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A Hole in the Head (1959)
Under the watchful eye of director Frank Capra, in his second to last feature length film, Frank Sinatra gave one of his most charismatic performances in a warm and engaging comedy-drama called A Hole in Head that provides consistent entertainment, including an emotionally charged finale, featuring a terrific cast in offbeat roles.
Sinatra plays Tony Manetta, the owner of a rundown motel in Miami called The Garden of Eden. The hotel is swimming in debt and Tony and his 12 year old son Ally (Eddie Hodges) are about to be evicted unless Tony can come up with $5300. Tony calls his older brother, Mario (Edward G Robinson), who lives in New York, to loan him the money. Mario and his wife, Sophia (Thelma Ritter) fly down to Miami where Mario offers to bail his brother out if he will give up his wild bachelor lifestyle and marry a lonely widow that Sophia knows named Eloise Rogers (Eleanor Parker). If Tony doesn't do it, Maria and Sophia threaten to take Ally back to New York. And with all this going on, Tony also has to deal with Shirl (Carolyn), his free-spirited part-time girlfriend.
The screenplay by Arnold Schulman (Love with the Proper Stranger, Goodbye Columbus) is a little overly detailed, making the film a little longer than it really needs to be. The opening scenes of introducing Tony and his two childhood BFF's go on a little longer than they need to be because they don't become as relevant to the story at hand as intended. The relationship between Tony and Ally is beautifully established reminding me of Jason Robards and Barry Gordon in A Thousand Clowns, where the kid is the sensible one and the dad has his head in the clouds.
The story did make a couple of lovely turns that I didn't see coming. The ambiguity of the relationship between Tony and Shirl totally rang true...both are commitment phobes but Shirl hits the roof when she sees Tony with Mrs. Rogers. I also loved Tony's first date with Mrs. Rogers where he is completely truthful about why he has agreed to this blind date, did not see that coming. The Tony character is vividly human and doesn't deliberately hurt anyone and wants what's best for Ally. He doesn't deserve the lambasting he gets in the final act, but it made for a very emotional conclusion.
Capra's direction is very character oriented, as it should be, making the viewer forgive the slight overlength. Sinatra has rarely been so likable onscreen and Robinson and Ritter are both brilliant in roles slightly against type. Parker also plays against type, offering one of her most vulnerable performances as Mrs. Rogers. Jones steals every scene she's in and young Eddie Hodges, whose career began playing Winthrop Paroo in the original Broadway musical The Music Man, is adorable as Ally. "High Hopes", the song that Sinatra and Hodges duet on about halfway through the film, won the Oscar for Best Original Song of 1959. Capra, Sinatra, and company make this a very smooth cinematic ride.
Under the watchful eye of director Frank Capra, in his second to last feature length film, Frank Sinatra gave one of his most charismatic performances in a warm and engaging comedy-drama called A Hole in Head that provides consistent entertainment, including an emotionally charged finale, featuring a terrific cast in offbeat roles.
Sinatra plays Tony Manetta, the owner of a rundown motel in Miami called The Garden of Eden. The hotel is swimming in debt and Tony and his 12 year old son Ally (Eddie Hodges) are about to be evicted unless Tony can come up with $5300. Tony calls his older brother, Mario (Edward G Robinson), who lives in New York, to loan him the money. Mario and his wife, Sophia (Thelma Ritter) fly down to Miami where Mario offers to bail his brother out if he will give up his wild bachelor lifestyle and marry a lonely widow that Sophia knows named Eloise Rogers (Eleanor Parker). If Tony doesn't do it, Maria and Sophia threaten to take Ally back to New York. And with all this going on, Tony also has to deal with Shirl (Carolyn), his free-spirited part-time girlfriend.
The screenplay by Arnold Schulman (Love with the Proper Stranger, Goodbye Columbus) is a little overly detailed, making the film a little longer than it really needs to be. The opening scenes of introducing Tony and his two childhood BFF's go on a little longer than they need to be because they don't become as relevant to the story at hand as intended. The relationship between Tony and Ally is beautifully established reminding me of Jason Robards and Barry Gordon in A Thousand Clowns, where the kid is the sensible one and the dad has his head in the clouds.
The story did make a couple of lovely turns that I didn't see coming. The ambiguity of the relationship between Tony and Shirl totally rang true...both are commitment phobes but Shirl hits the roof when she sees Tony with Mrs. Rogers. I also loved Tony's first date with Mrs. Rogers where he is completely truthful about why he has agreed to this blind date, did not see that coming. The Tony character is vividly human and doesn't deliberately hurt anyone and wants what's best for Ally. He doesn't deserve the lambasting he gets in the final act, but it made for a very emotional conclusion.
Capra's direction is very character oriented, as it should be, making the viewer forgive the slight overlength. Sinatra has rarely been so likable onscreen and Robinson and Ritter are both brilliant in roles slightly against type. Parker also plays against type, offering one of her most vulnerable performances as Mrs. Rogers. Jones steals every scene she's in and young Eddie Hodges, whose career began playing Winthrop Paroo in the original Broadway musical The Music Man, is adorable as Ally. "High Hopes", the song that Sinatra and Hodges duet on about halfway through the film, won the Oscar for Best Original Song of 1959. Capra, Sinatra, and company make this a very smooth cinematic ride.