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The Man with the Golden Arm

The Man with the Golden Arm

Drama · Crime · 1955

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

Movie details

The Man with the Golden Arm

“An 'untouchable' theme… an unusual motion picture!”

1955 Drama · Crime 1h 59m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Man with the Golden Arm?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Otto Preminger

Written by

Walter Newman · Lewis Meltzer

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Frankie Machine

Eleanor Parker

Eleanor Parker

Zosh Machine

Kim Novak

Kim Novak

Molly

Arnold Stang

Arnold Stang

Sparrow

Darren McGavin

Darren McGavin

Louie

Robert Strauss

Robert Strauss

Schwiefka

John Conte

John Conte

Drunky

Court is in session

Put The Man with the Golden Arm on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.