Suddenly (1954) is an American film noir[1] directed by Lewis Allen with a screenplay written by Richard Sale. The drama features Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason and Nancy Gates, among others.[2]
The tranquility of a small town is jarred when the U.S. President is scheduled to pass through and a hired assassin takes over the Benson home as a perfect location to ambush the president.
Plot
In post-war America the president of the United States of America is scheduled to journey through the fictional small town of Suddenly, California. Frank Sinatra plays ruthless, troubled assassin John Baron. He and his henchmen pretend to be FBI agents ordered to protect the president and talk their way into the Benson home. Sheriff Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden) arrives with Dan Carney (Willis Bouchey), a Secret Service agent in charge of the president's security detail. When he does, Baron and his gangsters shoot Carney and a bullet fractures Shaw's arm.
Baron sends one of his two henchmen to double-check on the President's schedule but he is killed in a shootout with the police. Jud (James O'Hara), a television repairman, shows up at the house and also becomes a hostage. Pidge (Kim Charney) goes to his grandfather's (known as Pop) dresser to fetch some medication and notices a fully loaded revolver which he replaces with his toy cap gun.
Baron is confronted by the sheriff on the risks and meaning of killing the president and Baron's remaining henchman begins showing some reluctance.
The Gewehr 41 sniper rifle has been mounted on a metal table, which Jud hooks up to the 5000 volt plate output of the family television. Pop Benson (James Gleason) then "accidentally" spills a cup of water on the floor beneath the table. Although the hope is Baron will be shocked to death, his remaining henchman touches the table first and is electrocuted, firing the rifle repeatedly and attracting the attention of police at the train station as he struggles to free himself. Baron shoots Jud, disconnects the electrical hookup and aims the rifle as the president's train arrives at the station, but to his surprise, doesn't stop (having been alerted to the risk). Ellen Benson (Nancy Gates) shoots Baron in the chest and Shaw shoots him again. Baron's last words are, "Don't... please."
Cast
Background
Suddenly became part of the colorization controversy in the mid-1980s when the movie was colorized for home video by Hal Roach Studios in 1986, turning Sinatra's trademark blue eyes brown.[3] A second and far superior newly remastered colorized version by Legend Films was released to DVD on June 16, 2009 which also includes a newly restored print of the original black & white film. This colorized version also restores the color of Sinatra's trademark blue eyes back into the film.
The film's copyright was not renewed and it fell into the public domain. Hence, prints became widely available from a number of discount/public domain distributors. The picture can also be downloaded and viewed for free online.[4]
Noir analysis
Film critic Carl Mazek makes the case that the "Machiavellian attitude" of John Baron links the picture with the brutal films noir of the 1950s like The Big Night (1951) and Kiss Me Deadly (1955). Moreover, the themes of violence, sense of claustrophobia and despair mark the film as completely amoral, and, as such, Suddenly is quite opposite of non-noir films like The Desperate Hours (1955).[5]
Critical reception
New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther liked the direction of the film and the acting, writing, "Yet such is the role that Mr. Sinatra plays in Suddenly!, a taut little melodrama that... [it] shapes up as one of the slickest recent items in the minor movie league... we have several people to thank- particularly Richard Sale for a good script, which tells a straight story credibly, Mr. Allen for direction that makes both excitement and sense, Mr. Bassler for a production that gets the feel of a small town and the cast which includes Sterling Hayden, James Gleason and Nancy Gates." Crowther especially liked Sinatra's performance. He wrote, "Mr. Sinatra deserves a special chunk of praise...In Suddenly! he proves it in a melodramatic tour de force."[6]
The staff at Variety magazine also gave the film a good review and praised the acting. They wrote, "Thesp inserts plenty of menace into a psycho character, never too heavily done, and gets good backing from his costar, Sterling Hayden, as sheriff, in a less showy role but just as authoritatively handled. Lewis Allen's direction manages a smart piece where static treatment easily could have prevailed."[7]
The Hollywood Reporter commented, "As an assassin in the piece, Sinatra superbly refutes the idea that the straight role potentialities in From Here to Eternity was one shot stuff. In Suddenly, the happy-go-lucky soldier of Eternity becomes one of the most repellent killers in American screen history."
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film has an 86% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on seven reviews.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Selby, Spencer. Dark City: The Film Noir, film listed as film noir #406 on page 184, 1984. Jefferson, N.C. & London: McFarland Publishing. ISBN 0-89950-103-6.
- ^ Suddenly at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Suddenly at Allmovie.
- ^ Internet Archive. Free download of film possible.
- ^ Silver, Alain, and Elizabeth Ward, eds. Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, film noir analysis by Carl Mazek, page 275, 3rd edition, 1992. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-479-5.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, October 8, 1954.
- ^ Variety. Film review, January 1, 1954.
- ^ Suddenly at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: November 23, 2009.
External links
