The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Nelson Algren (novel)
Walter Newman (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

16 January 1956 (Brazil)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Strung-out junkie deals with daily demoralizing drug addiction while crippled wife and card sharks continue to pull him down.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Heroin Addict | Drug Addiction | Heroin | Jail

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 nominations

Cast

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)

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)

Production Companies

• Otto Preminger Films

Distributors

• United Artists (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1967) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• United American Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Delta Expedition (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport International Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• GMVS (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (video)
• Reel Media International (2005) (worldwide) (TV)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Brenno Rossi (Brazil) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Kabaya Foods (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Punto Zero (2008) (Italy) (DVD)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

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

Trivia:

Frank Sinatra is mentioned twice in Nelson Algren's 1949 novel on which the film is based.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Zasha's scrapbook is titled "My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidence" (instead of "accidents").

Quotes:

Sparrow: You all right... you know?
Frankie Machine: The monkey's gone.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Stranded in Space (#4.5)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Jazz sequences

Real life horror movie

Sinatra is thoroughly convincing as the addict in this grim horror story of what life is like for someone who has lost his soul to drugs. This is film noir made even more noir by the drab sets and lighting. We go through the terrifying experience of a man who is trying to escape from the monster he has placed on his own back.

Elmer Bernstein's score is a mixture of jazz and symphony that makes the addict's frightful journey even more believable to the audience.

This film opened the topic of drug addiction the way LOST WEEKEND broached the subject of alcoholism. At least people could talk about these addictions a little more freely.