Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

ShangLuda Admirable film.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

jc-osms Once you get past the cliche one-joke title, this is a taut little thriller with Frank Sinatra diversifying his range by playing a near psychotic soldier-of-fortune, who with his rather simple-minded gang-of-two seeks to collect a big payday from an unknown employer by assassinating the unnamed and unseen President of the United States when the presidential train makes a need-to-know stop at a typical small-town U.S.A.Over a brief 75 minute duration, a fair amount of tension is built up as Sinatra and his gang take over a house containing a young war widow, her slightly brattish infant son and cantankerous old father in law because it apparently provides the perfect vantage point for the kill-shot though how they know that in advance I couldn't say. Also on the scene is a new suitor for the young mum, Sterling Hayden's straight-arrow peacetime cop who unfortunately gets caught up in the hostage situation when he accompanies the incoming FBI chief on a routine check of the house.What's surprising is the sheer viciousness of Sinatra's character, killing the FBI chief in cold blood, brutishly aggravating Hayden's injured arm, smacking the plucky kid about and even threatening to kill the boy. An innocent young TV repair man also finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time as he too is inveigled into the action. The plot denouement is signalled well in advance as the countdown to the fateful train arrival of the train at 5 p.m. nears.It was certainly unusual to see Sinatra play such an unredeeming character with any resemblance to Richard Widmark's early psychopathic roles no doubt being more than coincidental. It's a pity that much of the rest of the playing by the cast is rather wooden and under-rehearsed looking. The direction is rather stolid and set bound too but none of these things can stop the inexorable rise of tension as the story progresses.Frank was to make a markedly superior movie about a presidential assassination around 10 years later but this B-movie feature would have made for a watchable second feature alongside that following masterful political thriller, "The Manchurian Candidate" of course.

John T. Ryan HERE IS YET another film that has been completely an unknown commodity to us until recently. In spite of an obviously frugal budget, the story and the execution of the plot line proves to be quite captivating. The staging of the scenes that comprise the picture did tend to bring to mind the small screen production of a few years later, namely the ZIV Television Productions' HIGHWAY PATROL; which of course starred Broderick Crawford. Both the film and that series exploited the highways and small towns of California for realistic, yet inexpensive locations.AS FOR THE cast, it can only be called a mixed bag. It sports a mixture of talent ranging from the starring combo of Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden, to topp support from Nancy Gates, James Gleason and Willis Bouchey and lesser known relative newcomers Paul frees (the voice actor extraordinaire), Paul Wexler, Clark Howat and James Liburn (real life brother of Maureen O'Hara).THIS PRODUCTION BECAME a particularly important chapter in the career of Mr. Sinatra. His interpretation of a psychotic homicidal maniac hired hit man proved to many that his dramatic abilities. His Oscar winning portrayal of Private Angelo Maggio in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY was shown to be no fluke.AS FOR OUR own observations, we saw a believable, complex, even somewhat sympathetic personality in his rendering of hit man, John Baron. It was this complex or even split personality that made it even more menacing. We also detected a similiarity and possible influence of Richard Widmark's Tommy Udo in KISS OF DEATH (20th Century-Fox, 1947).THE IDEA OF an attempted assassination of a United States President seemed to be an unlikely and far fetched premise for a film; that is until nine years later when John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas. After that, the plot became common place.

Leofwine_draca Prior to watching SUDDENLY, I had no idea that the 'home invasion' thriller existed before the 1970s. I thought the genre had its origin in gritty films like Sunday IN THE COUNTRY, FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE, and STRAW DOGS, but it turns out that SUDDENLY had a stab at the genre long before those movies, and just so happened to do a very good job of it too.The film features a snarling, hissable turn from Frank Sinatra who is surprisingly efficient as the cold-blooded hit-man who will do anything to complete his job. The rest of the cast are almost as good in their clearly-defined roles, from the brave but foolish kid whose role is pivotal to the story, to the patriotic grandfather and even the dumb TV repair guy.Sure, SUDDENLY has dated in a few respects, and it's doubtlessly not as thrilling as it once was due to a new threshold in on-screen violence. But British director Lewis Allen really knows what he's doing here and he packs his film with suspense and tension where you never know what violent act will take place next. The last twenty minutes of the piece are particularly gripping, rounding off an unexpected gem of a thriller.

peefyn This movie is just like a stage play. Most of it is contained within one room, and most of the entertainment and excitement comes from the dialogue and the situations. While dated in many ways, the writing is the best part of the movie, followed closely by a great performance from Frank Sinatra.Most of the characters in this movie are pretty one dimensional. The exception is Sinatra's character, who is gradually explored as the story progresses. Learning who he is, and what motivates him, is what makes this story interesting (combined with the fact that the story counts down to a specific moment).The "dated" part I mentioned earlier is regards to views on what is considered heroic, and perhaps the view people have on weapons. That said, some of the "dated" parts are interesting due to what happened historically after this movie was released (but hopefully not due to it).