Some Came Running (1958)

No "From Here to Eternity", but Well-Crafted Drama...

"Some Came Running", based on author James Jones' follow-up to his masterpiece, "From Here to Eternity", was a conscious effort by MGM to recapture the lightning of the earlier film, particularly in casting Frank Sinatra (who'd won an Oscar for "Eternity"), in the lead, and assigning their best director, Vincente Minnelli, to helm the project. Unfortunately, "Running" was not in the same league as "Eternity", dramatically, but it is certainly a good film, made even better by two unusual casting choices, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine, in pivotal roles.

Part of the film's failure is the structure of the story, dark and anticlimactic, and another is Sinatra, who seems a bit miscast as the 'Great American Author' (I see him more likely a Mickey Spillane than a William Faulkner). Yet he very nearly pulls it off, thanks to MacLaine, as an uneducated waif who adores him, and Martin, a drawling, Stetson-wearing gambling buddy who hides his own demons behind an easy-going charm. In their devotion to the homecoming author, they make him stronger and far more interesting than he'd have been, without them.

Two other cast members are standouts; Arthur Kennedy not only looks like he could be Sinatra's brother, he succeeds in creating a persona perfectly suited to Parkman, Indiana, where a successful appearance hides a multitude of sins. Even better is Martha Hyer, as a very prim, uptight schoolteacher whose pent-up sexuality is unleashed when Sinatra pulls out the bobby pins holding her tightly-coiffed hair. Kennedy and Hyer personify the community, a virtual 'Peyton Place' of subliminal lusts, waiting for the right catalyst to explode, with cynical Sinatra's arrival providing the spark.

I can't praise Minnelli enough, for giving the film much of it's strength. While he fought Sinatra, whose different work ethics would cause a LOT of friction on the set, he created a series of powerful visual statements, most especially during the tense carnival finale. While the film isn't 'top drawer' Minnelli, it is indelibly his work, during one of the most productive periods of his career.

The Special Features of this DVD are very entertaining, if bordering on unabashed hero worship of Sinatra. I wish a LONG interview with Shirley MacLaine had been included, as I suspect she has a LOT of stories about Sinatra, Martin, and the production!

"Some Came Running" was a box office and critical success, when released, in 1958, and the film has held up very well, over the years...while not everyone's 'cup of tea', it is certainly worth adding to your collection. July 4, 2008

Minnelli 'rex'

Glad to find commentary here addressing director Vincente Minelli's contributions. He was not only acclaimed fo his successful musicals in the 1940s and early 1950s ('Meet Me in St. Louis,' 1944; 'An American in Paris,' 1951; 'The Band Wagon,' 1953; 'Brigadoon,' 1954) but also for dramas in the 1950s ('The Bad and the Beautiful' 1952; 'Lust for Life,' 1956; 'Tea and Sympathy,' 1956).

After the musicals that were his forté fell out of favor with audiences around the time of his Oscar winning 'Gigi' (1958) came out, Minelli still made very creditable work for MGM in comedy ('Designing Woman,' 1957, 'The Reluctant Debutante,' 1958, 'Bells Are Ringing,' 1960, 'The Courtship of Eddie's Father' 1963) others less so ('Goodbye Charlie,' 1964). But there was little to choose from in drama, so that he was assigned his share of potboilers ('The Cobweb,' 1955, 'Home from the Hill,' 1960; 'Two Weeks in Another Town,' 1962; 'The Sandpiper,' 1965); and yet, professional that he was, he rescued those otherwise forgettable movies from the tawdry with panache, and it is that touch of Minnelli's that make them watchable, if admittedly dated for contemporary audiences. Such is the case with 'Some Came Running,' 1958.

At the very beginning of the movie, a bus approaches Dave Hirsch's home town in Indiana. Elmer Bernstein's movie score envelops us as we become aware of Dave (Sinatra), fast asleep in one of the seats. Through the melodramatic conclusion, as we follow a not-at-all unconventional narrative we are made to care about the characters, lead and secondary, flawed or virtuous, which always was Minelli's concern: that no one character is ever neglected. We see how understanding he is of Martha Hyer's straightlaced values or of the wonderful Ginny Moorehead (Shirley MacLaine). Sinatra's performance might not be too far from own experience but very creditable indeed, as are those of most others, particularly Dean Martin as 'Bama ("You know, ever since you've been seein' that schoolteacher, you've become im-possible?" or some such.) Given that the scriptwriters are working from a James Jones novel ('From Here To Eternity'; 'The Thin Red Line'), you know that Minnelli is the artist to make it work. Truly underrated now, but not so to those of us who were fortunate enough to follow this director's career. A true favorite, despite the years gone past. May 25, 2008

