The Man With the Golden Arm

Released Dec 14, 1955

1h 59m

Drama

List

81%

59 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra) gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer, small-time con man Schwiefka (Robert Strauss), and Frankie's old drug dealer, Louis (Darren McGavin), re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

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Critics Consensus

The Man with the Golden Arm is a difficult watch, but it's held together by Frank Sinatra's impressively committed work in the title role.

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Marjory Adams

Boston Globe

The scene in which Sinatra writhes and screams in pain and delirium is one of the most shocking I have ever seen on the screen. But it is strong and effective, and, I believe, justifiable.

Dec 23, 2020

Full Review

Mildred Martin

Philadelphia Inquirer

This dramatization of Nelson Algren's novel provides a sometimes revolting, sometimes dreary excursion into the lives of a full set of American lower-depths characters.

Dec 23, 2020

Full Review

James Morgan

Sight & Sound

Saul Bass's credit titles are as brilliant as one might expect after Carmen Jones but this is an unattractive film: not because the subject is painful, but because [Preminger], with his thorough skill, shows himself so profoundly insensitive to its pain.

Dec 23, 2020

Full Review

André Bazin

L'Éducation Nationale

These weaknesses can be ignored thanks to the admirable verisimilitude and powerful originality of the main character, wonderfully interpreted by Frank Sinatra.

Dec 7, 2021

Full Review

Hortense Morton (Screen Scout)

San Francisco Examiner

Producer-director Premlnger is one of Holly wood's most intelligent film makers. It is to be regretted that his artistic gifts were not channeled into a more uplifting drama.

Dec 23, 2020

Full Review

Robert Hatch

The Nation

Forgetting for a moment the contempt Otto Preminger has shown for the spirit of Algren's novel, he has committed the commercial sin of producing and directing a dull movie.

Dec 23, 2020

Full Review

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Joshua V

Another one of my favorites, first time I saw this was with my grandmother as a teenager on a Saturday night. PBS used to run a Classic Film Night. Frank Sinatra's over acting is chefs kiss. Highly recommend!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/23/23

Full Review

Leaburn

This film was average 🤏

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/08/23

Full Review

SICKS6SIX

This must be Frank Sinatras best film ever, easily, He plays the junkie scenes like he knows all about it, he did know junkies and must have seen them go through withdrawals (cold turkey) the script is good with sub-plots from many fine actors, I've just watched the colourized version and if was dated 1965 I would not be surprised, for the time it was made 1955 it was ahead of its time in the way it portrayed his addiction, if you have not seen this film and are going to watch it be ready for a surprise, no singing or dancing from Frank, its gritty and dirty, New York of the 1950s was a dirty stinking hole, and it's well shown in this film, no glitzy nightclubs, just blues bars and card schools in run down tenement buildings, Tough cops and tough hoods, it has twist at the end that you don't see coming, there are no happy endings for anyone, It's as near to real life as Hollywood could film it at the time, There is a scene when Frank has drugs but no way of taking them, like having a cigarette but no light for it, desperation and despair, I don't know if anyone won any Academy Awards for this film, but they should have.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/15/22

Full Review

Ed M

Great acting. Sinatra. Darren McGavin!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/22

Full Review

William L

Oh, a CARD dealer. I thought we were talking about something else there for a while. One of the earliest films to tackle hard drug addiction (and not your more socially conventional Lost Weekend-type alcoholism), with so many years' worth of film tackling the subject more sincerely from hard drama to comedy, Preminger's film feels closer to Reefer Madness than Requiem for a Dream. What masquerades as noir is mostly melodrama, with Sintara's supposedly reformed addict full of good intentions predictably slipping back into old habits due to outside influences, bad hombres, and a few poor decisions that spiral out of control. There's a whole bit where Sinatra's wife fakes being paralyzed from the waist down in an effort to guilt him into keeping their marriage afloat that seems more like a daytime soap opera revelation than a component of a supposedly serious drama. The sets are solid and really hit on the target atmosphere, while Sinatra displays a range that you wouldn't expect of the crooner, but the good intentions don't really help the film in hiding its age; still not a bad film, and important in the depiction of addiction and substance abuse in film, particularly in the depiction of a cyclical justice system that punishes rather than reforms. (3/5)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/18/21

Full Review

andres s

The city is an obvious set piece, but damn it looks really good. Look at this fresh faced guy. Sinatra really was a handsome dude. I don't think there was anything he couldn't do, he's a natural actor. Just looking at him you can tell he's a talent guy. Poor dog. They're freaking painting him with shoe polish?! I was feeling bad for Zosch since she's in a wheelchair and hasn't seen Frankie in a while but then when she got up from the wheelchair like it was nothing, I started questioning everything about her. Her motives, her intentions. She's really needy and clingy too. She's just holding him back! Bitch!! When Frankie's around Molly, things seem to work out better and she helps him. But it's the opposite with Zosch. She keeps trying to drag him down. This world that Frankie lives in seems so small. It almost seems like a purgatory or hell of some sorts where all the degenerates and low life's have flocked to. There's temptation and sin around every corner. I would hate to live in this kind of world. What Frankie needs to do is get the hell out of there and move to a different city. Some of the camera swiveling movements are pretty impressive. It makes everything seem elegant. Omg! The way Louie fell down the building when Zosch pushed him lol. Why'd she blow the whistle before she jumped? Lmao. Well, everything worked out in the end, even though it meant someone had to die. I can see where this movie might have given inspiration for the movie, ‘Jacob's Ladder'. Top notch acting throughout. This movie gave me a bit of anxiety, especially seeing Frankie's descent into getting back on the junk and seeing him fuck up his opportunity as a professional drummer. This ended up being a pretty dark movie about the horrors of drug addiction. I think Sinatra did a terrific job with the role. I thought it was a very well written movie and I found it very entertaining. I think I'd watch it again.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Otto Preminger

Director

Frank Sinatra

Frankie Machine

Eleanor Parker

Zosch Machine

Kim Novak

Molly

Arnold Stang

Sparrow

W. Lyle Richardson

Louie

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Synopsis

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra) gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer, small-time con man Schwiefka (Robert Strauss), and Frankie's old drug dealer, Louis (Darren McGavin), re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

Director: Otto Preminger
Screenwriter: Nelson Algren, Walter Newman, Lewis Meltzer, Ben Hecht
Distributor: United Artists, Reel Media International [us]
Production Co: Carlyle Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 1955, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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