- Suddenly (film)
Infobox_Film
name = Suddenly
image_size =
caption = Theater poster
director = Lewis Allen
producer =Robert Bassler
writer =Richard Sale
narrator =
starring =Frank Sinatra Sterling Hayden James Gleason
Nancy Gates
Kim Charney
Christopher Dark
music =David Raksin
cinematography = Charles G. Clarke
editing = John F. Schreyer
distributor =United Artists
released =October 7 1954
(U.S.A.)
runtime = 75 minutes
country =United States
language = English
budget =
amg_id = 1:47562
imdb_id = 0047542"Suddenly" (1954) is an American "
film noir " [Selby, Spencer. "Dark City: The Film Noir", film listed as film noir #406 on page 184, 1984. Jefferson, N.C. & London: McFarland Publishing. ISBN 0-89950-103-6.] directed by Lewis Allen with a screenplay written by Richard Sale. The drama featuresFrank Sinatra ,Sterling Hayden ,James Gleason andNancy Gates , among others. [imdb title|id=0047542|title=Suddenly.]The tranquility of a small town is jarred when the U.S. President is scheduled to pass through and a hired assassin takes over the Benson home as a perfect location to ambush the president.
Plot
In post-war America the president of the United States of America is scheduled to journey through the fictional small town of Suddenly, California.
Frank Sinatra plays ruthless, troubledassassin John Baron. He and his henchmen pretend to beFBI agents ordered to protect the president and talk their way into the Benson home. Sheriff Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden ) arrives with Dan Carney (Willis Bouchey ), aSecret Service agent in charge of the president's security detail. When he does, Baron and his gangsters shoot Carney and a bullet fractures Shaw's arm.Baron sends one of his two henchmen to double-check on the President's schedule but he is killed in a shootout with the police. Jud (James O'Hara), a
television repairman, shows up at the house and also becomes a hostage. Pidge (Kim Charney) goes to his grandfather's (known as Pop) dresser to fetch some medication and notices a fully loaded revolver which he replaces with his toy cap gun.Baron is confronted by the sheriff on the risks and meaning of killing the president and Baron's remaining henchman begins showing some reluctance.
The
Gewehr 41 sniper rifle has been mounted on a metal table, which Jud hooks up to the 5000 volt plate output of the family television. Pop Benson (James Gleason ) then "accidentally" spills a cup of water on the floor beneath the table. Although the hope is Baron will be shocked to death, his remaining henchman touches the table first and is electrocuted, firing the rifle repeatedly and attracting the attention of police at the train station as he struggles to free himself. Baron shoots Jud, disconnects the electrical hookup and aims the rifle as the president's train arrives at the station, but to his surprise, doesn't stop (having been alerted to the risk). Ellen Benson (Nancy Gates ) shoots Baron in the chest and Shaw shoots him again. Baron's last words are, "Don't... please."Background
"Suddenly" became part of the colorization controversy in the mid-1980s when the movie was colorized for home video, turning Sinatra's blue eyes brown. [amg movie|id=1:47562|title=Suddenly.]
The film's copyright was not renewed and it fell into the
public domain . Hence, prints became widely available from a number of discount/public domain distributors. The picture can also be downloaded and viewed or burned toDVD for free. [ [http://www.archive.org/details/suddenly Internet Archive] . Free download of film possible.]"Noir" analysis
Film critic Carl Mazek makes the case that the "
Machiavellian attitude" of John Baron links the picture with the brutal films noir of the 1950s like "The Big Night " (1951) and "Kiss Me Deadly " (1955). Moreover, the themes of violence, sense ofclaustrophobia and despair mark the film as completelyamoral , and, as such, "Suddenly" is quite opposite of non-noir films like "The Desperate Hours" (1955). [Silver, Alain, and Elizabeth Ward, eds. "Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style," film noir analysis by Carl Mazek, page 275, 3rd edition, 1992. Woodstock, New York:The Overlook Press . ISBN 0-87951-479-5.]Cast
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Frank Sinatra as John Baron
*Sterling Hayden as Sheriff Tod Shaw, Suddenly, California
*James Gleason as Peter "Pop" Benson
*Nancy Gates as Ellen Benson
* Kim Charney as Peter Benson III (Pidge)
*Paul Frees as Benny Conklin, Baron's Accomplice (also TV announcer voice)
*Christopher Dark as Bart Wheeler
*Willis Bouchey as Dan Carney, Chief Secret Service Agent
*Paul Wexler as Deputy Slim Adams, Suddenly Police Department
* James O'Hara as Jud Kelly
* Kem Dibbs as Wilson
* Clark Howat as Haggerty
* Charles Smith as BebopCritical reception
"New York Times" film critic
Bosley Crowther liked the direction of the film and the acting, writing, "Yet such is the role that Mr. Sinatra plays in "Suddenly!", a taut little melodrama that... [it] shapes up as one of the slickest recent items in the minor movie league... we have several people to thank- particularly Richard Sale for a good script, which tells a straight story credibly, Mr. Allen for direction that makes both excitement and sense, Mr. Bassler for a production that gets the feel of a small town and the cast which includes Sterling Hayden, James Gleason and Nancy Gates." Crowther especially liked Sinatra's performance. He wrote, "Mr. Sinatra deserves a special chunk of praise...In "Suddenly!" he proves it in a melodramatic "tour de force"." [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9802E6D8103FE33BBC4053DFB667838F649EDE&oref=slogin Crowther, Bosley] . "The New York Times," film review,October 8 1954 .]The staff at "Variety" magazine also gave the film a good review and praised the acting. They wrote, "Thesp inserts plenty of menace into a psycho character, never too heavily done, and gets good backing from his costar, Sterling Hayden, as sheriff, in a less showy role but just as authoritatively handled. Lewis Allen's direction manages a smart piece where static treatment easily could have prevailed." [ [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117795305.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 "Variety"] . Film review,
January 1 1954 .]"
The Hollywood Reporter " commented, "As an assassin in the piece, Sinatra superbly refutes the idea that the straight role potentialities in "From Here to Eternity " was one shot stuff. In "Suddenly," the happy-go-lucky soldier of "Eternity" becomes one of the most repellent killers in American screen history."Currently the film has an 88% "Fresh" rating at
Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews. [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1020415-suddenly/ "Suddenly"] atRotten Tomatoes . Last accessed:November 27 2007 .]ee also
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Assassinations in fiction References
External links
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* [http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare7/suddenly4.htm "Suddenly"] at DVD Beaver (includes images)
* [http://www.archive.org/details/suddenly "Suddenly"] film download at the Internet Archive (free)
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