This is a movie review for "Suddenly", released on September 17, 1954 in the United States and in London, England (UK). We watched this November 14, 2020.
Trailer
Cast
Frank Sinatra - John Baron
Sterling Hayden - Sheriff Tod Shaw
James Gleason - Pop Benson
Nancy Gates - Ellen Benson
Kim Charney - Peter Benson III "Pidge"
Plot
When the President of the United States comes to town, the area must be secured for the safety of the President. In the quiet town of Suddenly, the President is due to get off of his train and make an appearance. One of the unsuspecting families finds a few people appearing to FBI come over to their house, as it is the most likely location of a sniper shooting the President as he gets off of the train - on a hill with a clear view. When it is revealed that they are not FBI but are in fact there to assassinate the President, the family (widow, her father, and her son) have to figure out what to do. The widow is anti-violence and does not like that the Sheriff of town [Sheriff Tod Shaw, who is also trying to court her] gave her son a toy gun previously. How is she going to react to having blood-thirsty assassins in her house trying to kill the President of the United States? Can they survive this ordeal? Will they save the President, and how?
Rating Criteria
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.
4/5 - *SPOILERS*
I completely forgot that I watched this movie until it came up on the list. I had to do some digging, reading, and watching of the last 10 minutes of the film to remember about it.
First off, it is interesting to find Frank Sinatra as an actor. I am not familiar with him being an actor so this was a new world for me.
Anyways, this was a good movie. It isn't boring though it came out in 1954. Of course, it was slow in our modern standards but it was easy on the eyes.
The question about whether violence is always bad is brought up. The anti-violence widow has to come to terms that she is one of the very last person that can stop the assassins from killing the President. She has also seen the main assassin (Baron, played by Sinatra) shoot the guy that was fixing the TV as well as shooting the Sheriff. What would stop him from shooting herself, her father or her son? So she has to take up the gun [literally and figuratively] to protect her household too.
I wasn't around during the time of this release, obviously, but I think it is a good movie for what it is. There maybe could have been more "character development" but it keeps the focus on what is happening in the moment, instead of deviating to back story shots etcetera. In that kind of scenario, focusing on the situation is good to make the tension felt.
Could it have used more to make it more realistic/relatable? Yes. Don't go sending a guy out of the house when you have it under control, especially as the bad guy. Also, why didn't the folks nearby respond to the sounds of gunfire in the house? For a small town, you'd think they would respond more....
You're going to ask so I will put the spoiler out there: the assassins were averted (killed), the widow shot Baron to stop him from shooting from the window at the President, the Sheriff was injured but took up the gun after the widow and shot the last shot killing Baron, the family survived, and the widow and the Sheriff seemed to be starting to head for a date the next day.
I know this is short but that's the mystique of this movie review.
Is it for everyone? No, especially if you don't like old-old movies or have an issue with violence or need modern CGI effects / action.
Recommended? Sure. Go check it out on YouTube.
That's my movie review! Thank you for reading. More to come eventually.
~ R
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