Ocean's 11

I had never seen the entirety of this version of Ocean's 11, so I was glad to finally get a chance to watch it. The environment of the film is very glamorous, and is what I think of when Sinatra, the Rat Pack, and Vegas come up in a conversation. Sinatra, Martin, and Lawford stay at the best places, know a large network of people, and have women fawning over them. Sinatra especially gets the label of being a playboy in this film; the first scene that he's in there is a woman just waiting around to give him a massage and then after a bit he just dismisses her somewhat rudely. He also talks to his ex-wife about going away together, and in another scene a woman named Adele angrily bursts into his apartment and it is clear that they had some sort of relationship. The whole notion of being a playboy seems to be the idea of masculinity that is promoted in this film, in particular because Sinatra is the ringleader and the organizer behind the heist and in a way the other guys look up to him. Along with an element of glamour there is also a huge element of risk in this film, and the belief that they are so good at what they do that they will never get caught.

Some Came Running 11/23/10

Prompt: Compare this film as a representation of postwar masculinity to The Manchurian Candidate. Consider its model of masculinity in relation to Playboy discourse.

The notion of masculinity here seems clear cut and set at first glance, but then when observing the character that Sinatra plays, Dave Hirsh, I realized that masculinity in this film is in fact more nuanced and complicated than I first thought. It seems that the picture of postwar masculinity that is painted in this film follows along some stereotypical themes; a love of drinking, drinking excessively, being tough and getting into fights, and spending time with lots of women, some with less respectable reputations than others. While Dave Hirsh partakes in all of these activities, he is a much more complicated and mixed up figure. We also get a picture of a returning GI who seems to be beaten down by his life experiences, and now is not really sure what to do with his life or where to go since returning. Dave alternates in being extremely caring and eloquent, while other times he is very introverted and reflective. Just like Major Bennett Marco reaches out to Rose for stabilization and comfort when trying to assimilate back into 'normal' society, so does Dave try and reach out to Gwen French to help him move on towards a 'normal' and settled life, but unfortunately she is too stubborn and pigheaded to let down her barrier so that she can love him and help him.

Underneath Dave's heavy drinking exterior he is really quite sensitive and caring, and desperately wants to find someone to spend the rest of his life with. He thinks he has found that person when he falls in love with Gwen and she finally lets down her barrier and tells him that she cares for him too, but that happiness is short lived; Gwen repeatedly pushes Dave away and then tells him that she cares for him because she is scared of her feelings for him as well as his lifestyle and she can't make up her mind about what she should do. Eventually she shuts Dave out for good, which pushes him right into the arms of Ginnie Moorhead (Shirley MacLaine), a less than respectable woman who is completely in love with Dave. I became extremely annoyed with Gwen during all of this and think that she acted in a completely stupid and childish manner; she is always so condescending and cold towards Dave, but if she would have just gotten off of her high horse for a minute and talked to Dave about her reservations with regards to marrying him they could have worked everything out. Gwen was definitely my least favorite character in the film and most of the time I just wanted to tell her to stop being so dumb.

The Joker is Wild

Prompt: How does Sinatra's portrayal of Joe E. Lewis compare to Frankie Machine? To earlier roles? How does Lewis compare to Sinatra himself?

While there are definitely some parallels between the characters of Joe E. Lewis and Frankie Machine, they are not exactly dealing with the same problems. Lewis is an overly confident and cocky young man who gets into trouble when he does not take mob threats seriously. Being attacked and getting his throat cut swiftly ends his rising singing career and seems to be the catalyst for driving Lewis to the bottle. By the time we once again see Lewis in the 1940s he seems to be well on his way to becoming an alcoholic, and is a man beaten down by life. He has a very low opinion of himself and doesn't really feel that he amounts to anything, and that attitude and chip on his shoulder later ends up ruining his relationship with the love of his life, Letty Page (played by Jeanne Crain). In addition to using alcohol to help mask the pain he was feeling, Lewis started telling jokes, many of them extremely self deprecating. Lewis and Frankie Machine both have substance abuse problems, but by the end of each film they both seem to have mastered their addictions. Even though Frankie does kick his heroine addiction, the end of the film is so depressing and melancholy, and the viewer is left not knowing if he and Kim Novak's character will end up together or if he will find a respectable job and be able to support himself. The end of The Joker is Wild is definitely a little more positive, even though Lewis has driven away everyone who loves him; at least he still has a job and it seems like he makes the decision to give up alcohol and enjoy the rest of his life. After thinking about Letty, Martha, and his best friend Austin (all whom have been driven away by Lewis' drinking and behavior), Lewis seems to realize that he does not want to throw away the rest of his life by drinking and cheerfully walks off to the nightclub where he is performing his act.

