Some Came Running (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
A war veteran returns home to his Midwest town to deal with a host of family secrets & small-town scandals in 'Some Came Running', a lurid drama directed by Vincente Minnelli. The year is 1948, and it is alcoholic, embittered, failed writer David Hirsch (Frank Sinatra) who is said war vet returning to his hometown of Parkman, Indiana. He is followed to Parkman by good-natured tag-along Ginnie Moorehead (Shirley MacLaine), a, shall we say, 'easy woman', with whom he spent some time with back in Chicago. Not sure why he's come home, resentful Dave meets up with his older brother, Frank (Arthur Kennedy), who invites him to have dinner with his family; which includes wife, Agnes - who hates Dave - and their teen daughter, Dawn.
Frank wants his brother to settle down, and so, he introduces local schoolteacher, Gwen French (Martha Hyer) to Dave and, well, Dave is taken with the beautiful, well put-together woman. Gwen is an admirer of Dave's early writings but, she is not as enamored with him as he is of her. And so, Dave's unrequited love with Gwen sends him back to the bar where he befriends lowly professional gambler, Bama Dillert (Dean Martin). It is here where Dave meets up again with the one woman who 'does' love him ... Ginnie. But also present at the bar is Ginnie's mobster ex-lover, Raymond Lanchak, who has followed her from Chicago. Conflicted about living a respectable intellectual life or a debauched one with alcohol & socially unacceptable Ginnie ... Dave must make up his mind. But when Dave has a run-in with mobster Raymond - who thinks that Ginnie is his girl - tragedy ensues at a carnival.
This is a tricky movie for me to critique. I tend to love pulpy stories like the one here & I like a flurry of interesting characters. And yet, something holds me back from loving 'Some Came Running'. The film is a bit bloated at 137 minutes in length. And to that, we spend such a long time with these characters only to have a tragic ending; which I did NOT like. Therefore, my investment with these people felt all-for-naught. Still, I commend the many particulars of the movie. The CinemaScope color cinematography is gorgeous. The climactic carnival sequence is a show-stopper. The sets & costume designs throughout are top-notch. And I love the music score by the great Elmer Bernstein. The whole production is classy.
Another reason why I'm not wholly enchanted by the film is because I'm not a huge fan of Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin ... as actors. Singers? That's another story. Their acting tends to keep me at an arm's length. Sinatra impressed me in 1953's From Here to Eternity; not so much, here. Martin doesn't give much more than 'cool dude who loves to drink & gamble'. Martha Hyer impresses as straight-laced Gwen; she was even Oscar-nominated. Also nominated was Arthur Kennedy for his nicely nuanced portrayal of hypocritical Frank. Best of all is Oscar-nominated Shirley MacLaine as the sweet, if dim-witted floozy with a heart of gold. So yeah, lavish production; but its length & sad ending turned me off enough to mute my admiration of it.
Frank wants his brother to settle down, and so, he introduces local schoolteacher, Gwen French (Martha Hyer) to Dave and, well, Dave is taken with the beautiful, well put-together woman. Gwen is an admirer of Dave's early writings but, she is not as enamored with him as he is of her. And so, Dave's unrequited love with Gwen sends him back to the bar where he befriends lowly professional gambler, Bama Dillert (Dean Martin). It is here where Dave meets up again with the one woman who 'does' love him ... Ginnie. But also present at the bar is Ginnie's mobster ex-lover, Raymond Lanchak, who has followed her from Chicago. Conflicted about living a respectable intellectual life or a debauched one with alcohol & socially unacceptable Ginnie ... Dave must make up his mind. But when Dave has a run-in with mobster Raymond - who thinks that Ginnie is his girl - tragedy ensues at a carnival.
This is a tricky movie for me to critique. I tend to love pulpy stories like the one here & I like a flurry of interesting characters. And yet, something holds me back from loving 'Some Came Running'. The film is a bit bloated at 137 minutes in length. And to that, we spend such a long time with these characters only to have a tragic ending; which I did NOT like. Therefore, my investment with these people felt all-for-naught. Still, I commend the many particulars of the movie. The CinemaScope color cinematography is gorgeous. The climactic carnival sequence is a show-stopper. The sets & costume designs throughout are top-notch. And I love the music score by the great Elmer Bernstein. The whole production is classy.
Another reason why I'm not wholly enchanted by the film is because I'm not a huge fan of Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin ... as actors. Singers? That's another story. Their acting tends to keep me at an arm's length. Sinatra impressed me in 1953's From Here to Eternity; not so much, here. Martin doesn't give much more than 'cool dude who loves to drink & gamble'. Martha Hyer impresses as straight-laced Gwen; she was even Oscar-nominated. Also nominated was Arthur Kennedy for his nicely nuanced portrayal of hypocritical Frank. Best of all is Oscar-nominated Shirley MacLaine as the sweet, if dim-witted floozy with a heart of gold. So yeah, lavish production; but its length & sad ending turned me off enough to mute my admiration of it.