Suddenly (1954) User Reviews

Entertaining Thriller

[Space_Mafune · 8/10 · 6 February 2003]

When the President decides to pass through the small town of Suddenly on route to a fishing trip, the town's police and chief officials rise to meet the challenge of assuring his protection as there have been rumors of an assassination attempt.

The hired guns meanwhile make plans of their own. They cleverly trick their way into the home of the best house in town from which to try and carry out their assassination plot - the house of Pop Benson, respected citizen with an house upon an hill that overlooks the President's planned arrival destination. Now only an handful of hostages stand between the President and doom...can they in some way warn him in time?

Frank Sinatra steals the show here as the ruthless criminal mastermind behind the want-to-be assassins - a man named John Baron. He is downright brutal and nasty in the role--an utterly detestable villain who does remind us the it was the army that created him and made him into a killer or maybe deep down, it's just that he was always a killer at heart. An outstanding multi-dimensional performance from Sinatra.

Sterling Hayden meanwhile plays the idealistic police sheriff Tod Shaw, who believes in America and the American way and supports unquestioningly the system and will do whatever it takes to preserve the America he believes is right and just. He too served in the military to protect rights and freedoms and now carries on the good fight as Suddenly's sheriff. An interesting contrast of two extremes with the pacifist minded Ellen Benson (played here by Nancy Gates), her becoming a widow after her husband got killed in the war, finally forced to take a stand at the film's climax.

Daring for its time, this film deals with surprisingly intense subject matter for the early 1950s. Quite good.

Chock full o' Implausability, but...

[zeebrite-321-220768 · 7/10 · 18 April 2012]

...Sinatra is great as hired assassin John Baron who's half million dollar job is to off the POTUS when his train stops in Suddenly, California.

If you've ever read Black Mask or any of the old crime pulps, Suddenly has that kind of vibe. Tough, highly stylized talk and attitude takes center stage in spite of any lick of logical behavior or plot coherence. I'm serious here, kids, the story is a mess. So, the decent 7 rating is for one reason only: Blue Eyes is that good.

A must see for Sinatra fans and a definite gripper for those who can really, really, really suspend disbelief.

Old Blue Eyes Elevates a B film

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 19 September 2006]

I'm at a loss to explain why Frank Sinatra chose this particular project in the wake of all the acclaim he got for From Here to Eternity. Without his presence in the film, Suddenly with its length of 75 minutes on my VHS version would be a B film, even with Sterling Hayden starring in it as the sheriff. My guess is that Sinatra wanted to expand and test himself as an actor, something he did less and less of in the following decade.

The President of the United States is coming to the small town of Suddenly where he will leave the train he's traveling on and proceed by motorcade to a vacation in the Sierras. The Secret Service has come to town to do their usual thing in protecting the Chief Executive.

But three contract killers headed by Frank Sinatra are in town to kill the president. We're never told exactly who is paying for this contract, but the inference is that it is our Cold War enemies. Through a combination of circumstances the sheriff is wounded and the head of Secret Service detail, Willis Bouchey, is killed. And the killers are holed up in Nancy Gates's house with her, her father-in-law James Gleason, and child Kim Charney and the wounded Hayden.

Most of the film is taken up with the wait for the train to arrive where a lot of souls are bared open, including Sinatra's. It's the one and only time that Francis Albert ever essayed the role of an out and out villain. He does it well, but I suspect he didn't want to push it with his public too much, so he never did anyone as evil as this again.

Of course history tells us that the president named Eisenhower at the time never was an assassin's target so we know Sinatra's efforts will fail. However it's rather ingenious as to how it does fail.

I think more than fans of old Blue Eyes will like Suddenly.

Others have discussed SUDDENLY pretty well . . .,

[gmr-4 · 3 August 2003]

in fact some rather too well with unnecessary plot descriptions. My reactions were mixed, but SUDDENLY is worth seeing for three reasons:

1) Early Sinatra, of course. This is the kind of role he would not, to the best of my knowledge,repeat. My mother has long had a crush on him, an infatuation undimmed when she saw the film with me on P.B.S.

2) This movie is a study of the ideals and point of view of mid-1950s America. SUDDENLY was made after the Hollywood investigations of the later 1940s and whilst the McCarthy Paranoia was still going on. None of the other commentators have noted that item, but one should take note that the studio big-wigs had had the bejaysus scared out of them. American film was not only to refrain from social criticism, but was going to be a cheerleader for the essential rightness of the American Way of Life and character. SUDDENLY oozes this point of view, and I note with amused contempt the very last scene and what the two protagonists say to one another.

