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Looking back over my review thread, I’ve found that I actually don’t review many “old” movies. (For the record, any film I define as "old" is anything made prior to 1970) I think the oldest film I’ve reviewed so far was Urotsukidôji. My reasoning is that most of the older films I watch are already classics that have had several decades’ worth of praise and analysis heaped upon them by superior critics than myself. I can’t bring myself to write with any passion or interest about many of these films, because my opinions aren’t really too different to anyone else’s. I figure since Some Came Running isn’t as well-known a classic as something like The Searchers or 8½, it would be an interesting choice for an “old” review.
Some Came Running is about Dave (Frank Sinatra), a veteran returning to his home town of Parkman, Illinois in the wake of World War II. With a ditzy Shirley MacLaine in tow, he starts to shake up the lives of people living in the town, including his businessman brother, a local school teacher and even Dean Martin’s drunken gambler. It’s revealed that Dave has a reputation for being a great writer – a reputation he’s not particularly proud of. This causes a serious conflict for him as others try and draw his talent out of him, often against his will.
One of the reasons I don’t watch many old films, let alone review them, is because a lot of them are badly dated to the point where they actually work against the film. Like plenty of people of this generation, I have to admit that I’m used to much edgier fare than the likes of this. Rewinding back about fifty years really doesn't help a lot of movies. From the as-immoral-as-1950s-standards-dictate language and behaviour to one very poorly-executed drunken brawl, Some Came Running is about as embarrassingly old-fashioned as they come.
For me, the measure of a good "old film" is one that manages to overcome its age and still be entertaining to a modern audience (or, in this case, me). Some Came Running managed to do so, and while not exactly as great a film as I had been led to believe, it was actually pretty good. The story was solid enough, with the odd flaw (the love triangle didn't quite work for me, and the ending seemed like a cop-out). The acting was mostly average, with the stand-out performance being Martin as Bama, the hat-loving hard-drinking card shark who has three drinks to Dave's one.
When I look up Some Came Running I find it hailed by filmmakers like Godard or Scorsese (and Richard Linklater, whose praise for the film inspired me to watch it). It's a decent film with a good plot, but it's slightly hampered by the cheesiness of both the acting and the time period. Still, it's a decent way to spend about two hours, and worthwhile for any lovers of classic film (i.e. most people on here, most of whom have probably seen it already).
One other thing - in my experience, movies made in the 1950s feature a song that is even listed in the opening credits and performed at least once during the film. Can anyone explain how this came to be? I'm curious.
SOME CAME RUNNING
(Vincente Minnelli, 1958)
(Vincente Minnelli, 1958)
Looking back over my review thread, I’ve found that I actually don’t review many “old” movies. (For the record, any film I define as "old" is anything made prior to 1970) I think the oldest film I’ve reviewed so far was Urotsukidôji. My reasoning is that most of the older films I watch are already classics that have had several decades’ worth of praise and analysis heaped upon them by superior critics than myself. I can’t bring myself to write with any passion or interest about many of these films, because my opinions aren’t really too different to anyone else’s. I figure since Some Came Running isn’t as well-known a classic as something like The Searchers or 8½, it would be an interesting choice for an “old” review.
Some Came Running is about Dave (Frank Sinatra), a veteran returning to his home town of Parkman, Illinois in the wake of World War II. With a ditzy Shirley MacLaine in tow, he starts to shake up the lives of people living in the town, including his businessman brother, a local school teacher and even Dean Martin’s drunken gambler. It’s revealed that Dave has a reputation for being a great writer – a reputation he’s not particularly proud of. This causes a serious conflict for him as others try and draw his talent out of him, often against his will.
One of the reasons I don’t watch many old films, let alone review them, is because a lot of them are badly dated to the point where they actually work against the film. Like plenty of people of this generation, I have to admit that I’m used to much edgier fare than the likes of this. Rewinding back about fifty years really doesn't help a lot of movies. From the as-immoral-as-1950s-standards-dictate language and behaviour to one very poorly-executed drunken brawl, Some Came Running is about as embarrassingly old-fashioned as they come.
For me, the measure of a good "old film" is one that manages to overcome its age and still be entertaining to a modern audience (or, in this case, me). Some Came Running managed to do so, and while not exactly as great a film as I had been led to believe, it was actually pretty good. The story was solid enough, with the odd flaw (the love triangle didn't quite work for me, and the ending seemed like a cop-out). The acting was mostly average, with the stand-out performance being Martin as Bama, the hat-loving hard-drinking card shark who has three drinks to Dave's one.
When I look up Some Came Running I find it hailed by filmmakers like Godard or Scorsese (and Richard Linklater, whose praise for the film inspired me to watch it). It's a decent film with a good plot, but it's slightly hampered by the cheesiness of both the acting and the time period. Still, it's a decent way to spend about two hours, and worthwhile for any lovers of classic film (i.e. most people on here, most of whom have probably seen it already).
One other thing - in my experience, movies made in the 1950s feature a song that is even listed in the opening credits and performed at least once during the film. Can anyone explain how this came to be? I'm curious.