York settings, although much of it was probably recreated I'd guess, a one-line cameo by Tony Curtis and there's a cute scene where Sinatra effectively invents the first flash-mob at the airport to try to stop Winters leaving him, just after she's reluctantly become engaged to him.
So there you have it, part musical, part drama, part thriller, an unusual cocktail of a movie but these shaken up ingredients settle well together and made for a good 90 minutes well spent.
Apparently this was a troubled production
AlsExGal8 January 2023
This musical has Frank Sinatra in the title role as a bantam rooster of a fellow, who picks fights with anyone who annoys him, but has a marvelous singing voice. Shelley Winters is Joy Carroll, a nightclub thrush Danny falls in love with. Alex Nicol is Mike Ryan, Wilson's manager, piano player and roommate. Raymond Burr is a gangster who owns the nightclub where Joy sings, and where Danny gets his big break.
Sinatra is in good voice here, especially on "That Ol' Black Magic" and his duet with Winters, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find". Aside from their duet, Sinatra has zero chemistry with Winters. Winters does well in her scenes with Burr and Nicol, but she seems angry in almost all of her scenes with Sinatra. Burr makes a good impression as the gangster Nick Driscoll.
From what I've read in Winters' autobiographies and biographies of Sinatra, the two apparently couldn't stand each other, and the film almost didn't get finished. They both walked off the set more than once, had multiple screaming matches, and during the shooting of a hospital scene, Winters capped off one screaming match with Sinatra during the filming of a hospital scene by throwing a bedpan at him. It connected. The film ends abruptly, with the two stars in separate shots, not together in the same scene.
Sinatra is in good voice here, especially on "That Ol' Black Magic" and his duet with Winters, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find". Aside from their duet, Sinatra has zero chemistry with Winters. Winters does well in her scenes with Burr and Nicol, but she seems angry in almost all of her scenes with Sinatra. Burr makes a good impression as the gangster Nick Driscoll.
From what I've read in Winters' autobiographies and biographies of Sinatra, the two apparently couldn't stand each other, and the film almost didn't get finished. They both walked off the set more than once, had multiple screaming matches, and during the shooting of a hospital scene, Winters capped off one screaming match with Sinatra during the filming of a hospital scene by throwing a bedpan at him. It connected. The film ends abruptly, with the two stars in separate shots, not together in the same scene.
Movie is a six but the singing is a 10
indy-3922 August 2022
I'm one of the lucky people that actually have this film on DVD (don't ask). Even so, I DVRed it when I saw it was on TCM, so that I could watch it again and pull up scenes whenever I felt like it. The film isn't bad- at least not for the first hour or so- the ending degenerates pretty badly perhaps because it had to be rewritten due to the problems between Winters and Sinatra.
All that is neither here nor there, this film is worth watching principally because it features the best singing of the best singer of all time. When people don't "get" Sinatra I often direct them to Youtube to watch Sinatra's rendering of "She's Funny That Way" from "Meet Danny Wilson"- if you don't "get" it after that, you're not going to. You've seen the set up a thousand times- some unknown singer is given a chance to sing and just blows everybody away (CODA is a recent example) with their voice. Only this time, nobody has to act like their getting blown away- Sinatra's voice, breath control and phrasing of this old chestnut is absolutely stunning. He recorded the tune a number of times but this, for my money, is the finest version. All the singing is so top notch that you can hardly believe that those who had left Sinatra for dead wouldn't listen to this and think "Maybe we jumped the gun."
All that is neither here nor there, this film is worth watching principally because it features the best singing of the best singer of all time. When people don't "get" Sinatra I often direct them to Youtube to watch Sinatra's rendering of "She's Funny That Way" from "Meet Danny Wilson"- if you don't "get" it after that, you're not going to. You've seen the set up a thousand times- some unknown singer is given a chance to sing and just blows everybody away (CODA is a recent example) with their voice. Only this time, nobody has to act like their getting blown away- Sinatra's voice, breath control and phrasing of this old chestnut is absolutely stunning. He recorded the tune a number of times but this, for my money, is the finest version. All the singing is so top notch that you can hardly believe that those who had left Sinatra for dead wouldn't listen to this and think "Maybe we jumped the gun."
Entertaining But Majorly Stupid
miriamwebster11 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Fun to see early Sinatra in what may or may not be thinly-veiled version of his own reputed Mob-driven rise to fame, especially when miscast Shelley Winters is along for ride as female love interest (of sorts).
