Frank Sinatra passed away in 1998 and to celebrate the tenth year of his death (I think this is very odd to do that) Warner Brothers has gathered some of the Chairman’s best films in some box sets. This set features one of his best performances, The Man with the Golden Arm, as well as some other films from the era.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always thought it a bit odd to celebrate the anniversary of the death of someone. Birthdays make more sense, but whatever the case the Sinatra legacy is being celebrated on the tenth anniversary of his death with a new postage stamp as well as several box sets of DVD releases from Warner Brothers.
This set collects five films from what is deemed to be Sinatra’s golden years. The films are The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), The Tender Trap (1955), Some Came Running (1958), None but the Brave (1965), and Marriage on the Rocks (1965). The set features Sinatra in one of his best roles as a heroin addict who is trying to get clean and proved that the Chairman would put his all into a role and not be afraid to make himself look bad if the character called for it.
The Man with the Golden Arm would earn him a nomination for best actor, but he wouldn’t win it. The Tender Trap finds Sinatra as a swinging talent agent who cruises through a bevy of beautiful girlfriends until he falls into the tender trap and falls in love with Debbie Reynolds.
Some Came Running has Sinatra playing a GI named Dave that returns to his hometown to find that things haven’t changed much in the gossip driven society. He brings an unexpected guest along in Ginnie (Shirley MacLaine), finds a gambling partner in Bama (Dean Martin), and things get hairy for both Dave and his brother (Arthur Kennedy).
The film is a bit too much Peyton Place, but does feature a grand sequence at a carnival towards the end. None but the Brave is the only film that Sinatra ever directed and has some American GIs crash-landing on a Japanese occupied island during WWII. It seems a halfhearted effort from him and the critical backlash may have been why this was his only directorial effort.
Marriage on the Rocks finds Sinatra as Dan, a workaholic ad man, who’s married to Valerie (Deborah Kerr). She wants to add some spice into their boring marriage and they go down Mexico way to a town run by shyster lawyer (Cesar Romero) who provides quickie marriages and divorces. Circumstances arises that Valerie is accidentally divorced from Dan and then ends up accidentally married to Dan’s pal Ernie (Dean Martin).
It’s a really quaint film as its ideas of divorce and marriage feel very swinging 60s, and it’s not all that funny either. I guess if you like Sinatra, and Martin in my case, you’ll be glad to have it but it’s no classic.
All of the films are presented in their original aspect ratios and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features are interesting but do feel a little light. The Man with the Golden Arm has a new 19 minute documentary about the film and its theatrical trailer (2 minutes).
The Tender Trap has a 15 minute documentary about Sinatra’s films in the fifties and the theatrical trailer (2 minutes). Some Came Running has a 20 minute documentary about the film and the theatrical trailer (4 minutes). Theatrical trailers are all you get for None but the Brave (4 minutes) and Marriage on the Rocks (3 minutes).
The Golden Years set features some good examples of Sinatra’s output in the 1950s (Golden Arm and Tender Trap). The other films as good to see, Some Came Running has a great sequence in it, and it’s always good to see Frank on the screen.
Frank Sinatra - The Golden Years Collection is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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