In lesser hands, this rather stagy, low budget thriller could have been a tedious affair but thanks to the work of director Lewis Allen (who injects great pace and tension into the drama), the end result is a gripping account of the events that take place when a suburban family's house is invaded by a group of men who've been hired to assassinate the President of the United States.
As well as depicting the action that takes place on a Saturday afternoon in the small Californian town called "Suddenly", this movie also includes some 1950s attitudes towards women and the plausibility of a successful attempt on the President's life which now seem very outdated.
Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden) is the town sheriff who receives a confidential message that the President is due to arrive in Suddenly at 5.00 pm and subsequently assists the advance group of Secret Service agents who swiftly move into action to secure the area surrounding the train station. Dan Carney (Willis Bouchey) is the Head of the group and shows an interest in a house that's located on a hill overlooking the station. He's rather amused when Tod tells him that the house belongs to Pop Benson (James Gleason) because some years earlier, Pop had been Dan's boss.
Shortly after Tod and Dan's conversation, a group of three men arrive at the Benson house and John Baron (Frank Sinatra) explains that he and his two colleagues are FBI agents who need to inspect the property to ensure that it's secure because the President is expected to arrive in the town later and they've received information about a planned assassination attempt.
Pop Benson lives at the house with his daughter-in-law, Ellen (Nancy Gates) and her son Pidge (Kim Charney). Ellen's husband had been killed in the Korean War and since then she's forbidden 8-year-old Pidge to watch war movies or play with toy guns and has also rebuffed Tod's proposals of marriage. When Tod and Dan Carney arrive at the house to see Pop, Dan is shot dead by Baron and Tod is also shot in the arm. The family and the sheriff are then taken hostage and Baron threatens to kill Pidge if anyone tries to escape or interfere with his mission to kill the President.
Predictably, the tension increases as the President's expected time of arrival gets closer and a violent outcome seems inevitable.
All the characters in this movie are fiercely patriotic as even John Baron is incredibly proud of the success he had in his military service and the fact that he was awarded a Silver Star. He also doesn't think that the planned assassination will damage his country because another President will automatically be sworn in one second after his victim has been killed.
Frank Sinatra, in an outstanding performance, is very intense as the unstable Baron who gradually loses his composure as time progresses and seems to have been an inadequate person who found some self-esteem as a result of his achievements as a soldier who killed 27 Germans. Sterling Hayden and James Gleason are also good in their supporting roles and Nancy Gates does well as Ellen whose feelings and views are routinely undermined or ignored by everyone who purportedly cares for her.
As well as depicting the action that takes place on a Saturday afternoon in the small Californian town called "Suddenly", this movie also includes some 1950s attitudes towards women and the plausibility of a successful attempt on the President's life which now seem very outdated.
Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden) is the town sheriff who receives a confidential message that the President is due to arrive in Suddenly at 5.00 pm and subsequently assists the advance group of Secret Service agents who swiftly move into action to secure the area surrounding the train station. Dan Carney (Willis Bouchey) is the Head of the group and shows an interest in a house that's located on a hill overlooking the station. He's rather amused when Tod tells him that the house belongs to Pop Benson (James Gleason) because some years earlier, Pop had been Dan's boss.
Shortly after Tod and Dan's conversation, a group of three men arrive at the Benson house and John Baron (Frank Sinatra) explains that he and his two colleagues are FBI agents who need to inspect the property to ensure that it's secure because the President is expected to arrive in the town later and they've received information about a planned assassination attempt.
Pop Benson lives at the house with his daughter-in-law, Ellen (Nancy Gates) and her son Pidge (Kim Charney). Ellen's husband had been killed in the Korean War and since then she's forbidden 8-year-old Pidge to watch war movies or play with toy guns and has also rebuffed Tod's proposals of marriage. When Tod and Dan Carney arrive at the house to see Pop, Dan is shot dead by Baron and Tod is also shot in the arm. The family and the sheriff are then taken hostage and Baron threatens to kill Pidge if anyone tries to escape or interfere with his mission to kill the President.
Predictably, the tension increases as the President's expected time of arrival gets closer and a violent outcome seems inevitable.
All the characters in this movie are fiercely patriotic as even John Baron is incredibly proud of the success he had in his military service and the fact that he was awarded a Silver Star. He also doesn't think that the planned assassination will damage his country because another President will automatically be sworn in one second after his victim has been killed.
Frank Sinatra, in an outstanding performance, is very intense as the unstable Baron who gradually loses his composure as time progresses and seems to have been an inadequate person who found some self-esteem as a result of his achievements as a soldier who killed 27 Germans. Sterling Hayden and James Gleason are also good in their supporting roles and Nancy Gates does well as Ellen whose feelings and views are routinely undermined or ignored by everyone who purportedly cares for her.