But story just doesn't hang together: A singer who's lucky to land third- rate club bookings readily agrees to give shrewd promoter half of all his future earnings in perpetuity (huh?)--then, when he becomes wildly successful almost overnight, attempts to welsh on the deal. (So who's the real bad guy in this deal?) Then, when singer refuses to play ball, promoter tries to murder him. (Again, where's the logic? Why kill the goose laying golden eggs, if all you've really got to do is threaten to break his wings?)
If this starred anyone but Sinatra (who sings a handful of standards), nobody would give this a second look. . .except maybe B movie insomniacs and fans of Shelley Winters' brand of Honey Baked histrionics.
But story just doesn't hang together: A singer who's lucky to land third- rate club bookings readily agrees to give shrewd promoter half of all his future earnings in perpetuity (huh?)--then, when he becomes wildly successful almost overnight, attempts to welsh on the deal. (So who's the real bad guy in this deal?) Then, when singer refuses to play ball, promoter tries to murder him. (Again, where's the logic? Why kill the goose laying golden eggs, if all you've really got to do is threaten to break his wings?)
If this starred anyone but Sinatra (who sings a handful of standards), nobody would give this a second look. . .except maybe B movie insomniacs and fans of Shelley Winters' brand of Honey Baked histrionics.
good tunes, simple guys and a gal who just don't know how to say what she means
bengleson25 May 2002
Others have captured the story line of this film. The most interesting character is Nick Driscoll, played by tough guy Raymond Burr. Until the green-eyed monster gets him, there is some hope that he will turn out to be a smooth talking gangster with a heart of gold. And, if the truth be told, I was secretly hoping he'd get the girl. Alas, he turns out to be a greedy sob with a patented Burr streak of nastiness. Sinatra gives an all too believable portrayal of a one-dimensional, rags to riches prima dona.
Keep a sharp eye out for Tony Curtis and Jeff Chandler at the Damon Runyon fund raiser. They both looked like they wanted to temporarily step out of their cameo suits and take Danny Wilson backstage and clean his clock for being such an ill-mannered buffoon. Now, that would have been a movie.
Keep a sharp eye out for Tony Curtis and Jeff Chandler at the Damon Runyon fund raiser. They both looked like they wanted to temporarily step out of their cameo suits and take Danny Wilson backstage and clean his clock for being such an ill-mannered buffoon. Now, that would have been a movie.
A role Sinatra might not have accepted had it been offered just a year or two later.
planktonrules23 August 2022
"Meet Danny Wilson" is a pretty good film. However, it also makes its lead, Frank Sinatra, look like a bit of a jerk. So why did he take this role considering how famous he was at the time? Well, I assume it's because in 1952, despite his success as a a singer, Sinatra was widely seen as box office poison and his films had been flops or underperformed up until then. But, the following year, Sinatra turned around his movie career with "From Here to Eternity"....and his winning an Oscar for this performance. Had he been offered the script later, I truly don't believe he would have accepted it.
The first half of the movie is excellent and I have no complaints about it. Mike and Danny (Alex Nicol and Frank Sinatra) are struggling musicians...with Mike playing piano while Danny croons. Eventually, they get a break...a break with strings attached. Their new 'benefactor' (Raymond Burr) is a mobster who owns a nightclub...and it's his way or the pair will soon be assuming room temperature! Despite this, Danny does become a top star...first as a crooner and next as a movie star.
A little past the middle of the movie, the writing fell apart for me. First, Danny's girlfriend (Shelley Winters) suddenly, and with no real warning from the script, suddenly falls for Mike...even though this really didn't make a lot of sense. Had they shown a logical progression of this, it would have worked fine...but to suddenly have the pair in each other's arms just didn't make sense. Second, even before this, Danny became a complete and total jerk...a prima donna (a 'prima don'??) sort of jerk. He nearly throws away his movie career...for very little reason other than he's an insecure jerk. And, when he DOES learn about Mike and the girl, he takes his self-destruction to new heights! It just didn't make a lot of sense...and I wonder how many people left the theaters thinking Danny Wilson WAS Frank Sinatra...especially since some of his actions did mirror some of Sinatra's worst qualities in real life.
Overall, a film with some big pluses.... Sinatra sings most of his most iconic songs to date and the first portion really worked well. But the change in Danny seemed abrupt and too extreme to make this a truly successful movie. Worth seeing...but also disappointing.
