Appearance

  • light/dark mode
powered by
moviedb

The Man with the Golden Arm

"An 'untouchable' theme… an unusual motion picture!"

1955-12-26 Drama 1hr 59m

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

More
Trailer
Amazon Prime Video

Watch on Amazon Prime Video

close
The Man with the Golden Arm
Amazon Prime Video

Watch on Amazon Prime Video

Storyline

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

  • Released
    1955-12-26
  • Revenue
    $4,350,000
  • Budget
    $1,000,000
  • Runtime
    1hr 59m
  • Genre
    Drama, Crime
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    English
  • imdb-logo
    7.3
  • Production
    Carlyle Productions

Crew

Otto Preminger
Director
Walter Newman
Screenplay
Otto Preminger
Producer

Stream and watch The Man with the Golden Arm

similar movies

Low Down

Low Down

Shanghai Express

Shanghai Express

A Few Good Men

A Few Good Men

The Docks of New York

The Docks of New York

The Cincinnati Kid

The Cincinnati Kid

The Best Years of Our Lives

The Best Years of Our Lives

Apur Sansar

Apur Sansar

Aparajito

Aparajito

Birdman of Alcatraz

Birdman of Alcatraz

Cool Hand Luke

Cool Hand Luke

The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep

Irreversible

Irreversible

La Strada

La Strada

Summer '04

Summer '04

Klute

Klute

Bandyta

Bandyta

Pi

Pi

Drugstore Cowboy

Drugstore Cowboy

Shaft

Shaft

Shaft's Big Score!

Shaft's Big Score!

Videos and Photos

The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm

Movie Reviews

Reviews for The Man with the Golden Arm
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2022-11-14

This story has quite a well trodden feel to it. Frank Sinatra's "Frankie" is released from a stint in prison and heads straight back to the ... read more

This story has quite a well trodden feel to it. Frank Sinatra's "Frankie" is released from a stint in prison and heads straight back to the drug-infused melting pot from whence he came. Initially intent on staying clean, soon peer pressures and his struggle to survive, with his high-maintenance wife "Zosh" (Eleanor Parker) have him back at square one. It might just be that his salvation can come from his lover, the excellent Kim Novak ("Molly"), and from his drum kit? Sinatra proves he has some versatility as an actor here, and both Parker and Novak - alongside an un-nerving effort from Robert Strauss as his supplier "Schwiefka", makes this a far grittier, harder hitting drama than we might have expected. It shows us the relentlessness and hopelessness of his situation; also of the relative futility of the attempts at rehabilitation he went through in jail. It is too long, the first twenty minutes establish the characters, but at the expense of any decent pace - but once the ducks are in a row here, Otto Preminger elicits characterful performances from the cast that make this film quite realistic, and tough to watch at times.

reviewer avatar

A Review by r96sk 8

Written by r96sk on 2024-05-29

Bit of a slow-moving picture, one that might've ended sooner, though I do class <em>'The Man with the Golden Arm'</em> as something rather q... read more

Bit of a slow-moving picture, one that might've ended sooner, though I do class <em>'The Man with the Golden Arm'</em> as something rather quite good. Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak keep events moving along with strong showings, Sinatra especially. Eleanor Parker is, though, the person onscreen that I appreciated most whilst watching, there's just something about her performance that puts her ahead of her co-stars; I'd even say she overacts in parts, yet it absolutely still worked for me. The story does go round the houses a little, but even with that being the case it didn't actually affect my personal enjoyment all that much - it just totally could've been trimmed and we probably wouldn't have missed anything. Elsewhere, the score is excellent - especially the theme for when Frankie desires his habbits. I'd have to be in the right mood to revisit this. Nonetheless, it do be a very good film from 1955 - ahead of its time, that's for sure.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by CinemaSerf

This story has quite a well trodden feel to it. Frank Sinatra's "Frankie" is released from a stint in prison and heads straight back to the drug-infused melting pot from whence he came. Initially intent on staying clean, soon peer pressures...

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2022-11-14

This story has quite a well trodden feel to it. Frank Sinatra's "Frankie" is released from a stint in prison and heads straight back to the drug-infused melting pot from whence he came. Initially inte...

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by r96sk 8

Written by r96sk on 2024-05-29

Bit of a slow-moving picture, one that might've ended sooner, though I do class <em>'The Man with the Golden Arm'</em> as something rather quite good. Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak keep events moving...

read more