The character of Joe E. Lewis also seemed to influence Sinatra's later personal performance style. In class we watched a performance that Sinatra did at Caesars Palace in May of 1978, and one can definitely see some similarities between Sinatra's performance style at that point and the style of Lewis. They both had no inhibitions what-so-ever about drinking heavily before going on stage and Sinatra and Lewis both had drinks with them on stage while performing most of the time. When Lewis was being heckled by drunk men in the audience, he gave it right back to them and didn't seem to hold back at all. One thing that really shocked me during Sinatra's performance at Caesars Palace was when he called out William Randolph Hearst, and all of his writers, for being evil and pathetic people. Not only did Sinatra tear all of them down, he made jokes about Heart's death. While I can understand where Sinatra's anger is coming from (Hearst and his writers notoriously disliked Sinatra and went after him in the press any chance they could), I still cringed a little bit because the language Sinatra used was so harsh and accusing!

The Tender Trap 11/9/10

Prompt: Consider how Sinatra's character here is similar to or different from his characters in earlier films, such as Anchors Away, or his wartime characters. How does his image relate to his recording persona?

Sinatra's character in The Tender Trap is the playboy persona times ten. Charlie Reader has so many women that seem to be at his beck and call; he knows this and loves it. Women bring him food, offer to clean up his apartment, even sew monograms on his shirts. They fall all over him and have no reservations about being physically intimate with him even though they are completely aware that they are just one of his many women. The character of Charlie Reader is a far cry from the socially awkward, shy, and self-conscious men like Clarence Doolittle in Anchors Away. The manner of Charlie Reader also correlates with the recording persona of Sinatra at the time; he was considered to be quite the playboy and ladies man and seemed to share many of the same personality traits as Charlie.

The Man With the Golden Arm

Prompt:  Consider whether and how Sinatra's performance relates to the Method, and what kind of hero or antihero Frankie Machine is.

Sinatra's performance here does seem to be trying to follow in the footsteps of the Method actors, but in my opinion it is Zosch Machine (Eleanor Parker) who steals the show. Her character is supposed to be mentally disturbed, completely crazy with jealousy, and very needy when it comes to attention from Frankie, and she does all of that extremely well. I was simultaneously repulsed by Zosch's behavior and awed by how well Eleanor Parker got across the torturous battle that raged inside Zosch's head. While Sinatra was also good in this film, I did not get a true sense of the Method until he started using heroine again and experiencing the withdrawal symptoms. I thought he did a great job of getting across the feelings of pain, despair, and cravings while his character was quitting his addiction and going cold turkey while locked in Kim Novak's apartment (whose acting is much better here than in the last film I watched her in, Pal Joey).

Frankie Machine is set up as a hero in the community where he lives because he was able to kick his heroine addiction, and then even though he does start using again he is once again able to kick the habit, this time without any professional help. While this type of character is not the 'traditional hero,' I still feel like in a way he is because he knows he has a problem and really wants to try and not use drugs anymore.

The Manchurian Candidate 10/26/10

Prompt: Consider this postwar film in relation to From Here to Eternity and Kings Go Forth. Consider the politics of this film -- is it leftist? Does Sinatra's character carry leftist overtones? How are Sinatra's war characters in these films similar to or different from those in his earlier musicals?

I had never seen The Manchurian Candidate before watching it for this class, and I actually really enjoyed it and I think it's a great film. We have been talking about Sinatra and his politics recently, so it was also interesting to keep that in mind while viewing this movie. I guess the film could be seen as leftist because the plot does breed a sense of distrust for governmental authority, and portrays some figures of power as being incompetent or clueless as to what is really going on. There is so much emphasis put on the evils of communism and how it will run the country into the ground, while in fact it is the people who are leading the communist witch hunt who are plotting with Russian communists to take over the U.S. government. It really plays with perceptions of reality, and forces the viewer to think about their own prejudices; the "bad guy" might sometime be the person behind the scene who is pulling all of the strings.