The first half of the movie is excellent and I have no complaints about it. Mike and Danny (Alex Nicol and Frank Sinatra) are struggling musicians...with Mike playing piano while Danny croons. Eventually, they get a break...a break with strings attached. Their new 'benefactor' (Raymond Burr) is a mobster who owns a nightclub...and it's his way or the pair will soon be assuming room temperature! Despite this, Danny does become a top star...first as a crooner and next as a movie star.
A little past the middle of the movie, the writing fell apart for me. First, Danny's girlfriend (Shelley Winters) suddenly, and with no real warning from the script, suddenly falls for Mike...even though this really didn't make a lot of sense. Had they shown a logical progression of this, it would have worked fine...but to suddenly have the pair in each other's arms just didn't make sense. Second, even before this, Danny became a complete and total jerk...a prima donna (a 'prima don'??) sort of jerk. He nearly throws away his movie career...for very little reason other than he's an insecure jerk. And, when he DOES learn about Mike and the girl, he takes his self-destruction to new heights! It just didn't make a lot of sense...and I wonder how many people left the theaters thinking Danny Wilson WAS Frank Sinatra...especially since some of his actions did mirror some of Sinatra's worst qualities in real life.
Overall, a film with some big pluses.... Sinatra sings most of his most iconic songs to date and the first portion really worked well. But the change in Danny seemed abrupt and too extreme to make this a truly successful movie. Worth seeing...but also disappointing.
Mystery solved
ArtVandelayImporterExporter19 August 2022
Watching Sleepy Danny Wilson I can see why Frank Sinatra's talent agency AND record label both dumped him in 1952. His pre-Capitol Records act was blander than white rice. I mean, his interpretations are at LEAST 10 years past their freshness date.
It's almost as if they took a script Sinatra declined to do in 1942 and he finally relented bc his career was in the toilet. My gawd, Elvis Presley's first appearanceon The Ed Sullivan Show was still four years in the future. What was Middle America listening to during the first Eisenhower administration?
We can all be grateful Raymond Burr put a horse's head in a director's bed and got Danny Wilson the role of Maggio in From Here To Eternity. To say nothing of Capitol Records starting in 1956. The rest is history.
Nonetheless, there are two interesting things in this movie: 1. The under-rated Raymond Burr as the nightclub owner. He was a very good-looking man. Portraying the heavy wasn't a makeup and lighting job. That is first-class acting. He is absolutely magnetic in this film.
2. Shelley Winters was quite the dish. The blonde curls. That little gap in her two front teeth. The curves. Va-Voom. And for a change instead of playing a desperate, clingy character she's the bona fide romantic lead. Would. Do.
Not too often Sinatra is a distant third-most-interesting person in a movie. But Meet Danny Wilson is that movie.
It's almost as if they took a script Sinatra declined to do in 1942 and he finally relented bc his career was in the toilet. My gawd, Elvis Presley's first appearanceon The Ed Sullivan Show was still four years in the future. What was Middle America listening to during the first Eisenhower administration?
We can all be grateful Raymond Burr put a horse's head in a director's bed and got Danny Wilson the role of Maggio in From Here To Eternity. To say nothing of Capitol Records starting in 1956. The rest is history.
Nonetheless, there are two interesting things in this movie: 1. The under-rated Raymond Burr as the nightclub owner. He was a very good-looking man. Portraying the heavy wasn't a makeup and lighting job. That is first-class acting. He is absolutely magnetic in this film.
2. Shelley Winters was quite the dish. The blonde curls. That little gap in her two front teeth. The curves. Va-Voom. And for a change instead of playing a desperate, clingy character she's the bona fide romantic lead. Would. Do.
Not too often Sinatra is a distant third-most-interesting person in a movie. But Meet Danny Wilson is that movie.
Engaging performance by Sinatra in important dramatic role with many popular songs
clive-3821 November 2000
At the time of its release "Meet Danny Wilson" was never considered to be one of Frank Sinatra's better roles and the film received poor reviews in most of the Press. However, in my opinion it was the perfect part for Sinatra (almost a fictionalised biography of his life in fact) - he gave a most impressive performance and put over all his songs with superb style and confidence. This was Sinatra's last film before his celebrated "comeback" role in "From Here to Eternity" (1953) for which he deservedly won the Best Supporting Actor "Oscar". "Meet Danny Wilson" is one of Sinatra's lesser known films made during the shaky period when his career was in serious decline. Everyone remembers "Pal Joey", "The Joker Is Wild", "Man With the Golden Arm", "High Society", "Guys and Dolls", "The Manchurian Candidate", "Oceans 11" and the other Rat Pack films but how many can actually recall "Meet Danny Wilson"? Just a few dedicated fans I'll wager!
