The Eleanor Parker Blogathon – The Man with the Golden Arm

I was really excited to join in on Maddy Loves Her Classic Films‘ Eleanor Parker Blogathon. I’m a sucker for Sinatra, so I chose The Man with the Golden Arm. Both Eleanor and Frank are so great in this movie. I also really like Kim Novak in her role as well.

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Synopsis:

Frankie Machine (Sinatra) returns home from jail determined to not fall back into old habits. He soon succumbs to the pressure of his old boss and his wife and finds himself addicted to heroin once again and back to dealing for an illegal card game.

Frank Sinatra’s Role

Frank is absolutely brilliant in his role. While later in his career he won an Oscar for his role From Here to Eternity, he really should have won for his role here. I have seen both and to me, there is no comparison – this is the truly Oscar-winning role. He actually lobbied for this role. It was originally offered to Marlon Brando, but Frank jumped at it and was signed before Marlon was able to accept.

Even though his character becomes a relapsed drug addict, Sinatra plays him in such an endearing way. You can tell that he wants to make a better life for himself. You feel bad that he can’t and that he is so wracked with guilt over his wife’s {supposed} injury that he can’t be with the woman he loves {Novak}.

The withdrawl scene alone is enough to prove that he deserved an Oscar for this movie. This scene is so intense and Sinatra did his own research, including visiting addicts, to know how to play it correctly.

Eleanor Parker’s Role

Eleanor Parker is brilliant as well. She plays Frankie’s wife, Zosh, who was injured in a car accident with him driving. Because of this she is confined to a wheelchair and plays on his guilt constantly.

Spoiler…

She is just fine, but convinces everyone around her that she isn’t. She manipulates her husband into staying with her and convinces him to go back to card dealing, where he gets hooked back into drugs.

Parker plays her so well, you both hate her and feel bad for her. She is bad for Frankie, but tries so hard to hang onto the man that she desperately loves.

Kim Novak’s Role

I really love Kim Novak in this movie too. Her character, Molly, loves Frankie so much that she helps him through withdrawal, which as you saw in the scene above, is pretty ugly. You can tell that she is a better match for him and truly cares about his well-being. Instead of pushing him back into old habits, she encourages him and believes that he can be better.

The Code

Another interesting thing about this movie is that it was originally to be released when the Breen production code was still in effect. The Motion Picture Association of America initially refused to issue a seal for it because of the drug addition. The film was eventually assigned a certificate because the next year the code was changed to allow movies that deal with drugs and other things.

The Ending

Spoilers!!

The ending in the novel by Nelson Algren was very different. In the novel, Frank kills his drug dealer and then hangs himself while on the run. I much prefer the movie ending where it is Zosh that kills Louie because he discovers her secret.

In her panic of the others discovering her secret anyway, she falls and dies also. Maybe a bit gruesome, but it does leave a a possible happy ending for Frankie and Molly to be together…and I am a sucker for a love story also!

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