IMDb > The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
The Man with the Golden Arm
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The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   2,786 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Otto Preminger
Writers:
Nelson Algren (novel)
Walter Newman (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Man with the Golden Arm on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 January 1956 (Brazil) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
Strung-out junkie deals with daily demoralizing drug addiction while crippled wife and card sharks continue to pull him down. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Actor Darren McGavin Dies at 83
 (From WENN. 27 February 2006)
Actor Darren McGavin Dies at 83
 (From WENN. 24 February 2006)
User Comments:
Do you think those bobbie soxers I'll really go for me? more (55 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Frank Sinatra ... Frankie Machine
Eleanor Parker ... Zosch Machine

Kim Novak ... Molly
Arnold Stang ... Sparrow

Darren McGavin ... Louie
Robert Strauss ... Schwiefka
John Conte ... Drunky
Doro Merande ... Vi
George E. Stone ... Sam Markette
George Mathews ... Williams
Leonid Kinskey ... Dominiwski
Emile Meyer ... Detective Bednar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jered Barclay ... Junkie in Lock-up (uncredited)
Leonard Bremen ... Taxi Driver in Lock-up (uncredited)
Paul E. Burns ... Suspenders (uncredited)

Pete Candoli ... Musician: jazz sequences (uncredited)
Harold 'Tommy' Hart ... Police Officer Kvorka (uncredited)
Shelly Manne ... Himself (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe ... Antek (uncredited)
Joe McTurk ... Meter Reader (uncredited)

Gordon Mitchell ... (uncredited)
Jack Mulhall ... The Turnkey (uncredited)
Ralph Neff ... Chester (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard ... Street Extra (uncredited)
Ernest Raboff ... Bird-Dog (uncredited)
Frank Richards ... Blind Barfly (uncredited)
Shorty Rogers ... Himself (uncredited)
Charles Seel ... Proprietor (uncredited)
Martha Wentworth ... Vangie (uncredited)

Will Wright ... Harry Lane (uncredited)
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Directed by
Otto Preminger 
 
Writing credits
Nelson Algren (novel)

Walter Newman (screenplay) and
Lewis Meltzer (screenplay)

Ben Hecht  uncredited

Produced by
Otto Preminger .... producer
 
Original Music by
Elmer Bernstein 
 
Cinematography by
Sam Leavitt 
 
Film Editing by
Louis R. Loeffler 
 
Production Design by
Joseph C. Wright  (as Joe Wright)
 
Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera 
 
Makeup Department
Hazel Keats .... hair stylist
Ben Lane .... makeup artist
Helene Parrish .... hair stylist
Bernard Ponedel .... makeup artist
Jack Stone .... makeup artist
 
Production Management
Jack McEdward .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Engle .... assistant director
Horace Hough .... assistant director
 
Sound Department
Jack Solomon .... sound engineer
 
Stunts
Martha Crawford .... stunt double: Eleanor Parker (uncredited)
Helen Thurston .... stunts (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
James Almond .... lighting technician
Albert Myers .... camera operator
Morris Rosen .... head grip
Robert Willoughby .... special still photographer (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joe King .... wardrobe: men
Mary Ann Nyberg .... costume supervisor
Adele Parmenter .... wardrobe: women
 
Editorial Department
Tony de Zarraga .... assistant editor (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Leon Birnbaum .... music editor
Shelly Manne .... musician: jazz sequences
Shorty Rogers .... musician: jazz sequences
Shorty Rogers and His Giants .... musician: jazz sequences (as Shorty Rogers and his Giants)
Elmer Bernstein .... conductor (uncredited)
Fred Steiner .... orchestrator (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Saul Bass .... title designer
Kathleen Fagan .... script supervisor
Otto Preminger .... presenter
Max Slater .... assistant to producer (as Maximilian Slater)
Jack Entratter .... technical advisor (uncredited)
David Haft .... assistant to producer (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
119 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #17011) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Argentina:13
Company:
Otto Preminger Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
A poster for director Otto Preminger's Carmen Jones (1954) is prominently featured on the building across the street from the saloon during the opening scene. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: In the first scene between Frankie and Zosch the shadow of the camera is frequently visible as it moves around the set. more
Quotes:
Louie: The monkey is never dead, Dealer. The monkey never dies. When you kick him off, he just hides in a corner, waiting his turn. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Sinatra raconté par le FBI (2007) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Jazz sequences more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
24 out of 27 people found the following comment useful.
Do you think those bobbie soxers I'll really go for me?, 28 December 2004
10/10
Author: sol from Brooklyn NY USA

(Mild Spoilers) Frankie Machine had been dealt a bad hand in life. A card dealer at an illegal gambling den in his Chicago neighborhood he was busted when the joint was raided by the cops and given six months in jail.

While behind bars Frankie was treated for his heroin addiction at the prisons hospital and learned how to play the drums as part of his rehabilitation program. Now out of prison and back in his old neighborhood Frankie is trying to put his life back together by getting a union card in the Musicians Union and then a job as a drummer in a band and put his old life behind him but instead it catches up with Frankie in no time at all in "The Man with the Golden Arm".

Otto Preminger's ground-breaking 1955 film about heroin addiction with Frank Sinatra giving the performance of his life as the drug addicted card sharp Frankie Machine, the Man with the Golden Arm. Frankie tries to getaway from the life that he lead but has this monkey or, better yet, gorilla on his back that just won't let him. Soild performances by the entire supporting cast starting with Frankie's friend Sparrow, Arnold Stang. Sparrows attempt to get Frankie back on his feet by shoplifting a suit of clothes for him ends up putting him and Frankie in the slammer, and almost back to prison, until his former boss at the gambling den Schwiefka bailed him out.

There's Frankie's psychically as well as emotionally crippled wife Zosch, Eleanor Parker, who sees that her hold on Frankie is slipping and is slowly driven to madness murder and suicide. There's Frankie's drug dealer Louie, with Darren McGavin in one of his first acting roles, who's hold on Frankie is only good as long as he stays addicted and Louie goes out of his way to make sure that he does.

There's the owner of the gambling joint that Frankie works at as it's top card dealer Schwiefka, Robert Strauss, who like Louie goes out of his way to get Frankie back to work for him even though if he's arrested again Frankie's hopes for a new and better life will go down the drain. And then there's Frankie's next-door neighbor and friend Molly, Kim Novak,who goes to almost impossible lengths to get him over his addiction by locking him up in her apartment. It's there that he goes "Cold Turkey" and almost ends up dying trying to kick the habit in one of the most harrowing sequence ever put on film.

A no holds barred movie with explosive performances by everyone involved makes "The Man with the Golden Arm" one of the great classics of realism in motion pictures coming out of the 1950's.

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