Although "Meet Danny Wilson" was only a small budget black and white production (from Universal International) it was competently directed by Joseph Pevney and had a talented supporting cast including Shelley Winters, Alex Nicol and Raymond Burr, with cameo appearances from Tony Curtis and Jeff Chandler. The film contains a wonderful range of Sinatra standards such as "She's Funny That Way", "That Old Black Magic", "When You're Smiling", "All of Me", "I've Got a Crush on You", "How Deep is the Ocean?" and others.
Sinatra played quick tempered up and coming bar singer Danny Wilson hoping to break into big time show business. Alex Nicol was his friend/pianist/manager Mike Ryan always there to get him out of trouble and Shelley Winters as Joy Carroll provided the love interest (although it has been rumoured that in reality Winters did not get on at all well with Sinatra during the filming!). Raymond Burr (in an early role long before his popular "Perry Mason" TV series) was corrupt club owner and gangster Nick Driscoll who could foresee the star potential in Danny and therefore gave him a singing engagement at his club to get him started (and gain control) in return for 50% of all Danny's future earnings. This arrangement naturally caused much bitterness and many problems later when Danny became famous!!
Raymond Burr: "Personally, I'm a Crosby fan". Sinatra: "That should make Bing very happy".
"Meet Danny Wilson" is one of Sinatra's more obscure films but has an interesting storyline with good performances by its stars. The songs alone make it all worthwhile. Be sure to see it if you get the chance. 10/10. Clive Roberts.
Although "Meet Danny Wilson" was only a small budget black and white production (from Universal International) it was competently directed by Joseph Pevney and had a talented supporting cast including Shelley Winters, Alex Nicol and Raymond Burr, with cameo appearances from Tony Curtis and Jeff Chandler. The film contains a wonderful range of Sinatra standards such as "She's Funny That Way", "That Old Black Magic", "When You're Smiling", "All of Me", "I've Got a Crush on You", "How Deep is the Ocean?" and others.
Sinatra played quick tempered up and coming bar singer Danny Wilson hoping to break into big time show business. Alex Nicol was his friend/pianist/manager Mike Ryan always there to get him out of trouble and Shelley Winters as Joy Carroll provided the love interest (although it has been rumoured that in reality Winters did not get on at all well with Sinatra during the filming!). Raymond Burr (in an early role long before his popular "Perry Mason" TV series) was corrupt club owner and gangster Nick Driscoll who could foresee the star potential in Danny and therefore gave him a singing engagement at his club to get him started (and gain control) in return for 50% of all Danny's future earnings. This arrangement naturally caused much bitterness and many problems later when Danny became famous!!
Raymond Burr: "Personally, I'm a Crosby fan". Sinatra: "That should make Bing very happy".
"Meet Danny Wilson" is one of Sinatra's more obscure films but has an interesting storyline with good performances by its stars. The songs alone make it all worthwhile. Be sure to see it if you get the chance. 10/10. Clive Roberts.
Fun, light fare
HotToastyRag9 April 2024
If you liked Frank Sinatra in the light fare Double Dynamite, you can check him out in Meet Danny Wilson. He plays a singer with a knack for getting into trouble, who also gets involved with a gangster. Some might call it a story that's a little close to home, but others will just take it for what it is: a cutesy love triangle with some Frank Sinatra songs thrown in for good measure. You'll get to see "How Deep Is the Ocean?", "I've Got a Crush on You", "That Old Black Magic", and "All of Me" performed in a fun nightclub setting.
The woman who is the object of everyone's desire is Shelley Winters, and although she sang in a few movies, she didn't have the best voice. It's still fun to see her share a duet with Frankie, and her eyes sparkle with the fun we think she's having. It turns out, they didn't enjoy working together, but you'd never know it from their cute rapport onscreen. I always wished Shelley had been cast as Adelaide in Guys in Dolls - she would have been so much better! Alex Nicol, Frankie's piano player, and Raymond Burr, the mobster, also vie for Shelley's affections. Who will win out? Find out if you can have love and success all in one in Meet Danny Wilson.
