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Suddenly
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by Hollywood Movie Classics
Sales Rank: 78453
Price: $9.99

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Directly in the wake of his Oscar-winning comeback in <I>From Here to Eternity</I>, Frank Sinatra took on the role of a psychopathic hit man in this taut, low-budget film noir. The choice shows how interested Sinatra was in serious acting during the mid- to late '50s; there's nothing remotely likable about this angular, neurotic assassin. He's in the small town of Suddenly to kill the president, who is passing through on a quick train stop. Sinatra makes hostages of a local family and sheriff Sterling Hayden, and the film is basically a countdown to the president's arrival, with Sinatra's patter getting loonier as the day goes on. Aside from the interest of Sinatra's performance (very focused and downright perverse at times), and the film's place in the American noir tradition, <I>Suddenly</I> is uncannily prophetic on the subject of assassination. It's clear that the killer is doing it for the fame as well as the money, a theme that would crop up in later confessions of real-life killers or would-be killers. Perhaps the 1954 film was too prophetic; like Sinatra's <I>Manchurian Candidate</I>, this movie was pulled from circulation for years after the JFK assassination. According to Kitty Kelley's bio of Sinatra, Lee Harvey Oswald saw this film a few days before he took rifle in hand. Now in the public domain, <I>Suddenly</I> is generally available in cheap, scratchy prints. <I>--Robert Horton</I>
Viewer Reviews Shortly after his celebrated turn in "From Here to Eternity," Sinatra was cast as a cold-blooded killer in Lewis Allen's gritty thriller "Suddenly." Anticipating the Kennedy assassination by several years--Lee Harvey Oswald reportedly viewed it days before he killed JFK--"Suddenly" has the look and feel of a "B" movie quickie, but Sinatra's intensity blazes off the screen. Still thin as a reed, the actor excels as a human time bomb, while Hayden's Sheriff provides a decent, steady counterpoint. Only debit: that annoying little boy- but just focus on Ol' Blue Eyes.
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Suddenly
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Last Modified : 1-8-2009
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