Guys and Dolls

Genres: Comedy/Romance/Musical

Eastmancolor, Cinemascope

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Another movie I watched with my friend... this one I only saw once.

Sinatra gets third billing in this film, and Marlon Brando was cast as the main. Kind of an odd choice for the main in a musical, but Brando isn't the worst singer I guess. I know this caused some ruffled feathers between Brando and Sinatra though.

The movie has two main story lines. Brando's character is trying to woo the very prim and proper Sarah Brown. He attempts this on a bet from Sinatra's character, who juggles his gambling habits and his fiance of 14 years.

The most striking part of this movie is the complete absence of contractions. Instead of saying "aren't," for example, the characters will say "are not." The same is true for every other contraction. Personally I think this is pretty funny, but also kind of bewildering considering EVERY character talks that way, and it's not simply a tick one of them have.

I don't particulary remember a lot of the songs from this one, but I did enjoy the dance number during the craps game. The colorful outfits... the scuttling... the fact that there obviously isn't any dice the whole scene... everyone acting like the whole thing was normal at the end... the whole thing taking place in a sewer... just excellent.

I would rank this movie lower overall on my Sinatra movie scale, since I didn't find it that memorable and 2 and a half hours is just so long...

Ocean’s 11

Genres: Comedy/Crime/Musical

Technicolor, Panavision

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THAT BIG ONE!!

Again, I saw this one with my friend. Much like the last one, we didn't finish it. UNLIKE 4 for Texas, we stopped because the internet was acting up and buffering every 5 seconds about halfway into the movie. This happened about a year and a half ago and neither of us ever got around to trying to finish it.

I'm not sure there is much I can say about this film. Most of what I remember is that they were going to rob Las Vegas, but that's about it. I feel a little bit bad for not being able to say more, considering the legacy of movies this one stared.

Maybe one day we'll get around to finishing it...

UPDATE:

I finally watched the rest of the movie a few days ago. Unfortuantly, I watched the first half well over two years ago. Why didnt I just watch the whole thing from the start? Well it's simple really. You can't rewind cable.

Sadly, I dont think I have much to say even now that I've seen the end. Maybe I would have more to say if I watched it all in one sitting. I liked that Sammy and Dean sang, and I thought the ending was interesting.

One day, Ocean's 11, I'll watch you like a normal person and have something to say about you. My only recomendation about this movie is to not watch it like I did.

Anchors Aweigh

Genres: Comedy/Romance/Musical

Technicolor, Spherical

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ON WAVES OF SONG, LAUGHTER AND ROMANCE!

This is the first of the Sinatra movies I watched on my own. I really wanted to see it because Sinatra is a sailor in this movie too, so I took the initiative. :)

Like On the Town, Sinatra and Kelly are navymen on leave, but this time they have FOUR days instead of one. The plot is a whole love triangle sort of situation... Also Frank is trying to convince MGM and the pianist Jose Iturbi to let this opera singer woman preform.

I'm going to be honest, I was REALLY enjoying the first half/two thirds or so of this movie, but I barely remember the ending. I think there was some opera thing?

I think the music in this movie is pretty good! A lot of them are very energenetic and fun. The most notable musical scene in this movie has to be the one in which Gene Kelly dances with Jerry Mouse. Yes, that Jerry Mouse from the Tom and Jerry Cartoons. There isn't a lot of context in the movie for why this happens other than he's telling some kids a story. There's also this redition of I Fall in Love too Easily that Frank does that I really like. I could of done without the opera parts, but that might just be because I'm not much of an opera person myself. Also, since the main billing did go to Gene, there is a little more of an emphasis on dancing. This does make it very fun to see Frank doing his best to keep up when the two preform together, like in this scene.

Also, on peronal taste note? I like the uniforms they wear a lot more in this one than the ones in On the Town. And the outfit Gene wears in the Jerry part it so good too. Really, the costuming in this I think is very chef's kiss.

Overall, while I think it's a little long, I would recomend this movie, especially to musical lovers.

UPDATE: I watched this movie again with some of of my roommates. The homoeroticism is unreal. Gene and Frank look so good in this movie. I got so overwhelemed it gave me a headache. Please watch this movie.

UPDATE 2: I've watched this movie several times since first writing this and I'm considering writing a second review, or possibly just rewriting this article entierly.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Genres: Comedy/Romance/Musical

Technicolor, Spherical

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MGM'S GAY TECHNICHOLOR MUSICAL!

I think I watched this one by myself... It was the last of 3 Kelly/Sinatra films I had to watch so woo!

The movie's plot is pretty much the same as the other films with the two in it, except this time they're baseball players who are also preformers? The main plot point in this movie is that the baseball team they play for is under the management of a woman, and since it 1949 no one can be chill about it.

