100 Years of Frank Sinatra: "The Man with the Golden Arm"

The Man with the Golden Arm, the fourth of Frank Sinatra's feature films to be released in 1955, opened at the Victoria Theater in New York City on December 15th.  The movie is based on the book of the same name by Nelson Algren, which was published in 1949 and won the first National Book Award for fiction the following year.

Blanching at the topic of drug addition, the Motion Picture Association of America denied the movie its production code seal of approval.  Which was probably just fine with director Otto Preminger, who seemed to revel in the controversy some of his films created.

Overall, New York Times movie reviewer Bosley Crowther isn't particularly enamored of the proceedings.

Mr. Sinatra gives a plausible performance as the "junkie" who drifts back to the stuff when the pressures get too heavy for him after his return to his old haunts from taking "the cure." His old haunts consist of the cheap spots in a big town—Chicago, perhaps—where he is a professional dealer for a floating poker game. One smoky session in a backroom with the card sharps is more exciting than all the stuff about dope. 

But the others in the cast are less effective.

On the other hand, members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences were impressed enough with Sinatra's 'plausible performance' to nominate him in the 'Best Actor' category.  He lost to Ernest Borgnine, who showed a new side of himself in "Marty".

How I spent my Christmas vacation (1955)

Not at the movies.

Although our home is in Montana at this time, we wear no bandannas.

Other Frank Sinatra 100 posts:
"Our Love".  (2/14/2015)
"I'll Never Smile Again".   (2/15/2015)
"Fools Rush In".  (2/16/2015)
"Dolores".  (2/17/2015)
"Oh Look At Me Now".  (2/18/2015)
"This Love of Mine".  (2/20/2015)
"There Are Such Things."  (2/24/2015)
"Night and Day".  (2/26/2015)
"The Night We Called It a Day".  (2/27/2015)
Paramount Theater, December 30, 1942.  (3/2/2015)
Reveille with Beverly.  (3/4/2015)
"You'll Never Know".  (3/7/2015)
Higher and Higher.  (3/8/2015)
"People Will Say We're in Love".  (3/10/2015)
The Shining Future.  (3/17/2015)
"I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night".  (3/19/2015)
Step Lively.  (3/20/2015) .
"Saturday Night (is the Loneliest Night of the Week)".  (3/21/2015)
"You'll Never Walk Alone".  (3/23/2015)
"Oh What It Seemed to Be".  (3/24/2015)
Anchors Aweigh.  (3/26/2015)
"Day by Day".  3/27/2015)
Till the Clouds Roll By.  (3/29/2015)
"Always".  (3/30/2015)
It Happened in Brooklyn.  (3/31/2015)
"I've Got a Crush on You".  (4/3/2015)
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".  (4/5/2015)
"It Only Happens When I Dance With You".  (4/7/2015)
The Miracle of the Bells.  (4/9/2015)
The birth of Tina.  (4/11/2015)
The Kissing Bandit.  (4/16/2015)
"Some Enchanted Evening."  (4/19/2015)
Take Me Out to the Ball Game.  (4/22/2015)
"The Huckle Buck."  (4/24/2015)
On the Town.  (4/28/2015)
A blowup in Houston.  (4/30/2015)
1st television appearance.  (5/3/2015)
"The Frank Sinatra Show".  (5/5/2015)
"I'm a Fool to Want You".  (5/7/2015)
"Mama Will Bark".  (5/10/2015)
Double Dynamite.  (5/13/2015)
Frank and Ava get married.  (5/15/2015)
Meet Danny Wilson.  (5/19/2015)
"I Could Write a Book".  (5/24/2015)
His Final Recording for Columbia Records, "Why Try to Change Me Now?"  (5/28/2015)
A new musical era with Capital Records.  (6/2/2015)
Filming begins on From Here to Eternity.   (6/15/2015)
"I've Got the World on a String".  (6/20/2015)
"Young at Heart".  (6/21/2015)
Songs for Young Lovers.  (6/22/2015)
Best supporting actor Oscar.  (6/28/2015)
Swing Easy.  (7/4/2015)
Suddenly.  (7/10/2015)
"Three Coins in the Fountain".  (7/16/2015)
Young at Heart (the movie).  (7/26/2015)
"Learnin' the Blues".  (8/5/2015)
Songs for Swingin' Lovers.  (8/12/2015)
Not as a Stranger.  (8/17/2015)
"Same Old Saturday Night".  (8/24/2015)
"Love and Marriage".  (8/28/2015)
Guys and Dolls.  (9/2/2015)
The Tender Trap.  (9/9/2015)