Ocean’s 11: Rat Pack in action

The world portrayed in Ocean’s 11 is characterized by bachelorhood and obsession with money. I couldn’t help but think of cocky fraternity brothers who had never grown up when Frank Sinatra’s character (Danny Ocean) and Peter Lawford’s character (Jimmy Foster) were lounging in the posh room with unnammed beautiful performing massages. Ocean and Foster lacked the maturity which should have been expected for men of their age. The lack of deep conversation and the concern for adrenaline and reuniting with past military buddies isolated the men from the outside world and their responsibilities. The viewer got to have a glimpse of the former wives of Ocean as well as Tony Bergdorf who could not sustain their relationships with the men because they were too inconsiderate of how much they hurt their wives through their illicit activities. A common thread between all of the men was an interest in money. Several men had wives who they wanted to better support. Foster sought to obtain financial independence from his mother who had sheltered him and kept him close and dependent. Women, children, and their ordinary jobs seemed to be hindering the success of the men so they believed that an escape and adventure which could yield a massive amount of cash was the answer to their issues.

The film had very few female characters which contributed to the plotline. If they did contribute, they seemed to be forces which pushed the men to desire the financial reward from the robbery. Also, women contributed to the mobster, soon to be father in law of Foster, finding out who had been the culprits in the robbery of five large casinos. Women seemed to be hurting the men and the men ended up empty-handed at the end of the film. The only money which was stolen and retained was given to the son of a dead member who wanted to the money for his son to go to college. Females were in nearly every scene as props but they did not actively do anything. The combination of bachelorhood, drinking, the Las Vegas lifestyle and women made it seem like the men were playboys, however their lifestyles varied and all seemed to be lacking or shallow. They were acting as playboys as a sort of escapism.

Some Came Running: Desperate and Lonely Sinatra

In Some Came Running, Frank Sinatra’s character—David Hirsch—represented the lonely soldier who had just returned exhausted and cynical from war, relying on alcohol as well as the company of gaudy females to provide companionship. The first scene featured David waking up on the bus as he had reached his hometown destination. It became immediately apparent that he had blacked out and smooth-talked Ginnie, a floozy of a woman, into following him to his hometown. No one came to welcome him in the small town and he set himself up in a rented room rather than contacting family or friends. Upon arriving, he focused more on getting another drink than having a quality conversation. Sinatra was completely alone, drinking anytime in the morning or night. Despite seeming like a deadbeat, David was warmly remembered by the former candy shop owner, thus the viewer gets the first glimpse of his heart. David Hirsch fluctuated between being a character seen as a loving or callous man throughout the film. With his niece, he adopted the proper mentoring role. With women generally, he was extremely forward to the point of being forceful; perhaps that force was due to his feeling of desperation in the face of deeper feelings. With his brother, he remained distant and bonded only over discussing his brother’s attractive secretary. Gambling and alcohol functioned as his escape mechanisms in the beginning of the film; but, as he fell in love with the school teacher who was his biggest fan, he decided to revisit writing as an outlet. Even though he was obstinate, David truly wanted to feel like he had a niche with his talents and he yearned for acceptance and love. His marriage to Ginnie cinched that he most wanted someone who desired him and would do anything for him.

Comparing Sinatra’s roles in to The Manchurian Candidate to Some Came Running, there were a few things in common but more differed. Both Major Bennett Marco and David Hirsch were coping with returning to normal life after wartime. However, Marco’s instability was due to his service commitment and Hirsch’s behavior seemed to stem more from his past—before his service commitment—and his personality. Both men attracted women even though the women caught glimpses of them at their worst. Major Bennett Marco was undergoing a mental breakdown when approached by an interested woman. David Hirsch repeatedly talked down to Ginnie and even hurled insults at her before proposing to her. The eagerness and force with which David pursued the schoolteacher and proclaimed his love for her would have been uncharacteristic of Major Marco. Also, the plotlines are very different because The Manchurian Candidate features Marco only in one situation and Some Came Running provides a more thorough glimpse of David in multiple contexts and with more people. The fact that David Hirsch had a family (even though slightly estranged) and friends allowed his character to seem more realistic than Major Bennett Marco.