Good movie to watch

Who would think that small town life is boring? Not if you watched this film. Frank Sinatra plays this soldier who comes home from WW2. Somewhere along the way, he hooks up with Shirley McClaine, who follows him, but she has some unwelcome company of her own following her. He meets up with his brother, who is a successful owner of a jewelry store and into his assistant because his social climbing wife is too busy being preoccupied with being a pillar of the community, and the daughter getting caught up in stuff she don't need to be. Sinatra hooks up with Dean Martin, who is a gambler, and the two get together and do some high rolling of their own. Of course, Shirley is there, looking like a lovesick puppy,knowing all along that Sinatra has his eye on Martha Hyer, who appreciates his talent, as well as him but is too proud and high class to admit that to herself. For the life of me, I cannot understand the Hirsch, Ginny hookup. clearly he tolerates her, clearly despite her own flaws, she loves him although she can't leave him, yet all along, she has a man in the background who she can't seem to shake. An very interesting movie. May 24, 2008

I'D GO RUNNING FOR THE DVD

SOME CAME RUNNING is a recent DVD release of the 1958 movie version of the same name and itself was based on the book SOME CAME RUNNING, authored by no other than James (FROM HERE TO ETERNITY) Jones.

This film is set in fictional Parkman, Indiana, in the late 1940's. Dave Hirsch (Frank Sinatra) is the vet-turned-drifter who comes to his home town for a breather -- but gets sucked into provincial hypocrisy before he can claw his way out. A star turn by Sinatra all the way.

The performances are sterling, and include Dean Martin as 'Bama, the laid-back boozer and expert poker player; Arthur Kennedy as Dave's older brother who is oh-so-careful to commit adultery out of the public's eye SPOILERS FROM HERE ON but gets caught in spite of himself. Martha Hyer as the town's unofficial bearer of culture underplayed handsomely; Shirley McLain in a "breakout" role as the good-times girl overplayed handsomely; they both portray their characters excellently. And Dave is torn between the two.

Vincente Minnelli was an amazing director who worked best within the bounds of the studio system. SOME CAME RUNNING was bankrolled by Sol Siegel but released by Loews, releasing shell for MGM. The way the characers are dressed, the dives or elegant clubs they frequent, even the way they shake hands: all are very telling of the class divide between the insecure Babbity middle class and the equally insecure lower-working class. Jones' book and therefore this movie has little pity on either side of the class divide; this mirrored James Jones' own life.

The closing sequence in this 136 minute movie is a swirl of flashing lights, colored lights, and the fair come for the town's centennial, a fantasmagoria of color, action and impending doom -- sort of like the dark side of Minnelli's sunshine creations like the "Trolley Song" in MEET ME IN SAINT LOUIS or "The Night They Invented Champagne," from GIGI, which won surprise Oscars for Minnelli and crew. Nineteen fifty-eight was really his year; he made and had GIGI released earlier in the year.

This is a good, solid movie with surprisingly nuanced characters played by an almost remarkable combination of actors. About my only gripe worth mentioning are that the film runs two hours, 16 minutes, and it's in the early and middle parts of the movie that things occasionally bog down (Frank Sinatra allegedly tore 20 pages out of his own script, an act that probably did the movie-going public a favor).

We noticed a little distortion at the right and left sides of our CRT TV screen. I hope someone with HDTV will comment about how the film looks on the new TV standard. This was a Cinemascope release, which means the ratio of length to height is more than two to one; and HDTV only "stretches" to a ratio of one to 1.77. We ourselves did not mind the letterboxing, which appeared to be quite accurately done.

A happy and dollar-conscious way to own SOME CAME RUNNING is to buy the six-pack of Frankie's films from the fifties.

May 21, 2008

Shirley MacLaine was robbed!

I am one of many here who's main interest in this film is from the fact that I am from the town where it was filmed. That being said, It is a great movie. Shirley MacLaine should have gotten the oscar, at least she was nominated. The movie at first look seems like a typical 1950's B movie melodrama and it is, but there is much more to it. Hang in there till about two thirds in and you will see Sinatra, Martin and Maclaine at their best ever. The DVD looks good and it took a long time for them to get this out. There is a poorly produced "making of" and a nice trailer in the extras. This is a must see if you are a rat pack fan. Minnelli's direction and score by Elmer Bernstein make this one of the last of the MGM classics. May 18, 2008

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