Suddenly w/ Frank Sinatra -- proto-Manchurian Candidate

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alchemy

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A strange little pick for tonight's viewing that we just stumbled across, which was "Suddenly" from 1954 starring Frank Sinatra. Ol' Blue Eyes stars as an unstable, psychopathic ex-serviceman with designs towards assassinating POTUS.

IMDB external review from DVDBeaver said:
directed by Lewis Allen
USA 1954
"Suddenly" is a peaceful small town in Southern California. Nothing ever happens but one day the local police are notified that a train carrying the President of the United States, on a re-election campaign tour, will be making a brief stop in their little hamlet.


As expected, security is stringent as FBI agents comb the area to see that every precaution is taken to ensure the President's protection. A car draws up at the home of a family whose house overlooks the station at the very point where the President's train will stop. A trio of men headed by John Baron (Frank Sinatra) announce themselves as FBI security men and proceed to enter the house. Eventually the genuine FBI agents turn up and are shot by Baron. The family realizes that he is a paid assassin preparing to shot the President! He and his henchmen hold the family hostage at gunpoint as they await the arrival of the presidential train.
As the hours pass, Baron's pathological personality becomes more pronounced while the family try, unsuccessfully, various ways to outwit him and his men. The killer's plans have been carefully laid and as the train approaches. The tension mounts and it seems that nothing can prevent the impending murder of the nation's leader.



Suddenly is an obvious attempt at eroding any pacifist leanings. It uses and targets women as the weak link in the chain of vigilant security. The young mother Ellen Benson (played by Nancy Gates), has lost her husband in Korea (fighting the communist menace) and consistently attempts to keep her son Pidge (Kim Charney) from playing with guns. The strong father-in-law opposes this and the mother is portrayed as a simple un-worldly female unaware of the threats that society is consistently exposed to. From this standpoint the film is a true classic of pro-war propaganda and 'defense of country' with nationalistic intent. You can almost hear in the narrative " The commies could be everywhere". A fascinating and obvious piece of cold-war fear mongering - out of



NOTE: Sinatra made two films with a plot revolving around a Presidential assassination (the other being The Manchurian Candidate), but Suddenly became infamous when it was learned Lee Harvey Oswald had watched the film just a few days before he shot President Kennedy. After learning of this, Sinatra had the prints removed from circulation.
If you've never heard of the movie (I certainly hadn't!) you're probably not alone, as it has been out of circulation for decades --- the DVD I have is from 2000, and isn't a great print, but still provides a solid 75 minutes of viewing. This is particularly true given the last paragraph quoted above. All-in-all a minor film, decent film noir, but interesting to consider the angles and the way the Universe brings the Manchurian Candidate, MKULTRA, the mob, the JFK coverup, Warren Commission, etc. all together even when you're not really looking for it...

Cheers,

John
 
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