In relation to the Playboy discourse, the model of masculinity represented by David Hirsch failed to meet the standards. He represented the playboy gone wrong. Fitting in with the playboy characteristics, David had his own apartment, could sweet talk women, enjoyed drinking, and held fast to the single life. Gambling was one of his interests and there was seldom a scene with David which did not involve alcohol. Even if he wasn’t drinking alcohol, it surrounded him. He also had the power to have some easier women, such as Ginnie, swoon and adore him. However, David failed as a playboy. He would drink alone and drank more than was attractive. A playboy is seen as being social, yet David had many anti-social tendencies. Perhaps the most staggering contrast is exemplified by how David pursues the schoolteacher. The first time David met her, he pulled her too close and kept trying to persuade her to spend more of the night with him. He seemed desperate. That desperation was even more apparent when he saw her for the second time and confessed his love for her. The degree to which David was infatuated with the schoolteacher exceeded how much a playboy should like any one girl exclusively. After being rejected after meeting up for a third time, David responded by proposing to a woman who he did not love but one who would love him unconditionally. David settled in order to have one person love him and sex was not the prime motivation, contrasting with the playboy ideal.

The Joker Is Wild: Sinatra As Tragic Comic

Throughout Sinatra’s films, alcohol is inextricably linked to bringing people closer together and social situations. This film, however, acknowledges how alcoholism can develop as a means to self-medicate. After having a short-lived success as a singer due to his injury dealt by his mobster boss, Joe E. Lewis feels a loss of identity, turning to isolation and alcohol in order to cope. After his piano playing friend Austin finds Joe, he pressures Joe to pursue performing again. Joe reacts with joking and elicits a good response from the audience. Letty Page, a beautiful and wealthy woman, was watching the show, approached Joe and proposed that he pursue comedy. They began their romance but Joe depended more upon his alcohol than her as an emotional outlet. After acknowledging his problem with alcohol and commitment issues, they moved apart and finally she married another man. Joe, depending more and more upon alcohol as an outlet, enjoyed great success with his comedic act but it seemed hollow. He then pursued a marriage with Martha who was his chorus girl in order to gain some stability in his life. With her work schedule, the marriage didn’t include the intimacy that he needed in order to have the strength to give up his addiction. His acts got sloppier and his drinking did too. The film concluded with Joe E. Lewis being completely alone walking down the street. His two lovers had left him and his friend had finally left him as well. His reflection called him out in the window and challenged him to give up alcohol, not for others but for himself. He couldn’t move forward with the addiction. The scene then closes and the film ends.

Sinatra’s portrayal of Joe E. Lewis has many parallels to how he played Frankie Machine in The Man With the Golden Arm. Both characters were addicted to a substance—alcohol and heroin respectively. They both had women who were romantically involved who urged him to stop abusing the substance. Both addictions were intended to provide escapes for the characters. Joe E. Lewis felt a dependence upon alcohol as well in order to perform as a standup comic and even the content of his act largely drew upon his alcoholism. Frankie Machine used drugs when working and also as an escape from the situation with his crippled and nagging wife. Joe E. Lewis actually lost two women who loved him because he could not reign in his addiction. Frankie Machine’s addiction may have actually brought him closer to his lover because she was taking care of him and succeeded. The end result of both movies was vastly different. Joe E. Lewis ended up completely alone and still drunk but decided that he would give up drinking for himself. In The Man With the Golden Arm, Frankie Machine concluded the film with a girl and a new sobriety. Exiting after watching both films, I felt both movies were somber because they displayed how tragic addiction can be.

In comparison to earlier film roles, Joe also represents a form of flawed masculinity. He had in his earliest films been boyish or shy with girls which contrasted with the confident and mature ideal man of that era. The disturbed or withdrawn guy which comes across in several films such as The Manchurian Candidate or The Man With the Golden Arm also falls short of the more solid and dependable breadwinner ideal of masculinity. Joe’s self-destructive behavior which manifested itself through alcoholism actually harmed his friends much more than the other films. His two wives and his pianist who was his best friend all suffered due to Joe’s substance abuse. Also, this was the only film in which Sinatra’s character ended up completely alone and supported by no one. Even in From Here to Eternity, Sinatra’s character had friends who tried to help him out of his situation with the prison ward.

Sinatra’s recording persona closely relates to the character of Joe E. Lewis, but Sinatra’s problems were not as extreme as Joe’s. Joe and Sinatra both rely on alcohol and the Las Vegas lifestyle to shape their images. Sinatra, however, appeared to have a more moderate drinking behavior. Also, a reliance on a sense of humor was evident with both but that was Joe’s main attraction. A large difference between the two is that Sinatra was not abandoned by all people. Even in the time of his downfall, he had a relationship with Eva Gardner. That feeling of being completely abandoned did not occur with Sinatra but he did face rejection when he had his downfall in the late 1940s. Sinatra had a supportive group of males friends who surrounded him; whereas, Joe lacked that consistent group of male friends.