3) The film is a foreshadowing of what is to come in a country so sure of its social and political stability, quite accidental to be sure. Yes, the head bad guy is a nutter, but he is not the comfortable one-lone-nutter. This plot is highly organised and obviously well-financed. The unspoken They have turned to a pool of violence that is highly American -- organised crime -- to do the deed. Baron and his plotters are not ill-shaven Marxists or slanty-eyed types. They are as American as the Colt 45, and they are willing to do the unthinkable for enough money, and in the leader's case, the simple thrill of bagging someone.

I do not know whether SUDDENLY "rises" to the level of Film Noir, but it had some disturbing things for postWar Americans. Perhaps that is why it is not well known in the Sinatra gallery, and indeed I had never heard of it until about six years ago.

High voltage and tension in a thriller featured by an excellent Frank Sinatra

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 25 October 2005]

The movie focuses US President protected by Secret Service (Willis Bouchey as Chief agent) who passes through a small and peaceable town called Suddenly where only the sheriff (Sterling Hayden) executes the law . One house inhabited by a grandfather (James Gleason) , a widow (Nancy Gates) and son is ideal place for a criminal scheme by means of an ambush , designed and pulled off by ominous murderers commanded by a ruthless psycho assassin (Frank Sinatra).

The film has got emotion , strain , suspense , thriller and although is mostly developed on interior scenarios , it doesn't make boring neither tiring . Release was withdrawn from circulation for the Dallas assassination (1963) because of the events are pretty similar . Frank Sinatra (JFK's friend) as producer ordered the retaining copies and the movie was forgotten , however long time later was issued in video market and obtained a lot of success . Frank Sinatra's interpretation is top-notch as the cruel and brutal killer , his acting is magnificent , he's the best . Attractive Nancy Gates is the pacifist widow who hates the guns and embittered for her husband's death during WWII . Sterling Hayden interprets properly a kind and valiant police believer of the ¨American way of life¨ . James Gleason as stiff and rigid veteran is very fine . Atmospheric cinematography and agreeable musical score by David Raksin (author of Laura's score) . The motion picture was well directed by Lewis Allen (he directed some noir classic films). Rating : Interesting , worthwhile seeing and it will appeal to Frank Sinatra fans.

Sinatra Outstanding In Tense, Low Budget Thriller

[seymourblack-1 · 7/10 · 12 March 2013]

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.

Fascinating film

[sandamy27 · 6/10 · 15 June 2005]

I was fascinated to see a completely unknown film with such a strong cast, including Sinatra, where the subject was so prescient. It came out in 1954. Ten years before Kennedy's assassination in 1963.

The changes in America which have occurred since 1954 were also worth seeing. The standard of politeness of the boy. The way the woman went off to fix something to eat for the gangsters! The adorable way the three characters (woman, Sheriff and her father) were allowed to go into the bedroom to clean up the Sheriff's wound! Simpler time.

And finally, the moral-ism. "But you're an American" says one of the characters to the gangster. An "American" surely wouldn't shoot the President of the United States.

Not bad for a buck!

[Pocketplayer · 6/10 · 23 April 2005]

Got this on DVD at the .99 store for...well you know. There's some decent movies for that price there.

Sinatra is the best actor in this movie. I enjoyed Sterling Hayward in Kubrick's The Killing and then bought his autobiography, The Wanderer. I enjoy the character actors in such movies but best of all the actual scenery representing life in 1954--that's history brought to life. I love seeing the store fronts, cars, dress and cultural norms. Great stuff.

As stated, Hayward has a machine gun acting style--made for the B movie. He's a natural actor yet I get the idea he never really worked at his craft. Sinatra looks mean and has the look about him--the stare in his eye that indicates a lion inside. He would have made a great gangster actor.

Tense!

[davyd-02237 · 7/10 · 18 May 2020]

If you have ever seen "High Noon", please don't expect the tension to be that good, hence why only 7. That said, the 3 killers/assassins work well as does the premise of the movie. Each cast member fits their role extremely well and the finale is rather well thought out for the season it was made. Sinatra, who Im told, never played a lead villain after this (other than a very bland "oceans 11") is rather good. Well worth watching if you haven't seen it

not bad for a buck!

