Fallen Angel (1945) & The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

36. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) Preminger. Well-photographed and well-acted but too long and dull. Sinatra stars as "Frankie Machine" a poor Chicago junkie trying to go straight. The story and characters never seem real and its somewhat of a soap-opera. The blame lies with the mediocre script/story and the lack of location shots. Further, its a draggy 2 hours and easily could have been cut to 90 minutes. Summary: Shocking and cutting edge in 1955, I found it tedious despite some good acting by Sinatra, Parker, and Novak Rating **

60. Fallen Angel (1945) Preminger Atmospheric film noir which follows con-man Dana Andrews to a small coastal town. There, Andrews has to choose between “good girl” Alice Faye and “bad girl” Linda Darnell. The role fits Andrews like a glove and all the actors are good - especially Darnell as the Sultry and mercenary Stella. The story is interesting but disjointed – sometimes it feels like a low-rent “Laura” - and it eventually turns into a half-baked murder mystery. But the script has some good lines. Summary: An enjoyable film noir with some excellent acting by Andrews and Darnell. Rating **1/2