The Tender Trap: Trapping Sinatra into Marriage

Viewers get a much different Sinatra in The Tender Trap (1955) than in most of his films, including those after his 1950s comeback. The most staggering differences are with how adept Sinatra seems to be with women in the film and also how his image of the bachelor is dependent upon his financial independence and security. Sinatra’s role as Charlie Reader from the start positions himself as a wealthy and successful theater agent who is constantly surrounded by women who fawn over him and pursue relationships—mostly physical but emotional as well. Charlie’s relationship with Joe, his best friend from his school days, however, does mimic many of Sinatra’s films in which there is an ideal male character who is a friend to Sinatra and highlights the flaws or shortcomings of Sinatra--pushing Sinatra to grow.

Beginning with the first scene, Charlie is necking with a beautiful woman on his couch. This is very notable because it sets the tone for his interaction with women and establishes that he has the ability to get women and that he has an interest in them. In all of Sinatra’s early films--such as On the Town, Anchors Aweigh, and It Happened in Brooklyn, Sinatra either was awkward with women and could not speak adequately to those he desired or he seemed to be oblivious at first to women. Even in films after the shift of his image—such as The Manchurian Candidate and High Society, he didn’t seem to have a way with speaking to women with the hope of pursuing them. Also different from earlier or later films, it seems as though Charlie fills the void which could make him lonely with women. In other films, he has his friends surrounding him who are generally male and women tend to be used for fulfilling emotional and sexual needs. Women in The Tender Trap tend to be the primary visitors to his home and they keep him from being lonely even socially. This observation may be a bit skewed because many of his other films cast Sinatra as a serviceman and that would determine his surrounding comrades to be primarily male. Another similar movie to Tender Trap in this way would be High Society—but Sinatra is also isolated from his normal living situation so it doesn't fit as well. Also, in the film, when love is first mentioned with the romance between Charlie and Julie, it is Julie who initiates the discussion. Julie is the vulnerable one instead of Charlie.

Besides his relationships with women in The Tender Trap, another noticeable difference between Sinatra’s role in this film with other films is that he is very comfortable in regards to his finances. Although Charlie doesn’t appear to have a high class background, he is wealthy enough to support his social lifestyle, his clothing, and his spacious apartment by himself. Sinatra is generally financially secure in his films when he is in the military because he is supported by the military; however, that dependence upon the military does not allow him to be as free with spending it and using it to create a particular lifestyle and image. In other films, such as Guys and Dolls and The Joker Is Wild, Sinatra’s character is depending upon illegal practices to support himself and others. In those movies has a fear that he will be entirely without money or that he would run into a bind. Money is not an issue in The Tender Trap. This abundance of money actually attracts the women to him and enables him to financially support his numerous romances.

As the plot develops and Charlie’s flaws seem more apparent, there are more similarities to Sinatra’s roles in other films. Charlie definitely looks up to his friend Joe and greets him with a great deal of excitement. How he looks at Joe seems similar to how Sinatra’s characters looked to Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh and Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls. Situated next to Joe who represents the ideal gentleman, Charlie seems like a weaker man who lacks consideration and is infinitely less attractive. Also, about mid-way through the film, the women start ignoring Charlie and the audience sees that it is not his personal qualities or knowledge of women that generates the harem around him, but rather it is that they have a lack of options for available and more respectable men. Charlie didn’t understand women after all. His bravado and smooth talking skills which he had used for almost the entire movie vanished in the last scene when he finally got the girl by making a legitimate marriage proposal to Julie—the woman he loves. Charlie fully gets the girl when he resorts to the meek and honest Sinatra of his earlier films.

In relation to his recording persona, The Tender Trap can be easily compared. There are many more similarities than differences. On the surface level, Charlie and Sinatra are both in the music or performance business and have been successful. They both have women attracted to them and must have a relationship—even though it may be shallow—as a form of validation. Being social is very related to drinking in Sinatra’s persona as well Charlie’s. The fear of being lonely is filled by being surrounded by others. Sinatra’s persona depends more upon his male counterparts whereas Charlie seems to have more females. There is a sense of hero worship which Charlie has for Joe and his lifestyle throughout the film, and that parallels Sinatra’s fascination with other male friends in his life. The ending of the film seems to contrast the most with Sinatra’s persona. Charlie ends up with the very traditional girl and will adopt her ideal lifestyle and take on the more emasculated role. Sinatra would have been more likely to be fascinated by a less traditional woman and he would not have given up his career to pursue that breadwinner ideal.