[thefensk · 9/10 · 31 December 2004]

Like another user I found this movie at a "dollar store" and decided to take a chance on it. I believe the stories that this was pulled from circulation simply because I had never heard of it before. Where have they been hiding this movie?

I can believe those stories for another reason. It has an eerie feel to it ... and seemed oddly prophetic: Imagine, an attempt to kill a President from a sniper position in a window above and behind, using a military-style weapon, by a former soldier. If Oswald truly watched this movie ... one would have to wonder how HE felt about the movie. I mean, I wasn't aware of that bit of trivia until I watched the movie and THEN checked out IMDb. While watching it I could not help but draw comparisons. Brrrrrrrr. It seems plausible that Sinatra might have had similar feelings.

Sure, this is not the best movie ever made but it is a good solid 1950s movie, with a good performance by Sinatra. Yes, it is corny, but given the timeframe, that is to be expected. To be honest, I am tired of special effects and enjoy movies with an actual story and actual acting. Even corny stories and corny acting. Not a single car blew up in this movie. Wow. What a relief.

Clunky in Its Execution But Interesting from a Cultural Perspective

[evanston_dad · 6/10 · 17 March 2011]

This cheapie suspense thriller stars Frank Sinatra as a hood out to assassinate the president at a small train station in the nowheresville town of Suddenly, USA. He holes out in the home of a salty veteran (James Gleason), a home that offers the perfect vantage point from which to carry out the plan. A small group of townspeople, including the veteran's daughter and the town sheriff (Sterling Hayden), who have been taken hostage by Sinatra's group, feverishly try to hatch a plan to foil the assassination attempt while keeping themselves safe.

The film's impact is blunted by the performance of Sinatra, who tries hard to muster up some menace but isn't up to the task, and some clunky direction, especially in the film's climax, when it should be at its most suspenseful. On the other hand, it is an interestingly cynical film from the 50s, and has a disillusioned attitude about war and the violence it breeds in a decade when other films either pretended the war never happened or treated it like a heroic fairy tale. "Suddenly" suggests that the violence inherent in men can infect small-town America just as easily as it can the country's urban jungles, probably not a very welcome message during a period when vast numbers were fleeing those very jungles for the peace and quite of more rural suburbs.

Grade: B-

This is an underrated classic picture worth your time

[kevin_robbins · 9/10 · 7 June 2021]

Suddenly (1954) is a movie I recently rewatched off Amazon Prime. The storyline tells the tale of a small town that is about to host a big event that everyone who knows has to keep hush-hush...the president is about to make a quick stop and speech on his train ride to Los Angeles. Little does the town know a group of gangsters plan to assassinate him at that very stop. When the local towns people run into the gangsters, they may be the only hope to save the president. This movie is directed by Lewis Allen (The Uninvited) and stars Frank Sinatra (Guys and Dolls), James Gleason (The Bishop's Wife), Nancy Gates (World without End) and Sterling Hayden (The Godfather). The storyline for this is very well told and does a great job of depicting the background of the key characters and gangsters while also introducing subplots through the copious dialogue and solid character interactions. The chemistry between the cast was excellent and while Sinatra was great as the villain, the little boy steals the show in several scenes. The sheriff and mother are also well executed and the unpredictability of each character is felt in every scene. Overall this is an underrated classic picture worth your time. I'd score this a 9/10.

Fifties Fun

[horsegoggles · 7/10 · 12 December 2005]

I'm sure screen writers must put some preliminary thoughts on paper, I think the following could have been among them:

We want "Sinatra" to shine in this film, so Sterling, you just give us one of your typical performances. He'll probably get an Oscar

Ellen, I intend to harass you and take control of your son until you give in to my overbearing monotone requests, I will pick you up for church tomorrow morning, any girl in town would be proud to go to church with a stump.

We just got news over the telegraph that the President's Train is stopping in Suddenly. Bebop, go get the sheriff, it's an emergency. I could use the phone but it wouldn't take as long. We'll wait and use it later for something important.

We've got to keep the Presidents stop in Suddenly quiet, it's top secret. Be sure to race 5 state police cars to the town with their sirens screaming on max output.

Pidge, you're dad was killed in the war for no reason, so don't ever forget it. I'll remind you throughout the film.