I'm looking at the plot summary n some reviews for this movie again and I think I mostly only remember bits and pieces of it. One interesting thing I remember about it is that the film breaks the forth wall at the end for... some reason? Also, part of Frank's character was that he would keep picking fights with people much bigger than him and immediatly get knocked out. The in-universe justification for this is that he can't pick fights with anyone his own size, because no one is as small as he is. Also, Jules Munshin (3rd sailor from On The Town) is also in this film a little bit as another member of their baseball team.

The only song I can remember from this film is Yes, Indeedy, which is one of the first songs in the movie. The song is about the duo singing about made up exploits with women, a staple for the movies with Kelly. While it is kind of catchy, some of the senarios they come up with are... questionable to say the least. I also sort of remember a song Gene sang about being Irish?

In retrospect, I don't think there's a lot of baseball content in this baseball movie...

I'm not sure if I would recomend this movie but, if you DO want to see it for whatever reason the entire thing is on youtube in pretty decent quality...

The Miracle of the Bells

Genres: Drama

Black and White, Spherical

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I "watched" this one with my friend. Watched in quotations because, in total, we probably only saw about 15 minutes of this movie. We were really only watching it to see Frank as a priest, so we skipped around until he was there. The reviews made it seem like this would of been a trying 2 hours, and after 4 for Texas, we weren't dealing with THAT again. "But Mr. Greggcult how does this count as a watched movie then?" The answer is because it's my movie list and I get to make the rules.

The first thing you should know is that we watched the movie in this zoomed in version on youtube instead of watching it on Netflix or whatever. I have no idea why we did this. This DOES, however, let you appreciate how much smaller Frank is than the male lead, who was over half a foot taller than him. I would say this enhances the viewing experience a little bit because it's funny.

I don't have a lot to say about the plot because I don't really know what it is. From the first few minutes I gathered that someone related to the main cast has died. I also know that they visit a church and a graveyard at some point. From what I understand, theres some religious message to the whole thing too, but I don't know exactly what.

I don't think I'm going to attempt to rewatch this movie so I can write a better review because I frankly (hehe) don't care that much about it. We just wanted to see Frank dressed like a priest. If you also want to see Frank dressed as a priest, well...

Young at Heart

Genres: Drama, Romance, Musical

Warnercolor/Technicolor(?), Spherical

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So I've seen this movie twice, with a gap of a few days inbetween I think. The first was alone and the second was with my friend.

I think I might be a little too into this movie, and it's mostly because of Frank. He actually only shows up about 30 minutes into this 2 hour long movie, which was a little strange since he's the second billed actor (after Doris Day, who's playing his romantic interest) and also the person featured most prominantly across all the posters. However, I forgive them for making me wait 30 minutes to see him because as soon as he showed up I was very into it.

In this movie, Sinatra is a jaded musical arranger who's mad at the world. He's staying at the home of the man employing him and his fellow song writer. Doris Day's character and her family get him to open up, and show him life is actually pretty good! But there's also some relationship drama, as there are four bachelors in the picture and only three sisters.

Sinatra as a brooding but caring man is very good I think. He also just looks really good in this one. And the color process they used? chef's kiss. I understand why his nickname is old blue eyes now. And on a musical note, I really enjoy this version of One for My Baby that Frank sings.

A fun fact about this film (without spoiling too much) is that Sinatra's charater was supposed to have a completly different ending. Because of what happened to the last few characters he played, he asked for it to be changed. He was pretty popular in the film business at this point, so they agreed.

I don't think I can say much more about this movie without rambling. The entire movie is avaliable on youtube and I very much recomend it.

The Man with the Golden Arm

Genres: Crime/Drama/Film-Noir(?)

Black and White, Spherical

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I saw this with TWO people! Wow! Also, this one is notible for being the first of the more serious (not comedy and/or musical) films I've seen. That is, not including Not as a Stranger, because Frank was in that for 3 seconds.

Fair warning, a major plot point of this movie is drug addiction, which is shown much more explicitly than one would expect from a 50's movie. While they never name the drug on screen, the book the film is based on indentifies it as morphine, though many viewers have read it as heroin. If you are sensative to this kind of topic, I would skip this one.

So, Sinatra plays the recovering addict Frankie Machine. Just released from a detox facility, he is looking to find a way to make a living for him and his wife, who is bound to a wheel chair due to an accident. He attempts to make it as a drummer, however he struggles with those around him trying to to seduce him back to his old ways as a drug user and card dealer. The film isn't a musical, so there's no songs to really talk about, however the soundtrack features a lot of very lively brass that accents what's happening on screen.

