Some Came Running (1958)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

James Jones (novel)
John Patrick (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 December 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Dave was back and the whole town knew that trouble- and women- were close behind!

Plot:

Dave Hirsch, a writer and army veteran, returns to 1948 Parkman, Indiana, his hometown. His prosperous brother introduces him to Gwen French...

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Hometown | Indiana | Veteran | Brother Sister Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Dave Hirsh
Dean Martin	...	Bama Dillert (professional gambler)
Shirley MacLaine	...	Ginnie Moorehead
Martha Hyer	...	Gwen French (schoolteacher)
Arthur Kennedy	...	Frank Hirsh
Nancy Gates	...	Edith Barclay (Frank Hirsh's secretary)
Leora Dana	...	Agnes Hirsh
Betty Lou Keim	...	Dawn Hirsh
Larry Gates	...	Prof. Robert Haven French
Steve Peck	...	Raymond Lanchak (Ginny's suitor) (as Steven Peck)
Connie Gilchrist	...	Jane Barclay (Edith's mother)
Ned Wever	...	Smitty (owner, Smitty's Bar)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jan Arvan	...	Nightclub manager (uncredited)
George Brengel	...	Ned Deacon (uncredited)
John Brennan	...	Wally Dennis (uncredited)
George Cisar	...	Hubie Nelson (uncredited)
Chuck Courtney	...	Parkman Hotel clerk (uncredited)
Sheryl Deauville	...	Julia, Solo Dancer in Bar (uncredited)
Roy Engel	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	(uncredited)
Don Haggerty	...	Ted Harperspoon (Dawn's date in Terre Haute) (uncredited)
Anthony Jochim	...	Judge Baskin (uncredited)
James Jones	...	Crew cut man playing poker (uncredited)
Paul Jones	...	George Huff (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	Waiter at Smitty's (uncredited)
Harold Lakeman	...	Extra (uncredited)
Len Lesser	...	Indianapolis poker player (uncredited)
William Lockridge	...	Bus driver (uncredited)
Joe McKenna	...	Extra (uncredited)
Denny Miller	...	Dewey Cole (uncredited)
Frank Mitchell	...	Nightclub waiter (uncredited)
Carmen Phillips	...	Rosalie ('Bama's girl) (uncredited)
Janelle Richards	...	Virginia Stevens (uncredited)
Ric Roman	...	Joe (uncredited)
Marion Ross	...	Sister Mary Joseph (hospital nurse) (uncredited)
William Schallert	...	Al (jewelry store clerk) (uncredited)
Diane Signore	...	Extra (uncredited)
George E. Stone	...	Slim (uncredited)
Albert T. Viola	...	Guitarist (uncredited)
Geraldine Wall	...	Mrs. Stevens (uncredited)
Dave White	...	Bus driver (uncredited)
John Wurtz	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Vincente Minnelli

Writing credits
James Jones		(novel "Some Came Running")
John Patrick		(writer) &
Arthur Sheekman		(writer)

Produced by
Sol C. Siegel	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Elmer Bernstein

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Adrienne Fazan

Art Direction by
William A. Horning
Urie McCleary

Set Decoration by
Henry Grace
Robert Priestley

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett

Makeup Department
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Dave Friedman	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William McGarry	....	assistant director
Tom McCrory	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Kurt Neumann	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Franklin Milton	....	recording supervisor
Van Allen James	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Doug Hubbard	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Joe Gray	....	stunts (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Charles K. Hagedon	....	color consultant

Music Department
Elmer Bernstein	....	conductor (uncredited)
Jack Hayes	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1964) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (199?) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1959) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Canada:PA (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #19154) | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Jefferson County, Indiana, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

"Some Came Running" is taken from the Gospel of St. Mark (Chapter 10:17), which author James Jones used as an epigraph before the beginning of the novel. It reads: "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Jones also used the image of running to begin the novel's prologue, as Dave Hirsh remembers German soldiers attacking during the Battle of the Bulge; "They came running through the fog across the snow, lumbering, the long rifles held up awkwardly high..."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Frank Sinatra's Army uniform lacks rank insignia. It is also without brass collar disks (U.S. emblem on one side and an infantry branch emblem on the other). Sinatra's character obviously served in the infantry, since he wears the Combat Infantryman's Badge above his left shirt pocket.

Quotes:

Gwen French: Oh, Dave, we've met exactly three times. What do I know about you? What do you know about me?
Dave Hirsh: I just know that I'm the kid who wants to marry you. Gwen, it's something I want more than anything else in the world.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) (TV)

Soundtrack:

To Love And Be Loved

Godard always had the best taste.

Typical Minnelli masterpiece, as melodramatic, emotional and stylised as his more famous musicals. Lumpen James Jones novel stripped to the bone, its macho posturings shifted to anatomy of a society. Slow, repetitive narrative mirrors stagnation of such a society. Impotence, disease and writer's block all part of a wider malaise. The psychological visuals are unsurpassed, gaudy, intense floods of light, colour and composition disrupt superficial politeness. Climax one of the greatest in American cinema; the three male leads do the most difficult work of their careers. Shirley MacLaine gets hard deal, though.