I got all of my electronics training in secret service school, I'll fix the T.V. Where is that darn repair manual, it must be with my bullets.

"Mom, all the kids say I'm a sissy, and it's because you won't buy me that 50 caliber Desert Eagle." "No Pidge, it's because we named you Pidge."

"You're a dirty rotten stinking rotten stinking coward". "Pidge, such language. Apologize to the dirty rotten stinking coward at once".

Shoot me, shoot me, the shot will bring the cops, come on you crumb, shoot me, come on, just one good shot to the heart will do it, come on, just one shot, well maybe two, shoot me in the head too. Two shots. No, no, don't hit me in the arm. Note: Just saw the final cut, we should have shot him in the head.

Let's make sure that Slim gets killed in this movie, it's the best thing that could happen to his career, Maybe we should have Sterling killed during the opening credits.

Pidge, you're dad was sorry we ever had you. That's why we named you Pidge, that was mostly my idea.

Gramps, we live in your house, we eat your food, we drive your car, but if you say one more word about me reminding Pidge that his dad died for no reason, you'll have to go.

Should we kill Gramps, or the Secret Service guy?

Has anyone figured out how Sinatra is going to get out of the house alive?

Actually I really like this film, details just weren't always a first consideration in the fifties.

Suddenly is just OK

[SusanJL · 5/10 · 21 June 2008]

I was prepared to be really wowed by this film, because I think Frank Sinatra was a phenomenal actor, and I've always loved Sterling Hayden.

I think the subject matter and themes of war patriot vs. war killer and pacifist vs. non-pacifist had tremendous potential. But the script was absolutely horribly written. Even for the times, the dialog was corny & stilted & preachy. I felt like I was watching some old "Dragnet" episode. The characters were so superficially drawn I didn't feel like I really got to know any of them.

I'm glad I watched it just to see an old movie with Frank Sinatra, whose films are always interesting, but I wouldn't watch this one over. It just felt like an old TV show to me. If you want to see a well-done "assassination" thriller, see "The Manchurian Candidate".

"The Next Time, It Might Be YOUR House!"

[stryker-5 · 22 December 1999]

As the President of the United States is touring out west, a sniper is awaiting him, with his European-manufactured rifle pointing down from a high window. The assassin is a mentally-disturbed ex-serviceman in the pay of powerful vested interests ... However, this is not Dallas in November 1963, but an eerily accurate foreshadowing, made nine years earlier.

Suddenly is a drowsy little Californian town whose peace is broken one sunny Saturday afternoon when it transpires that the President will step off his train here, to transfer to a limousine for the journey into Los Angeles. Frank Sinatra plays John Baron, the psychotic killer who arrives in town intending to kill Suddenly's most illustrious visitor.

Todd Shaw (Sterling Hayden) is the town sherriff, and like western sherriffs of an earlier age he is strong, decent and resourceful. He is courting Ellen Benson (Nancy Gates), Suddenly's beautiful widow, whose husband died a war hero. Being a regular kind of guy, Todd is trying to fix up a date with Ellen which will involve accompanying her to church on Sunday morning. Ellen's six-year-old son (played by Kim Charney) is known by the nickname 'Pidge'. Pidge is a good kid who wants to be a peace officer when he grows up, and on the strength of this career ambition Sherriff Shaw buys him the cap pistol which Pidge's mother has steadfastly refused. In Todd's eyes, it makes no sense to disapprove of firearms: "Guns aren't necessarily bad. Depends who uses 'em."

Pop Benson (James Gleason) is an Eisenhower lookalike and Pidge's grandfather. Formerly a secret serviceman, he is renowned far and wide for his probity and straight talking. "I'm an American, aren't I?" asks Pop, needing no other philosophy in life. Within seconds of making his first appearance in the film, Pop is sounding off about "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". When his home is being searched without warrant by men he takes to be FBI agents, he welcomes them with, "I get quite a kick outta this!"

And so the scene is set. Baron's small team of crooks will occupy the Benson home in order to set up their sniper's nest. Ultra-patriotic Pop and his family will do their best to resist the invaders.