The woman who is the object of everyone's desire is Shelley Winters, and although she sang in a few movies, she didn't have the best voice. It's still fun to see her share a duet with Frankie, and her eyes sparkle with the fun we think she's having. It turns out, they didn't enjoy working together, but you'd never know it from their cute rapport onscreen. I always wished Shelley had been cast as Adelaide in Guys in Dolls - she would have been so much better! Alex Nicol, Frankie's piano player, and Raymond Burr, the mobster, also vie for Shelley's affections. Who will win out? Find out if you can have love and success all in one in Meet Danny Wilson.
meet danny wilson
mossgrymk27 September 2022
According to Ben M in his afterword on TCM Sinatra and Winters cordially detested each other to the point where Winters bashed Sinatra with a bed pan (they were shooting a hospital scene at the time. Good thing it wasn't while they were smoking or it woulda been an ash tray, a-la Ava)). Now there's a movie I'd like to see! Certainly preferable to this low energy musical love triangle between Frank, a female singer who can't sing and a piano player who can't act. Fortunately, Raymond Burr is at the height of his villainous period, and there are a few classic Sinatra tunes sung in his inimitable, jazzy, 50s style to keep you from flipping it off, so to speak. Solid C.
Burr, Sinatra shine in obscure, thinly veiled biopic
bmacv22 May 2002
Not at all bad. Meet Danny Wilson, a show-business melodrama with a lot of songs thrown in, betrays a distinct noirish tinge which darkens as the movie progresses. It's a thinly-veiled knockoff of the stories about Frank Sinatra's early days in show business from the shrieking bobby-soxers to the extortionist contract that almost held him back. Obviously, it stars Sinatra, at a low ebb in his career before he had gained the imperial control of his later days as Chairman of the Board, and before he had assembled the legendary `cool' that, as much as his voice, was to become his hallmark.
Crooner Danny Wilson and his pianist/manager/buddy (Alex Nichol) are a couple of rough-and-ready slum-bred boys having trouble breaking into the big time. Through the help of a lounge singer they meet up with (Shelly Winters), they get a gig in a posh nightclub run by a mobbed-up entrepreneur (Raymond Burr). The catch is, Burr spots Sinatra's potential and demands half of his future take. A messy love triangle emerges, too, with Sinatra falling head over heels for Winters, who's smitten with the loyal square rigger Nichols. The plot points get connected with the arrival of Success, in the form of recording contracts, attendant royalties and even the movies.
Most arresting is Burr as gangster Nick Driscoll. An indispensable fixture of the noir cycle, where so often he played the Heavy Menace, here he takes on a better-written, more shaded role. In addition, he's slimmed down drastically, and the slimming brings out his huge and expressive even seductive eyes. But he still doles out the menace, even if it's cushioned in unaccustomed suavity. Apart from Sinatra, he's the most memorable actor in the film (certainly more memorable than the generic Nichol).
Sinatra performs several of the hits which were to enter his standard repertory; he also duets with Winters in a patter-song. Meet Danny Wilson remains strangely obscure, but, despite a warm and perfunctory wrap-up, it's a better crafted and more solid outing than many of the movies he made in his pigs-in-clover Rat Pack days.
Crooner Danny Wilson and his pianist/manager/buddy (Alex Nichol) are a couple of rough-and-ready slum-bred boys having trouble breaking into the big time. Through the help of a lounge singer they meet up with (Shelly Winters), they get a gig in a posh nightclub run by a mobbed-up entrepreneur (Raymond Burr). The catch is, Burr spots Sinatra's potential and demands half of his future take. A messy love triangle emerges, too, with Sinatra falling head over heels for Winters, who's smitten with the loyal square rigger Nichols. The plot points get connected with the arrival of Success, in the form of recording contracts, attendant royalties and even the movies.
Most arresting is Burr as gangster Nick Driscoll. An indispensable fixture of the noir cycle, where so often he played the Heavy Menace, here he takes on a better-written, more shaded role. In addition, he's slimmed down drastically, and the slimming brings out his huge and expressive even seductive eyes. But he still doles out the menace, even if it's cushioned in unaccustomed suavity. Apart from Sinatra, he's the most memorable actor in the film (certainly more memorable than the generic Nichol).
Sinatra performs several of the hits which were to enter his standard repertory; he also duets with Winters in a patter-song. Meet Danny Wilson remains strangely obscure, but, despite a warm and perfunctory wrap-up, it's a better crafted and more solid outing than many of the movies he made in his pigs-in-clover Rat Pack days.
