User reviews

When the President decides to pass through the small town of Suddenly on route to a fishing trip, the town's police and chief officials rise to meet the challenge of assuring his protection as there have been rumors of an assassination attempt.

The hired guns meanwhile make plans of their own. They cleverly trick their way into the home of the best house in town from which to try and carry out their assassination plot - the house of Pop Benson, respected citizen with an house upon an hill that overlooks the President's planned arrival destination. Now only an handful of hostages stand between the President and doom...can they in some way warn him in time?

Frank Sinatra steals the show here as the ruthless criminal mastermind behind the want-to-be assassins - a man named John Baron. He is downright brutal and nasty in the role--an utterly detestable villain who does remind us the it was the army that created him and made him into a killer or maybe deep down, it's just that he was always a killer at heart. An outstanding multi-dimensional performance from Sinatra.

Sterling Hayden meanwhile plays the idealistic police sheriff Tod Shaw, who believes in America and the American way and supports unquestioningly the system and will do whatever it takes to preserve the America he believes is right and just. He too served in the military to protect rights and freedoms and now carries on the good fight as Suddenly's sheriff. An interesting contrast of two extremes with the pacifist minded Ellen Benson (played here by Nancy Gates), her becoming a widow after her husband got killed in the war, finally forced to take a stand at the film's climax.

Daring for its time, this film deals with surprisingly intense subject matter for the early 1950s. Quite good.

...Sinatra is great as hired assassin John Baron who's half million dollar job is to off the POTUS when his train stops in Suddenly, California.

If you've ever read Black Mask or any of the old crime pulps, Suddenly has that kind of vibe. Tough, highly stylized talk and attitude takes center stage in spite of any lick of logical behavior or plot coherence. I'm serious here, kids, the story is a mess. So, the decent 7 rating is for one reason only: Blue Eyes is that good.

A must see for Sinatra fans and a definite gripper for those who can really, really, really suspend disbelief.

I'm at a loss to explain why Frank Sinatra chose this particular project in the wake of all the acclaim he got for From Here to Eternity. Without his presence in the film, Suddenly with its length of 75 minutes on my VHS version would be a B film, even with Sterling Hayden starring in it as the sheriff. My guess is that Sinatra wanted to expand and test himself as an actor, something he did less and less of in the following decade.

The President of the United States is coming to the small town of Suddenly where he will leave the train he's traveling on and proceed by motorcade to a vacation in the Sierras. The Secret Service has come to town to do their usual thing in protecting the Chief Executive.

But three contract killers headed by Frank Sinatra are in town to kill the president. We're never told exactly who is paying for this contract, but the inference is that it is our Cold War enemies. Through a combination of circumstances the sheriff is wounded and the head of Secret Service detail, Willis Bouchey, is killed. And the killers are holed up in Nancy Gates's house with her, her father-in-law James Gleason, and child Kim Charney and the wounded Hayden.

Most of the film is taken up with the wait for the train to arrive where a lot of souls are bared open, including Sinatra's. It's the one and only time that Francis Albert ever essayed the role of an out and out villain. He does it well, but I suspect he didn't want to push it with his public too much, so he never did anyone as evil as this again.

Of course history tells us that the president named Eisenhower at the time never was an assassin's target so we know Sinatra's efforts will fail. However it's rather ingenious as to how it does fail.

I think more than fans of old Blue Eyes will like Suddenly.

in fact some rather too well with unnecessary plot descriptions. My reactions were mixed, but SUDDENLY is worth seeing for three reasons:

1) Early Sinatra, of course. This is the kind of role he would not, to the best of my knowledge,repeat. My mother has long had a crush on him, an infatuation undimmed when she saw the film with me on P.B.S.

2) This movie is a study of the ideals and point of view of mid-1950s America. SUDDENLY was made after the Hollywood investigations of the later 1940s and whilst the McCarthy Paranoia was still going on. None of the other commentators have noted that item, but one should take note that the studio big-wigs had had the bejaysus scared out of them. American film was not only to refrain from social criticism, but was going to be a cheerleader for the essential rightness of the American Way of Life and character. SUDDENLY oozes this point of view, and I note with amused contempt the very last scene and what the two protagonists say to one another.

3) The film is a foreshadowing of what is to come in a country so sure of its social and political stability, quite accidental to be sure. Yes, the head bad guy is a nutter, but he is not the comfortable one-lone-nutter. This plot is highly organised and obviously well-financed. The unspoken They have turned to a pool of violence that is highly American -- organised crime -- to do the deed. Baron and his plotters are not ill-shaven Marxists or slanty-eyed types. They are as American as the Colt 45, and they are willing to do the unthinkable for enough money, and in the leader's case, the simple thrill of bagging someone.

