Available at Amazon.com
Guys And Dolls
Directed By:
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast:
Marlon Brando. Sky Masterson
Jean Simmons. Sergeant Sarah Brown
Frank Sinatra. Nathan Detroit
Vivian Blaine. Miss Adelaide
MGM Home Video presents Guys And Dolls. Written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. 149 minutes. Not Rated. Originally released in 1955.
The Pride And The Passion
Directed By:
Stanley Kramer
Cast:
Cary Grant. Anthony
Frank Sinatra. Miguel
Sophia Loren. Juana
MGM Home Video presents The Pride And The Passion. Written by Edna and Edward Anhalt. Based on the novel “The Gun” by C.S. Forester. 132 minutes. Not Rated. Originally released in 1957.
Kings Go Forth
Directed By:
Delmer Daves
Cast:
Frank Sinatra. 1st Lt. Sam Loggins
Tony Curtis. Cpl. Britt Harris
Natalie Wood. Monique Blair
MGM Home Video presents Kings Go Forth. Written by Merle Miller. Based on the novel by Joe David Brown. 110 minutes. Not Rated. Originally released in 1958.
A Hole In The Head
Directed By:
Frank Capra
Cast:
Frank Sinatra. Tony Manetta
Edward G. Robinson. .Mario Manetta
Eddie Hodges. Alvin ‘Ally’ Manetta
MGM Home Video presents A Hole In The Head. Written by Arnold Schulman. Based on his play. 120 minutes. Not Rated. Originally released in 1959.
The Manchurian Candidate
Directed By:
Frank Capra
Cast:
Frank Sinatra. Capt./Maj. Bennett Marco
Laurence Harvey. SFC. Raymond Shaw
Janet Leigh. Eugenie Rose Chaney
Angela Lansbury. Mrs. Iselin
MGM Home Video presents The Manchurian Candidate. Written by George Axelrod. Based on the novel by Richard Condon. 127 minutes. Rated PG-13. Originally released in 1962.
MGM Home Video presents Frank Sinatra MGM Movie Legends Collection. 5 films on 5 DVDs.
The Films:
Not only was Frank Sinatra an immaculate singer, he was prolific actor was well, doing everything from musicals and comedy to dramas and thrillers, all of which are represented in this set.
We start with Guys And Dolls, the quintessential musical. Nathan Detroit (Sinatra) and Sky Masterson (Brando) are hardened gamblers. When Detroit needs a thousand bucks to host a craps game he bets Masterson that he can’t get a date with the stuffy Sergeant Sarah Brown (Simmons) of the Missionary. Things are going well for Masterson until he falls in love with her. Detroit is having his own love troubles with Miss Adelaide (Blaine). This is a colorful vibrant film with memorable songs and characters. Even if you don’t like musicals you should enjoy this film.
Sinatra: The Gambler.
Up next we have a movie that word “epic” was invented for. Still, The Pride And The Passion could have been a bad movie. Sinatra plays a Spanish soldier with make-up to darken his skin, a bad wig, and a passable accent. However, the story is so engaging and Sinatra so is charismatic that he makes all the gimmicks acceptable. Miguel (Sinatra) is a Spanish soldier with a couple hundred men under his command as well as the biggest cannon you’ve ever seen. Napoleon’s army is on the march, destroying Spain and wants that cannon. Captain Trumbell (Grant) is a British soldier sent to retrieve the cannon so Napoleon won’t get his hands on it. Miguel only agrees to give it to him if Trumbell assists and bringing the cannon to Avila, a Spanish city overrun by the French, so they can take back the city. The power struggle between Grant and Sinatra is classic, then throw in the vivacious Sophia Loren into the mix and you’ve got yourself one hell of a movie!
Sinatra: The Spaniard.
Our next film brings a question to mind. How do you trick a guy into watching a romantic love story? Answer: Hide it under the guise of a war film. In Kings Go Forth, Sinatra plays 1st Lt. Sam Loggins, who is stationed near the French Riviera. One day while on leave in town Sam meets Monique (Woods), he instantly falls in love with her but sadly the love is not mutual, she just wants to be friends. Things turn even more sour for Sam when Monique meets Cpl. Britt Harris (Curtis) and falls for his charm. Soon Sam and Britt are waging a war of their own for the heart and hand of the beautiful Monique. This is a film with some great moments but at other times falls flat. Also there is a really bad Sinatra voice-over that goes through the whole film and seems tact on. Still, Sinatra and Curtis turn in some great performances and starring at Natalie Wood for two hours is never a bad thing.
Sinatra: The lovelorn.
Next we have the film that brought the legendary Frank Capra out of retirement, A Hole In The Head. When you think Capra and Sinatra you think you’re going to get a pretty fantastic film. Well, if you think that you’ll be pretty disappointed. Not to say it’s a bad film, it’s just not as good as you expect it to be. This time around Sinatra plays Tony Manetta, a father who’s been trying to hit it big in Florida for a long time without success. His latest wacky get rich scheme is to build a Disneyland in Florida. So he turns to his brother, Mario (Robinson) to borrow some money. Instead Mario introduces him to the woman of his dreams, too bad he doesn’t realize it. The seemingly tossed in song, “High Hopes” is cute, but Eddie Hodges as Tony’s son, is kind of annoying. Almost every DVD box set has at least one black sheep and A Hole In The Head plays that role here. This is not to say it’s a bad film, it just pales in comparison to the cinema it’s up against.
Sinatra: The scoundrel father.
Finally in this collection we have the best of the best, the crème de la crème. We have the true American classic: The Manchurian Candidate. Bennett Marco (Sinatra), Raymond Shaw (Harvey) and the other men in his platoon are kidnapped by the Koreans and hypnotized to be sleeper cells. Marco realizes that Shaw is going to kill the presidential candidate and has to stop him. This film has phenomenal performances from all parties, particularly Angela Lansbury who plays the wickedly evil Mrs. Iselin. You couldn’t ask for a better political thriller and this is the arguably the best film Sinatra has been a part of. This is easily the high point of Sinatra’s acting career and the perfect bookend to this fantastic DVD set.
Sinatra: The fighter.
Guys And Dolls: 9
The Pride And The Passion: 9
Kings Go Forth: 8
A Hole In The Head: 7
The Manchurian Candidate: 10
The DVD:
The Video:
The Audio:
Extras:
Each film has the Original Theatrical Trailer.
Only The Manchurian Candidate has more extras than that:
Interview with Frank Sinatra, George Axelrod and John Frankenheimer: This is was the first time these three men got together since the making of the film, in 1988. This is a great little interview.
Audio Commentary by John Frankenheimer: This is a wonderful commentary. Frankenheimer is an amazing director and very well spoken to boot. He has a lot of interesting things to say here and it’s well worth listening to. There are a lot of dead spots where he doesn’t talk, but the film is so good it really doesn’t matter.
Queen Of Diamonds: This is a really good interview with Angela Lansbury. She talks about the making of the film from her point of view which is nice and interesting.
A Little Solitaire: This is the oddest of the extras. Director William “The Exorcist” Friedkin talks about the film and how great it is he also talks about how great Frankenheimer is.
Photo Gallery
Frank Sinatra: MGM Movie Legends Collection |
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The Inside Pulse
Whether you’re a Sinatra fan or not, this is a solid film collection. Only two of the films keep the collection from being perfect, but even those aren’t half bad.