Danny Wilson is Sinatra at His Best
JLRMovieReviews27 July 2011
A largely forgotten gem is Meet Danny Wilson, a musical drama with Frank Sinatra. He's an aspiring singer with a partner who plays the piano. But there's a story there, as to how the partner's health is failing. Through a new acquaintance they make in costar Shelley Winters, they get a break and audition for a nightclub, owned by Raymond Burr, who's, of course, on the shady side. Ray knows a good thing when he hears it and only agrees to let him perform in his club if they agree to let him have a percentage for all future income, all future income. His partner doesn't like it, but Frank doesn't care. He doesn't know what he's doing when he makes a promise to Raymond Burr. (There's no signed contract, because Ray doesn't need one; he holds people to their word.) Shelley Winters is Ray's girl, but Frank takes a liking to her and she to Frank's partner. Oh boy! Such is the dramatic content of the picture, with Ray being possessive of his part of Frank and the love triangle, which is almost superfluous to the music. Every song sung here is a highlight, a bluesy one in jail, a duet between Frank and Shelley, and others. There were no new songs written for this film, but the standards sung are worth the price of admission themselves. Miss Frank Sinatra as Danny Wilson and you miss one of the best crooners ever in action and being chased by Raymond Burr!
Well-Met By Starlight
writers_reign3 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Anyone who saw this on its initial release in 1952 would not have been surprised when Sinatra unveiled his considerable 'acting' chops in his very next movie, From Here To Eternity for Meet Danny Wilson is a perfect Halfway House between the gauche Clarence in Anchors Aweigh (typical of all Sinatra's roles in the 40s,with the possible exception of Miracle Of The Bells which extended his range only to the extent of putting him in a dog-collar) and Maggio in Eternity. Here is the Sinatra the real fans knew and admired, primarily a great singer but also a flawed human being, volatile, arrogant, brash. Don McGuire weighs in with a tasty script with some great zingers and uses just enough material from Sinatra's real life to please the cognoscenti. A rare title today but one central to the Sinatra collection and unmissable.
Sinatras best singing on film ever
john-612623 June 2009
Once he got important enough to do such things Sinatra banned Suddenly (he blamed it for getting Kennedy shot) and this film (too close to his own life story). The former was released a few years ago and now, at last, this one. I first saw it on my honeymoon over 50 years ago and never again until now.
The plot has been filmed some thousands of times before - both the love affair and the shoot out (unarmed Sinatra kills two armed hoodlums) are ludicrous but Sinatra acts well and sings sublimely. Despite this being filmed when his career was going downhill the singing is positively the best he ever did on film so it gets its 9 score for this.
Forgetting the singing maybe 5 or 6 although Sinatras acting must be nearly up to his Maggio of a year later. Shelley Winters is o/k but many of the rest dire and there's some nice cameos - was that Ray Anthony on trumpet in Sinatras big time try-out? Buy the DVD even though for some reason there are no credits, extras or even scene selection spots on the version I purchased in the UK!
The plot has been filmed some thousands of times before - both the love affair and the shoot out (unarmed Sinatra kills two armed hoodlums) are ludicrous but Sinatra acts well and sings sublimely. Despite this being filmed when his career was going downhill the singing is positively the best he ever did on film so it gets its 9 score for this.
Forgetting the singing maybe 5 or 6 although Sinatras acting must be nearly up to his Maggio of a year later. Shelley Winters is o/k but many of the rest dire and there's some nice cameos - was that Ray Anthony on trumpet in Sinatras big time try-out? Buy the DVD even though for some reason there are no credits, extras or even scene selection spots on the version I purchased in the UK!
10/10
exepellinglogin17 October 2021
Danny Wilson (Danny Wilson) and partner Mike (Mike) sang in the diving and noisy swimming pool, living a meager life. One night, they met the entertainer Joey Carroll, who allowed them to find a job in a luxury nightclub that blackmailed Sonic Driscoll. But Nick wants a high price: half of Danny's future income. Danny's career skyrocketed, but his top spot and his one-sided relationship with Joey proved to be extremely unstable.
Who loves Frank?
RedCupCoffee23 August 2022
Classic Sinatra, all the giddiness, and swooning love songs. It's Frank at his best. It's a fun little movie, light on its feet, a few shoot'em up moments from gangsters but to me this was really about a singer and his piano player who are smitten over the same woman. In reality, it was 'Michael' who was in love with 'Danny', and who could blame him. It's a subtle message in there, but it's there.
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