I do not know whether SUDDENLY "rises" to the level of Film Noir, but it had some disturbing things for postWar Americans. Perhaps that is why it is not well known in the Sinatra gallery, and indeed I had never heard of it until about six years ago.

The movie focuses US President protected by Secret Service (Willis Bouchey as Chief agent) who passes through a small and peaceable town called Suddenly where only the sheriff (Sterling Hayden) executes the law . One house inhabited by a grandfather (James Gleason) , a widow (Nancy Gates) and son is ideal place for a criminal scheme by means of an ambush , designed and pulled off by ominous murderers commanded by a ruthless psycho assassin (Frank Sinatra).

The film has got emotion , strain , suspense , thriller and although is mostly developed on interior scenarios , it doesn't make boring neither tiring . Release was withdrawn from circulation for the Dallas assassination (1963) because of the events are pretty similar . Frank Sinatra (JFK's friend) as producer ordered the retaining copies and the movie was forgotten , however long time later was issued in video market and obtained a lot of success . Frank Sinatra's interpretation is top-notch as the cruel and brutal killer , his acting is magnificent , he's the best . Attractive Nancy Gates is the pacifist widow who hates the guns and embittered for her husband's death during WWII . Sterling Hayden interprets properly a kind and valiant police believer of the ¨American way of life¨ . James Gleason as stiff and rigid veteran is very fine . Atmospheric cinematography and agreeable musical score by David Raksin (author of Laura's score) . The motion picture was well directed by Lewis Allen (he directed some noir classic films). Rating : Interesting , worthwhile seeing and it will appeal to Frank Sinatra fans.

Got this on DVD at the .99 store for...well you know. There's some decent movies for that price there.

Sinatra is the best actor in this movie. I enjoyed Sterling Hayward in Kubrick's The Killing and then bought his autobiography, The Wanderer. I enjoy the character actors in such movies but best of all the actual scenery representing life in 1954--that's history brought to life. I love seeing the store fronts, cars, dress and cultural norms. Great stuff.

As stated, Hayward has a machine gun acting style--made for the B movie. He's a natural actor yet I get the idea he never really worked at his craft. Sinatra looks mean and has the look about him--the stare in his eye that indicates a lion inside. He would have made a great gangster actor.

If you have ever seen "High Noon", please don't expect the tension to be that good, hence why only 7. That said, the 3 killers/assassins work well as does the premise of the movie. Each cast member fits their role extremely well and the finale is rather well thought out for the season it was made. Sinatra, who Im told, never played a lead villain after this (other than a very bland "oceans 11") is rather good. Well worth watching if you haven't seen it

Like another user I found this movie at a "dollar store" and decided to take a chance on it. I believe the stories that this was pulled from circulation simply because I had never heard of it before. Where have they been hiding this movie?

I can believe those stories for another reason. It has an eerie feel to it ... and seemed oddly prophetic: Imagine, an attempt to kill a President from a sniper position in a window above and behind, using a military-style weapon, by a former soldier. If Oswald truly watched this movie ... one would have to wonder how HE felt about the movie. I mean, I wasn't aware of that bit of trivia until I watched the movie and THEN checked out IMDb. While watching it I could not help but draw comparisons. Brrrrrrrr. It seems plausible that Sinatra might have had similar feelings.

Sure, this is not the best movie ever made but it is a good solid 1950s movie, with a good performance by Sinatra. Yes, it is corny, but given the timeframe, that is to be expected. To be honest, I am tired of special effects and enjoy movies with an actual story and actual acting. Even corny stories and corny acting. Not a single car blew up in this movie. Wow. What a relief.

This cheapie suspense thriller stars Frank Sinatra as a hood out to assassinate the president at a small train station in the nowheresville town of Suddenly, USA. He holes out in the home of a salty veteran (James Gleason), a home that offers the perfect vantage point from which to carry out the plan. A small group of townspeople, including the veteran's daughter and the town sheriff (Sterling Hayden), who have been taken hostage by Sinatra's group, feverishly try to hatch a plan to foil the assassination attempt while keeping themselves safe.