"Suddenly" has some very noticeable flaws. The labouring of the 'dangerous electricity' point is clumsy. Though this tiny 'burgh' is crawling with state troopers and secret servicemen, nobody hears the gunfight in the Benson living-room. Todd lamely explains it away by surmising that a passing train must have 'muffled it'. What possible reason can Baron have for sending Benny down into the town? Nothing can outweigh the risk that he will be detected - as indeed he is. And how come Baron, the man who feels like God when he has a gun in his hand, fails to notice that Pidge's cap pistol has been exchanged for a real revolver? How is it that, minutes after the end of this dramatic siege, life in Suddenly is back to prosaic normal?

Despite these infelicities (and the mystery of how Baron knew the President's schedule so intimately) "Suddenly" is a very enjoyable film. Lewis Allen's terse direction keeps the story taut and dramatically interesting, and Sinatra is excellent as the psycho. Watch for his sick smile as he hurts the man with the broken arm!

As well as being eminently watchable, this neat little thriller is also surprisingly thought-provoking. "You've got that duty look in your eye," says Baron scathingly to Shaw, identifying succinctly the difference between the two men. Shaw's honour-code puts patriotism before life itself, whereas Baron's perverted values scorn altruism. He works for money - and the pleasure of killing. "I did a lot of chopping in the war," repeats Baron in a sort of mantra, and Shaw learns to exploit this preoccupation. He grasps that Baron's self-esteem is grounded in his combat record, and he starts to use Baron's psychological kinks against him. One of the film's deep-structure themes is the central role of the family in both the nation's life and the life of the individual. America will be strong and safe as long as it continues to produce families like the Bensons. Conversely, Baron's sad neglected childhood has created a warped psychopath. The attempt on the President's life is launched with a crisp "Let's go to work." One wonders if Tarrantino was consciously using the identical phrase for the start of the robbery in "Reservoir Dogs".

Main Street has to be cleared of Americans before the President can set foot in it. The people cannot enter into the presence of their chief executive officer, and he dare not move among his fellow citizens. What does that say about America?

"We get just three seconds to nail the President..."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 19 July 2009]

In my lifetime, the assassination of John F. Kennedy changed everything. America lost it's innocence on that Dallas morning over forty years ago, and I came away from this movie with the thought that maybe the film makers were subconsciously looking ahead to when such an event in modern times might not be so much conjecture, but something almost inevitable. Precautions for the assassination of the President in 1963 were probably about on a par with what was disclosed in this story, but who would have thought to check the upper floors of the Book Depository building? Interestingly, the name of Dwight Eisenhower was never mentioned in "Suddenly".

There was also a unique observation made in the picture by Frank Sinatra's character, Johnny Baron. Speaking to Sheriff Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden) about the momentous nature of his intent, Johnny declares - "...the first man they shoot to the moon in a rocket will take pains too, it's just never been done before". Two eerily prophetic observations made by the same story to become realized within the coming decade.

In reading some of the comments from other posters on this board, I was struck by the number of those who took issue with the picture's overt message about guns, particularly the number of times the subject was brought up and reinforced throughout the story. It did seem heavy handed and forced after a while, and I remember how a 1957 TV Western broached the subject much more effectively without getting in your face. I refer to the series opener of 'Colt .45', when Wayde Preston defends his occupation as a traveling gun salesman - "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns". That idea didn't have to be repeated for the rest of the episode.

Overall, I found the story to be generally suspenseful, but had to question a number of scenes that didn't quite ring true. Right after Carney and the Sheriff were shot, the Benson's and Shaw were left unsupervised in another room just a bit too long to be credible. A similar scene occurred in 1957's "The Desperate Hours" with Bogey at the helm in charge of similarly inept henchmen. I'm sure many viewers picked up on the cap-gun exchange for Pop's hidden pistol as being something of a stretch. The topper for me though was when Pidge fired the errant shot and threw the gun across the room, and Johnny Baron didn't bother to worry about who might go after it. In that split second, you just knew that Johnny deserved whatever he got.

