SUDDENLY

Details

• Release Year: 1954
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery, Suspense/Thriller
• Plot: Sinatra... asia savage, sensation-hungry killer!; ; At first glance, it would seem that the early 1950's were not kind to Frank Sinatra. After a decade during which he vied with Bing Crosby for standing as the top singer in America, his entire world suddenly unraveled. In 1952, his vocal chords abruptly ruptured, and he found himself released from his MGM contract, dropped by his super agent MCA, and thought his career was at an end. Frank Sinatra wandered in the wilderness for what must have seemed forever before his pleading - and agreement to accept the humiliating salary of $8,000 - persuaded Harry Cohn to cast him in From Here to Eternity. For his brilliant performance as Maggio, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and established for himself a new career completely apart from singing. In fact, the year following Suddenly, Sinatra made five films, and was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Otto Preminger's unsettling The Man With The Golden Arm.; ; Made immediately in the wake of Columbia's epic drama, Suddenly was an independent picture in which Sinatra apparently held some financial interest. Because he later came to control the legendary 1962 John Frankenheimer film Manchurian Candidate, and since that film had a similar theme as Suddenly, it had been assumed Sinatra was responsible for both films being held off the market after the murder of his friend John Kennedy.; ; But it seems more likely that Suddenly was simply lost or forgotten. Even now, the whereabouts of most of the original materials is not known, and it seems evident that the film may never have been revived had this original 35 mm element not have been recovered.; ; Sinatra plays a mad-dog hired killer, paid to assassinate President Eisenhower. He and his two cohorts (one of which is portrayed by Paul Frees, best remembered as the voice of Disney's 'Ludwig Von Drake') face small-town sheriff Sterling Hayden (who may have actually been a bigger name than Sinatra at the time the film was planned) and Hayden's would be father-in-law James Gleason as the plot to kill the President unfolds and unravels.; ; A top-notch suspense thriller with a recognizable supporting cast, Suddenly simultaneously captures an era and recalls one of the world's most noted performers at a unique moment - just before his new career exploded and he relentlessly proceeded to assume his ultimate position as 'Chairman of the Board.'
• Cast: Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason, Nancy Gates, Kim Charney, Paul Frees, Christopher Dark, Willis Bouchey, Paul Wexler, James O'Hara, Kem Dibbs, Clark Howat, Charles Smith, John Beradino, Richard Collier, Roy Engel, Ted Stanhope, Charles Wagenheim, Dan White, Lewis Allen
• Director: Lewis Allen
• Runtime: 1:13
• Company: Image Entertainment
• Media Format: Movie