The film's impact is blunted by the performance of Sinatra, who tries hard to muster up some menace but isn't up to the task, and some clunky direction, especially in the film's climax, when it should be at its most suspenseful. On the other hand, it is an interestingly cynical film from the 50s, and has a disillusioned attitude about war and the violence it breeds in a decade when other films either pretended the war never happened or treated it like a heroic fairy tale. "Suddenly" suggests that the violence inherent in men can infect small-town America just as easily as it can the country's urban jungles, probably not a very welcome message during a period when vast numbers were fleeing those very jungles for the peace and quite of more rural suburbs.

Grade: B-

Suddenly (1954) is a movie I recently rewatched off Amazon Prime. The storyline tells the tale of a small town that is about to host a big event that everyone who knows has to keep hush-hush...the president is about to make a quick stop and speech on his train ride to Los Angeles. Little does the town know a group of gangsters plan to assassinate him at that very stop. When the local towns people run into the gangsters, they may be the only hope to save the president. This movie is directed by Lewis Allen (The Uninvited) and stars Frank Sinatra (Guys and Dolls), James Gleason (The Bishop's Wife), Nancy Gates (World without End) and Sterling Hayden (The Godfather). The storyline for this is very well told and does a great job of depicting the background of the key characters and gangsters while also introducing subplots through the copious dialogue and solid character interactions. The chemistry between the cast was excellent and while Sinatra was great as the villain, the little boy steals the show in several scenes. The sheriff and mother are also well executed and the unpredictability of each character is felt in every scene. Overall this is an underrated classic picture worth your time. I'd score this a 9/10.

I was prepared to be really wowed by this film, because I think Frank Sinatra was a phenomenal actor, and I've always loved Sterling Hayden.

I think the subject matter and themes of war patriot vs. war killer and pacifist vs. non-pacifist had tremendous potential. But the script was absolutely horribly written. Even for the times, the dialog was corny & stilted & preachy. I felt like I was watching some old "Dragnet" episode. The characters were so superficially drawn I didn't feel like I really got to know any of them.

I'm glad I watched it just to see an old movie with Frank Sinatra, whose films are always interesting, but I wouldn't watch this one over. It just felt like an old TV show to me. If you want to see a well-done "assassination" thriller, see "The Manchurian Candidate".

To kill the United States president, ex-soldier-turned-assassin John Baron (Frank Sinatra) and two cohorts invade a house in the town of Suddenly, California. As he prepares to make his risky move during the president's scheduled visit, Baron harasses the house's residents.

This film has a very 1950s vibe to it, including such lines as, "Ellen, stop being a woman!" I am not sure how to take that. I do not think it was facetious, because at no point does Ellen do anything besides whine, complain or hide in a corner. If women want role models, this is a terrible film.

The movie also has some notoriety for being falsely connected to Lee Harvey Oswald. I can see why people would connect the two. In fact, any film about assassination is questionable in general.

The film also raises the issue of war as a duty. Ellen says that her husband dying was a tragedy and not a duty, but her father-in-law (a former Secret Service agent) disagrees. The discussion is not pursued further, which I find striking since the war in question seems to be Korea. Korea is a hard war to defend. When the cop and the assassin talk about being soldiers, they talk of World War II, but that cannot be the war Peter Benson was in, or Pidge is much older than he looks.

I might consider many actors to be superior to Frank Sinatra, but Sinatra is a fine actor in his own right. And while this film is not as gripping as "Manchurian Candidate" (a film that was likely inspired by this one), it is a solid piece of art nonetheless. The writing is so-so and the acting (besides Sinatra's) is a little campy. But this seems more appropriate than an actual hindrance. Hearing the characters use such phrases as "that's swell", "you stink" and "for the love of mike" really brings back fond memories of "The Andy Griffith Show".

If you like Sinatra and have an hour and 15 minutes to spare, check this film out. This is a film about assassinating the president, and there is nothing dull about that. Gosh, this film is recommended for those who like classic films. (If you dislike black and white, though, you are watching the wrong movie.)

This is no more than a decent B-movie and you have to wonder how Frank Sinatra ended up in it considering that the year before he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in From Here to Eternity. a victim of his own success I guess. Sinatra had established himself in serious roles with Meet Danny Wilson and Eternity his two previous films prior to Suddenly. It earned him a lot of film roles and in 1954-1955 he would do Suddenly, The Man with the Golden Arm, Not as a Stranger, the big musical Guys & Dolls and a couple of romantic comedies in Young at Heart and The Tender Trap. Many Film Noir movies were in fact B-movies but this is B-Film Noir. Director Lewis Allen had directed some pretty good films in The Uninvited, So Evil My Love and Desert Fury in the 40's but the quality of his films had dropped off by this time. Screenwriter Richard Sale never had a film of note and did in fact write a lot of bad ones. It's story is a departure from the norm however, being that although there had been three presidential assassinations and a couple of attempts before this film was made it's subject wasn't covered much in film except for Lincoln biographies. This is not a bad film but it's not an especially good one either. Sterling Hayden co-stars. I would give this a 6.5 on a scale of 10.