While I do think some of the plot seemed a little disorganized, particularly the parts involving his wife, the acting in this film has a lot of emotion and character put into it. Sinatra himself considered this his greatest preformance in film. Since I haven't seen all him movies yet, I don't have much to say about that one, but currently I would put it near the top of my list of Sinatra movies.

Fun fact for this movie: the film almost wasn't approved, due to the film code at the time deeming much of the content taboo. Aside from topic of drug use, the film also has many scenes in a less-than-idealized part of the city, including one scene in what I believe is a strip club. The was changed to include letting movies contain these kind of topics however, so the film ended up passing.

The whole thing IS on youtube, although the quality could probably be better. I think it's quite powerful as a drama, although perhaps a bit dated as "films about drug use" aren't as big as a deal as they were when this was released. I would recomend this film to those who like dramas with a more gritty tone or like to see films that pushed the boundries for their time.

The Detective

Genres: Crime/Drama

DeLuxe Color (?), PanaVision

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AN ADULT LOOK AT A POLICE DETECTIVE

I watched this movie by myself about a month and half ago as of writing this. Finishing this will mean I'm caught up with all the Sinatra flicks I've already seen and can watch new ones again!

The basic plot of this film is that Frank, playing a New York City police detective, has to solve a murder while his marriage is falling appart. Now, the man who was murdered was fairly important, but it also turns out he was gay.

You see, I have some conflicting emotions about this movie. It is actually kinda suprising how they handle this subject, being made in 1968. A lot of the police force is very openly homophobic, which is to be expected. Various characters in the movie use homophobic slurs, and has at least one instance where, when a large number of gay men are lined up on the pier at night to be questioned about a suspect, the police are mocking and physically forceful. They also show the murder and the reasoning behind it at the end, which involves some... internatlized homophobia and self hatred for lack of a better word.

Sinatra's character generally is the best out of the police. He doesn't go out of his way to be hateful to the gay men he encounters, and for the most part seems unbothered unlike the rest of his department. During the pier scene, he punches his fellow cop for their abusive treatment. In general, he often looks phsycially uncomfortable with the way the force treats those involved in the case. In the end, he ends up following through despite everything trying to stop him.

Acting wise, I would say its a pretty good film. I think particularly the film is interesting as a view into the kind of homophobia in pre-Stonewall New York. I feel a lot of the portrayals of gay life fall into a bit of a stereotype, but at the same time, I think that also adds to the understanding how 60s America at large viewed what being gay was like.

To leave on a lighter note, here's a fun fact: Die Hard was intended to be a sequel to this movie! The author of The Detective (the book that this movie is based off of) wrote a sequel to it. Frank was asked to reprise his role for the sequel film, but being in his 70s, said no. They basically only changed the protagonist's name and a few other minor details so it could function as a stand alone piece, but otherwise follows the book very closely.

Marriage on the Rocks

Genres: Comedy/Romance

Technicolor, Panavision

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ANY NUMBER CAN PLAY!

I watched this with two of my roommates (maybe all three?), though the one I usually watch Frank movies with had to take a call for a majority of the runtime. The entire movie is on the lawless land of Dailymotion, but it's in two parts. This was surprising because we've been looking for this movie for... oh god. Two years! Though the video we watched said it was uploaded THREE years ago. Not sure what our problem was.

So I'm going to be honest. I barely remember most of this movie at this point. I'm a little upset about this because originally this was going to be the second movie me and my one roommate were going to watch. The reasoning for this was because of a very strange "review" we both read while trying to find something else. I will not elaborate. Anyways.

The vague plot I CAN remember about this movie is that Frank plays a married man while Dean plays a womanizing bachelor. Frank and his wife get into a fight or something because their marriage is stale, so they get a quick divorce in Mexico. They almost immediatly start falling in love as soon as they divorce and want to get remarried. HOWEVER because of some shenanigans and misunderstandings, Dean ends up marrying Frank's (ex-)wife. Frank decided to let this happen so Dean can see how hard it is to be married or something, while he gets to enjoy Dean's bachelor lifestyle. I don't actually remember what happens after this but I remember me and my one roommate saying something along the lines of "THAT'S the end?" out loud.

Another plot point about this movie is that Frank's mother in law is very Scottish. She plays the bagpipes inside the house and likes to drink. She also doesn't like Frank, except when she does.

I don't know if I recomend this movie or not. I think I would have to watch it again. Apperently I didn't think it was that memorable, although, as I am writing this during the pandemic, I'm not sure if current events are just clouding my memory. I know remembering other things and doing most tasks are pretty taxing nowadays. However, it does lose points for barely having any singing in it. They had Frank AND Dean! What's the POINT.

TBD

Genres: ?

??, ??

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coming soon