After Here to Eternity Sinatra was suddenly overbooked

[johno-21 · 6/10 · 9 March 2006]

This is no more than a decent B-movie and you have to wonder how Frank Sinatra ended up in it considering that the year before he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in From Here to Eternity. a victim of his own success I guess. Sinatra had established himself in serious roles with Meet Danny Wilson and Eternity his two previous films prior to Suddenly. It earned him a lot of film roles and in 1954-1955 he would do Suddenly, The Man with the Golden Arm, Not as a Stranger, the big musical Guys & Dolls and a couple of romantic comedies in Young at Heart and The Tender Trap. Many Film Noir movies were in fact B-movies but this is B-Film Noir. Director Lewis Allen had directed some pretty good films in The Uninvited, So Evil My Love and Desert Fury in the 40's but the quality of his films had dropped off by this time. Screenwriter Richard Sale never had a film of note and did in fact write a lot of bad ones. It's story is a departure from the norm however, being that although there had been three presidential assassinations and a couple of attempts before this film was made it's subject wasn't covered much in film except for Lincoln biographies. This is not a bad film but it's not an especially good one either. Sterling Hayden co-stars. I would give this a 6.5 on a scale of 10.

An intense crime drama

[willrams · 7/10 · 18 October 2002]

Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason, Nancy Gates; these are the stars that make this movie an intense crime drama; the planning of an asassination of the president of the USA from an unsuspecting private home overlooking a small town. I just saw this again on TV and it held my interest to watch Sinatra in all his snarling meanness manipulating everyone. Sterling Hayden plays the sheriff rather stiffly, but macho enough to get himself shot in the arm; James Gleason, always a genius, gets the TV repairman to connect the wires to the table on which the automatic rifle is placed which explodes and starts the gun off (I always love James Gleason); the scene goes so fast you have to zero in on all that happens in that moment. It's all rather predictable and all ends well.

SUDDENLY HAS A HARD IMPACT

[larryanderson · 7/10 · 27 November 2020]

I saw this movie when I was a teen and found it compelling and full of tension. I watched it recently and saw how a "sleepy little town" can be changed suddenly, forever. The tranquil, peaceful neighbors lives are jolted out of complacency and force to act against a common threat. Frank Sinatra at his best.

Decent Assassination Attempt

[JoelChamp85 · 7/10 · 23 April 2021]

Good old flick. I really like the basis of the idea, it's simple but meaningful. As with most of these old films it's basically 85% exposition and therefore in need of a great leading man to sell the dialogue, and Sinatra is the man for the job. The constant introduction of new characters mixed with the exposition cancels out any sort of fear for the audience, instead you just follow along and see what happens. Overall it's a film worth watching.

Great

[chris-459 · 9/10 · 17 October 2002]

When I started to watch this movie I didn't think it was going to be any good. How wrong! I've seen lots of Frank Sinatra movies and I never liked any of them, because I think he is a terrible actor in all those movies (and that goes for films like "From Here to Eternity" and "Some Came Running", which the critics always claim to be "wonderful - come on!). BUT in this one he is GREAT, just GREAT - his best performance, perfect. The movie is quite good as well. Simple, but good. And those close-ups on Sinatra's face are always right were they should be to create the dramatic effect perfect for the situation. Watch it! It's good, and doesn't bore you because it doesn't go on and on and on like most films nowadays about somebody wanting to kill the president of the USA.

Inexpensive, unprepossessing thriller.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 1 June 2007]

Basically it's a B movie script that is slightly elevated in significance by the fact that the intended victim is the President of the United States instead of, say, an anonymous guy with his face down on the bar of some tavern in Bloomfield, New Jersey. The fact that is stars Frank Sinatra along with Sterling Hayden and a couple of reliable utility players doesn't change things.

The year before, Sinatra had won an Academy Award for his (very good) performance in "From Here to Eternity," rescuing his career from its downward spiral. He wanted the role of the gun-crazy assassin in "Suddenly" because he wanted to demonstrate his range as an actor. And the director gives him every chance. In more than one scene, Sinatra begins a monologue and, turning from the others, stalks towards the camera until he delivers his punch line, his face -- distorted by the wide-angle lens -- twisted with some demonic passion. Well, he does his best but the role is so limited and the dialog so clumsy that nobody could overcome those limitations. Actually, his most effective moment -- and again, it's good -- takes place near the beginning, when Willis Bouchey, a Secret Service agent, enters the house and is introduced to Sinatra's fake FBI man. Bouchey realizes it's a set up, and Sinatra knows that he twigs it. And the camera holds on Sinatra's lunatic smile and such an exopthalmic stare as to suggest he is being taken by thyrotoxic storm, just before he pulls his pistol and plugs Bouchey.

In that scene, Sinatra has no dialog at all and it's for the best. Who wrote this thing anyway? I've seen the movie a few times before but only just now realized how utterly corny the dialog is, even for its time.