The Man With the Golden Arm

Frank Sinatra had a breakout role in The Man With the Golden Arm because it depended so heavily upon him truly getting lost in his role as a heroin addict. His twitches and eye movement throughout the film reflected his junkie status and his desperation came through on the screen. His acting when in an altered state did not seem unnatural. For instance, stumbling out of the card game and then auditioning for the drum position, Sinatra seemed to be sweating and disheveled with unsteady hands and an even less steady head. I was a bit skeptical of how accurate Sinatra's scene while trapped in the apartment and allowing the drug to leave his body was; but, I also do not have the knowledge of how one would act in that situation. This role required a high level of maturity in acting on the part of Sinatra. The early Sinatra could never have played such a disturbed role.

Frankie Machine, who was played by Sinatra, would classify as an anti-hero because he obviously was a good person at heart yet his flaws and weaknesses kept him from embodying a hero-type role. One can make assumptions about him being a quality being because of his relationships with his supposedly handicapped wife, his quirky but loyal best friend and his close female friend--Molly. He tried to be understanding towards his wife and did not leave her initially because he felt a sense of duty. He also showed that he had a soft spot for his quirky but loving friend. His relationship with Molly when clean displayed his potential as a person. However, his weakness for heroin as an escape and his inability to detect dishonesty in his wife seem very unheroic. Throughout the film, Molly, not Frankie, stands out as being the biggest hero of the film. Molly encouraged Frankie to pursue music and ditch drugs, and she also had the ability to communicate in extremely tense situations. Molly saved Franie's life.

The Manchurian Candidate--A Critical Look At Institutions

The Manchurian Candidate, a film which encouraged viewers to take a critical look at their governmental officials and the legitimacy of the Red Scare, radically differed from Frank Sinatra's earlier films such as From Here to Eternity as well as Kings Go Forth which held political messages. The plot of The Manchurian Candidate could have caused viewers to fear the government and see corruption which not only existed in the government but also through the ranks of the military. Surprisingly seldom in many earlier wartime movies are soldiers shown as what they can be at their most basic--killing machines. By having the main character be brainwashed into being an assassin who murdered people without guilt or fear, viewers saw the government and the United States as being more fragile and much more easily manipulated than they may have believed. From Here to Eternity also takes a deeper look at military life and highlights the corruption which could occur with higher ranking officers, yet the corruption and the injustice is shown as being from an individual person rather than the institution. Therefore, From Here to Eternity addresses the flaws in an organization and the organization's failure to recognize corrupt leaders, but the institution is not called into question and isn't subject to manipulation. Kings Go Forth reveals very little about the military and the government; instead, Kings Go Forth highlights the social issue of racism and how much it can impact one's decisions with relationships. Of all three films, The Manchurian Candidate was the most radical of the three films. Introducing the possibility of conspiracy theories in the government and the military during a period of heightened tension and the fear of nuclear attack would be the most likely to scare the population at the time.

In regards to the politics of the film, The Manchurian Candidate would qualify as a more leftist film because it called into question the institutions of the government and the military which citizens would hope was far less corrupt than portrayed in the film; however, it did demonize the woman who sought to control the government and institute radical changes which may have been similar to Communism. Sinatra's character played the role of the seemingly psychologically troubled and critical major in the military. If one were to determine if his character had leftist overtones, it would be necessary to define "leftist". If it were defined as wanting the radical changes in the government and wanting change, then no, he would not be considered leftist. He wanted to preserve and protect the institutions, riding them of corruption--which seemed to be coming from the newer politicians. If being critical of political leaders and rebelling against his being sidelined for apparent mental issues designated him as more leftist, then Sinatra's character could be considered leftist. Since many good films which would be considered dramas provoke questioning of the status quo and institutions, most controversial films could be considered more leftist.

Sinatra's acting in his war films depends more upon his ability to convey meaning through calculated pauses and body movement than his ability to sing or his ability to crack jokes. In all three of the aforementioned war films, he talks less and does not seem to have a dominant personality. His ability to understand and win a woman is not integral to his role like it is in his musical roles. Perhaps because of the nature of musicals, Sinatra tends to come across as more of a character and more exaggerated than he does in his war films. Interestingly, he often is seen as a man in uniform in his earlier musicals yet his previous time in the service does not seem to change his temperament. He still retains his innocence in the musicals. In contrast, Sinatra's roles in his war films carry psychological and emotional burdens of being in the service. There is a much darker mood and an infusion of realism in Sinatra's war movies.

None But the Brave

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