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Suddenly

Play trailer Poster for Suddenly 1954 1h 15m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In advance of a presidential visit to the small town of Suddenly, California, a trio of FBI agents enters the Benson family's home to assess potential security risks. Once inside, leader John Baron (Frank Sinatra) reveals himself as a psychopathic assassin, and he kidnaps the family in order to use their house as his vantage point in his plot to kill the president. Sheriff Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden) matches wits with the assassin and his gang in an attempt to save the day.
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Suddenly

Critics Reviews

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Eddie Harrison film-authority.com 12/04/2022
3/5
Suddenly is a tough, unsparing film that is worth a revival today; as a historical document, is captures a sense of pessimism and entropy that wasn’t given free rein until the rampant downbeat paranoia of the 70’s…. Go to Full Review
Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine 12/10/2019
Some of the characters are rather thinly imagined but Frank Sinatra as the chief killer proves again (as he did last year in From Here to Eternity) that he doesn't need to sing to keep his name in lights. Go to Full Review
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 08/08/2018
2.5/4
...a decent (and appreciatively brisk) little B movie. Go to Full Review
James Plath Family Home Theater 01/16/2018
B
If you remove the hokum--the overly obvious and period-wholesome nonsense that frames the main narrative--Suddenly is a taut thriller in the Key Largo mold. Go to Full Review
Christopher Null Filmcritic.com 11/11/2006
3.5/5
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 02/10/2005
B-
What I liked best was that Frank [Sinatra] wore a fedora throughout, even indoors. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Daniel C. M May 29 A thrilling ride with a great and pulpy script, specially on the dialogue, and a nice, realistic message that really should be one included in most movies. The acting is also pretty good too, all of that is included on a very short, yet still very entertaining runtime with great pacing. See more Ernie K 09/16/2024 A straightforward but solid story of an attempted assassination of a US President, albeit early 50's style. Good performances by Sterling Hayden, James Gleason, and Frank Sinatra give it a boost. See more Ashley H @ashleyhobgood87 03/16/2024 Suddenly is an okay film. It is about three gangsters who have the intention of killing the president of the USA. Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden give decent performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. Lewis Allen did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama. See more Steve D 01/23/2024 A cynical dark and unsatisfying film. See more CKB 05/27/2023 This entertaining film doesn't really hold together except as a vehicle for Frank Sinatra to show off his newly-honed acting chops, and as an early example of Cold War propaganda. The plot is not so much about a presidential assassination attempt but instead centers on the transformation of a war widow, desperate to insulate herself and her young son from war and killing, into someone who takes action to defend herself and all she loves. She serves as a metaphor for war-weary Americans who were reluctant to buy into their political leaders' newly-minted Cold War in the early 50s. This woman's sleepy little town is quietly infiltrated by evil assassins hired to kill the POTUS, showing that this could happen anywhere, and we should all be very afraid. This is paralleled by a very public invasion by the Secret Service and State Troopers who take over the town in police state fashion without telling its residents why. Both sets of invaders belong to the emergent Cold War narrative. The plot depends on Secret Service agents largely ignoring this woman's house, which affords the best view of the train station where the president will arrive, but in reality they would immediately commandeer such a location to monitor the situation. In a telling irony, one of the assassins is played by Paul Frees, who would soon become the voice of Boris Badenov, the cartoon Cold War spy whose mission to ‘keel Moose and Squirrel' constantly fails. Frank Sinatra has top billing and clearly intends to own this movie, stealing every scene with charisma and a supportive cameraman. His assassin character is a narcissistic loser who discovered the joy of killing as a soldier in WWII (before getting a Section 8 discharge) and has found post-war empowerment as a hit man. Such an uncharacteristic bad guy role suits Sinatra fine, however, since he can give full rein to his personal narcissism to play this part to the hilt. See more Shioka O 03/02/2023 A little crime drama. Sinatra did a job. This is almost a decade before the assassination of JF Kennedy, might influenced the hitman. See more Read all reviews
Suddenly

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Movie Info

Synopsis In advance of a presidential visit to the small town of Suddenly, California, a trio of FBI agents enters the Benson family's home to assess potential security risks. Once inside, leader John Baron (Frank Sinatra) reveals himself as a psychopathic assassin, and he kidnaps the family in order to use their house as his vantage point in his plot to kill the president. Sheriff Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden) matches wits with the assassin and his gang in an attempt to save the day.
Director
Lewis Allen
Producer
Robert Bassler
Screenwriter
Richard Sale
Production Co
Libra Productions Inc.
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 17, 1954, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 1, 2012
Runtime
1h 15m
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