Some Came Running (1958)
It’s difficult to sum up Some Came Running in a sentence. If only allowed one sentence, I’d merely tell my readers to watch the film, no questions asked. I watched it a few years ago, and it’s stayed with me, vivid and haunting, ever since.
Thankfully, I can use many more sentences to praise the 1958 Oscar nominated (but not winning) film. While Shirley MacLaine, Arthur Kennedy, and Martha Hyer were nominated for their performances, Frank Sinatra was snubbed. For Best Actor and Actress of 1958, David Niven and Susan Hayward were honored. I am huge fans of both, but I would have awarded both lead performances in Some Came Running over the Academy’s choices that year.
It takes place in a small Americana town, where secrets simmer under the surface, but it’s not in any way a dated film. Frank Sinatra plays the Prodigal Son, a veteran and an author, who returns to his hometown and his family after a 16-year absence. Unlike many stories with that beginning, the absent son is not welcomed back with open arms. His brother has become a successful, upstanding member of society, and his family looks down on Sinatra’s drinking, gambling, and lowbrow friends.
Sinatra gives a wonderful, tragically torn performance. He falls in love with the elegant Martha Hyer and wants to make himself worthy of her, but feels the pull of his old lifestyle bringing him down. The audience is completely invested in him, cheering when he takes a step forward, and crying out when Dean Martin, a bad influence gambler, drags him two steps backwards. Why he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar that year I’ll never know.
Shirley MacLaine gives the performance of her career in this film. And, since she’s given incredibly powerful performances in The Children’s Hour, Terms of Endearment, Bernie, Two for the Seesaw, and Postcards from the Edge, I realize what a bold statement I just made. It’s true. Ever since her 1983 Oscar, she’s (for the most part) been typecast as a “tough broad”. Modern audiences probably can’t imagine her in a part where she doesn’t spew memorable zingers in every scene. However gutsy and fantastic her persona is now, she wasn’t always that way. In Some Came Running, Shirley MacLaine shows talents most people wouldn’t dream she had. She’s feminine, vulnerable, sweet, and hopeful. She’s soiled but still innocent, common but reaching for class, loving, and sensitive.
With a heartbreaking love triangle, some very steamy scenes at the demise of the Hays Code, incredible acting, and Vincente Minnelli’s gentle direction, Some Came Running is one of the best films of the 1950s. It’s a true classic.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "The Projection Room" for posting!
More Shirley MacLaine movies here!
More Frank Sinatra movies here!
Thankfully, I can use many more sentences to praise the 1958 Oscar nominated (but not winning) film. While Shirley MacLaine, Arthur Kennedy, and Martha Hyer were nominated for their performances, Frank Sinatra was snubbed. For Best Actor and Actress of 1958, David Niven and Susan Hayward were honored. I am huge fans of both, but I would have awarded both lead performances in Some Came Running over the Academy’s choices that year.
It takes place in a small Americana town, where secrets simmer under the surface, but it’s not in any way a dated film. Frank Sinatra plays the Prodigal Son, a veteran and an author, who returns to his hometown and his family after a 16-year absence. Unlike many stories with that beginning, the absent son is not welcomed back with open arms. His brother has become a successful, upstanding member of society, and his family looks down on Sinatra’s drinking, gambling, and lowbrow friends.
Sinatra gives a wonderful, tragically torn performance. He falls in love with the elegant Martha Hyer and wants to make himself worthy of her, but feels the pull of his old lifestyle bringing him down. The audience is completely invested in him, cheering when he takes a step forward, and crying out when Dean Martin, a bad influence gambler, drags him two steps backwards. Why he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar that year I’ll never know.
Shirley MacLaine gives the performance of her career in this film. And, since she’s given incredibly powerful performances in The Children’s Hour, Terms of Endearment, Bernie, Two for the Seesaw, and Postcards from the Edge, I realize what a bold statement I just made. It’s true. Ever since her 1983 Oscar, she’s (for the most part) been typecast as a “tough broad”. Modern audiences probably can’t imagine her in a part where she doesn’t spew memorable zingers in every scene. However gutsy and fantastic her persona is now, she wasn’t always that way. In Some Came Running, Shirley MacLaine shows talents most people wouldn’t dream she had. She’s feminine, vulnerable, sweet, and hopeful. She’s soiled but still innocent, common but reaching for class, loving, and sensitive.
With a heartbreaking love triangle, some very steamy scenes at the demise of the Hays Code, incredible acting, and Vincente Minnelli’s gentle direction, Some Came Running is one of the best films of the 1950s. It’s a true classic.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "The Projection Room" for posting!
More Shirley MacLaine movies here!
More Frank Sinatra movies here!
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Picture of 1958
Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine
Best Dramatic Screenplay
Best Musical Score: Elmer Bernstein