Merciless crooks infiltrate a small town and take an innocent household hostage with the purpose of assassinating the President of the United States, who'll be stepping off the train just outside of the prime residence. Brutish black-and-white melodrama from director Lewis Allen, remembered today primarily for the casting of Frank Sinatra as the slimy "born killer" leading this ruthless operation. Sinatra works very hard to convince us he's an unfeeling lout; but, while it's a satisfying-enough turn for the actor, it isn't a thoroughly convincing portrayal. The picture has a sharp, crisp look, yet it feels a little stodgy, with stagy action and stilted dialogue passages weakening the intense scenario. **1/2 from ****

When I started to watch this movie I didn't think it was going to be any good. How wrong! I've seen lots of Frank Sinatra movies and I never liked any of them, because I think he is a terrible actor in all those movies (and that goes for films like "From Here to Eternity" and "Some Came Running", which the critics always claim to be "wonderful - come on!). BUT in this one he is GREAT, just GREAT - his best performance, perfect. The movie is quite good as well. Simple, but good. And those close-ups on Sinatra's face are always right were they should be to create the dramatic effect perfect for the situation. Watch it! It's good, and doesn't bore you because it doesn't go on and on and on like most films nowadays about somebody wanting to kill the president of the USA.

Once you get past the cliche one-joke title, this is a taut little thriller with Frank Sinatra diversifying his range by playing a near psychotic soldier-of-fortune, who with his rather simple-minded gang-of-two seeks to collect a big payday from an unknown employer by assassinating the unnamed and unseen President of the United States when the presidential train makes a need-to-know stop at a typical small-town U.S.A.

Over a brief 75 minute duration, a fair amount of tension is built up as Sinatra and his gang take over a house containing a young war widow, her slightly brattish infant son and cantankerous old father in law because it apparently provides the perfect vantage point for the kill-shot though how they know that in advance I couldn't say. Also on the scene is a new suitor for the young mum, Sterling Hayden's straight-arrow peacetime cop who unfortunately gets caught up in the hostage situation when he accompanies the incoming FBI chief on a routine check of the house.

What's surprising is the sheer viciousness of Sinatra's character, killing the FBI chief in cold blood, brutishly aggravating Hayden's injured arm, smacking the plucky kid about and even threatening to kill the boy. An innocent young TV repair man also finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time as he too is inveigled into the action. The plot denouement is signalled well in advance as the countdown to the fateful train arrival of the train at 5 p.m. nears.

It was certainly unusual to see Sinatra play such an unredeeming character with any resemblance to Richard Widmark's early psychopathic roles no doubt being more than coincidental. It's a pity that much of the rest of the playing by the cast is rather wooden and under-rehearsed looking. The direction is rather stolid and set bound too but none of these things can stop the inexorable rise of tension as the story progresses.

Frank was to make a markedly superior movie about a presidential assassination around 10 years later but this B-movie feature would have made for a watchable second feature alongside that following masterful political thriller, "The Manchurian Candidate" of course.

The president is supposed to arrive by train to a small town called Suddenly.John Baron and his thugs who want to assassinate the president, take over a house on a hill.In that house fighting for their lives are Pop Benson, Ellen Benson, the kid Pidge and sheriff Tod Shaw.Later also TV repairman Jud Kelly becomes a hostage.Frank Sinatra is terrific as John Baron.He plays the role in a way you almost start feeling sorry for the guy.Sterling Hayden is brilliant as Tod Shaw.James Gleason is superb as Peter "Pop" Benson.Nancy Gates is amazing as Ellen.Kim Charney does Pidge the kid's part brilliantly.James "Maureen's brother" O'Hara is great as Jud.Also great work by Willis Bouchey, who plays Dan Carney.I found this movie recently on a DVD at the library.It's an intense small town story.All the stuff that takes place in the end.The kid with the gun, the TV set with a high voltage...This film-noir is certainly worth watching.

Good old flick. I really like the basis of the idea, it's simple but meaningful. As with most of these old films it's basically 85% exposition and therefore in need of a great leading man to sell the dialogue, and Sinatra is the man for the job. The constant introduction of new characters mixed with the exposition cancels out any sort of fear for the audience, instead you just follow along and see what happens. Overall it's a film worth watching.