"Todd, what in Hades is going on in this town anyway? Did some galoot strike a uranium mine or something?" "Ellen, will you please stop being such a WOMAN?" I swear I'm not making that up -- and there's worse. Most of the characters are familiar stereotypes. Sinatra's is intended to be the most complex role, and it is complex compared to the others, but in fact isn't too complicated for a Saturday-afternoon audience to grasp in a few minutes. Sinatra was a nobody until he found his place in the infantry, killing Germans and winning a Silver Star, until he was booted out for some outrage we can only imagine. He did however learn a trade in the Army and has now set out to be all he can be.

Sinatra did make a few good movies. He gave this one his best effort. "From Here to Eternity" was fine, and "The Manchurian Candidate" was quite good. In all of them he played someone other than Frank Sinatra, whereas in something like "Tony Rome" he seemed to be on vacation.

But here, the script and direction make any plaudits insupportable. It would be enough to make you feel sorry for Frank Sinatra if he were anyone but Frank Sinatra. One wonders if he and Sterling Hayden, the Mount Rushmore of bulk, reminisced about the old days back in Montclair and Hoboken, where each grew up, only a few miles from one another.

Intense moments in the house

[Petey-10 · 8/10 · 10 May 2012]

The president is supposed to arrive by train to a small town called Suddenly.John Baron and his thugs who want to assassinate the president, take over a house on a hill.In that house fighting for their lives are Pop Benson, Ellen Benson, the kid Pidge and sheriff Tod Shaw.Later also TV repairman Jud Kelly becomes a hostage.Frank Sinatra is terrific as John Baron.He plays the role in a way you almost start feeling sorry for the guy.Sterling Hayden is brilliant as Tod Shaw.James Gleason is superb as Peter "Pop" Benson.Nancy Gates is amazing as Ellen.Kim Charney does Pidge the kid's part brilliantly.James "Maureen's brother" O'Hara is great as Jud.Also great work by Willis Bouchey, who plays Dan Carney.I found this movie recently on a DVD at the library.It's an intense small town story.All the stuff that takes place in the end.The kid with the gun, the TV set with a high voltage...This film-noir is certainly worth watching.

Suddenly - Not the Worst Film I Have Ever Seen

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 15 September 2005]

To kill the United States president, ex-soldier-turned-assassin John Baron (Frank Sinatra) and two cohorts invade a house in the town of Suddenly, California. As he prepares to make his risky move during the president's scheduled visit, Baron harasses the house's residents.

This film has a very 1950s vibe to it, including such lines as, "Ellen, stop being a woman!" I am not sure how to take that. I do not think it was facetious, because at no point does Ellen do anything besides whine, complain or hide in a corner. If women want role models, this is a terrible film.

The movie also has some notoriety for being falsely connected to Lee Harvey Oswald. I can see why people would connect the two. In fact, any film about assassination is questionable in general.

The film also raises the issue of war as a duty. Ellen says that her husband dying was a tragedy and not a duty, but her father-in-law (a former Secret Service agent) disagrees. The discussion is not pursued further, which I find striking since the war in question seems to be Korea. Korea is a hard war to defend. When the cop and the assassin talk about being soldiers, they talk of World War II, but that cannot be the war Peter Benson was in, or Pidge is much older than he looks.

I might consider many actors to be superior to Frank Sinatra, but Sinatra is a fine actor in his own right. And while this film is not as gripping as "Manchurian Candidate" (a film that was likely inspired by this one), it is a solid piece of art nonetheless. The writing is so-so and the acting (besides Sinatra's) is a little campy. But this seems more appropriate than an actual hindrance. Hearing the characters use such phrases as "that's swell", "you stink" and "for the love of mike" really brings back fond memories of "The Andy Griffith Show".

If you like Sinatra and have an hour and 15 minutes to spare, check this film out. This is a film about assassinating the president, and there is nothing dull about that. Gosh, this film is recommended for those who like classic films. (If you dislike black and white, though, you are watching the wrong movie.)

Mediocre

[barberoux · 5/10 · 31 July 2002]

The story is that this movie was pulled from circulation because of the Kennedy assassination. I think it is probably more true that it was pulled because it isn't that good. The story is cliche ridden and set simplistic. Seems more like a TV drama, Acting was without nuance and the ending bordered on being ridiculous. The DVD I watched was of poor quality. Don't bother with it.