Sinatra's characters in his earlier musicals are very different from the men he portrays in war films, even though in most of his musicals he seems to be in uniform as well. I feel that as Sinatra's film career developed over time, so did his characters; he went from playing shy, self conscious, or insecure guys to portraying more assertive, confident, and confrontational men.

None but the Brave 10/12/10

Prompt: This is the only Sinatra-directed film. How does his direction relate to his stardom? How does the film compare to other Sinatra films?

Once again in this class, I have ended up liking a film that I was not looking forward to watching at all. I guess the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" can also apply to films, because even though war films are not my favorite genre it is good for me to expand my film watching horizons. In class the past few weeks we have been talking about Sinatra and his relation to the fight against racial and ethnic discrimination, so this film goes along with that discussion very nicely. Sinatra plays Francis, the chief pharmacist mate, who is also an Irishman with an affinity for alcohol. Along with Capt. Dennis Bourke (played by Clint Walker), Francis stands up for the Japanese and defends them when most of the American soldiers who are also stranded start saying derogatory comments. One thought provoking moment was when Capt. Bourke told 2nd Lt. Blair, "I wanna whip the enemy as much as you do, not because he's Japanese but because he's the enemy." To me that is such a crucial point to stress because it seems like many people carried around hatred towards the Japanese, no matter what their allegiances were, just because they were Japanese. This film is also interesting because we get to hear the Japanese commander's thoughts, which helps to humanize the enemy and show that they are also just people who are trying to do their job and stay alive as long as possible. The truce between the Japanese and the Americans makes for an extremely unusual dynamic; it allows us to see that even when their lives are at stake the commanding officers of each country open up and become friends with one another. However, as soon as the truce is off and the goal is to fight for their own country, the two groups of men have to shoot at people that they have come to respect and like, and eventually all of the Japanese soldiers are killed. Right before the end credits start rolling, the words "Nobody Ever Wins" come up on the screen. I think that this phrase is trying to get the message of tolerance across, and say that this is a messy world and hating others because they are different from you will in no way benefit you in the long run. None but the Brave is very different from other war films that Sinatra has been in because this is the first time where we meet and get to know the enemy, and see that nothing makes them the enemy except the fact that the two countries are at war with one another.

On a completely different and amusing note, one of my friends found a website yesterday that posted the blog entry that I wrote about Kings Go Forth!
http://www.examiner.com/frank-sinatra-in-national/student-review-of-sinatra-movie-king-s-go-forth

Kings Go Forth 10/6/10

Prompt: Compare this war film to From Here to Eternity, and/or consider how it deals with race as compared to The House I Live In.


This film has a few very noticeable differences when compared to From Here to Eternity; Sinatra's character (1st. Lt. Sam Loggins) is a lot more forceful in Kings Go Forth, and the plot involves a lot more scenes where the soldiers are in action. Sam Loggins is a very honest and blunt man, and has earned the respect of the men in his company as well as his superiors. Sam feels that one must earn respect, and tries to instruct Tony Curtis' character (Cpl. Britt Harris) in that lesson. Britt is a very headstrong person, and he also shows off a lot so that people will think highly of him. In From Here to Eternity Sinatra's character was trying to make Clift's character more forceful and outspoken, while in this other movie Sinatra's character is instructing Britt to tone down his attitude and sense of entitlement, and to become one of the team. This film is set in southern France during WWII, and there are a lot of scenes that involve bombing, shooting, and reconnaissance work on the part of the Americans. There are not scenes like this until the end of From Here to Eternity, but that is because it was set in the days leading up to, and then the attack on, Pearl Harbor, as opposed to the middle of the war like Kings Go Forth.

In this film, Sam and Britt do seem to become good friends at one point, but there is always an element of distrust on the part of Sam. Unfortunately, Britt earns Sam's distrust and even hatred when he takes the woman who Sam loves, lies to her, and breaks her heart. Sam falls in love with a French woman, Monique Blair, who was born to American parents. One night, Sam tells Monique that he loves her, and when she doesn't return his feelings he says he'll settle for being friends and will just try and make her love him. Monique, however, says that she will no longer see Sam, and just right then Mrs. Blair steps in and tells Monique that she needs to tell Sam about her father. Monique says that the was nervous to tell Sam about her father because she likes Sam, but at the same time knows how Americans react to certain things and that many kids grow up learning and using the N- word a lot. We then find out that Mr. Blair was African American, and as soon as Sam hears that he hangs his head in disbelief and anger, and will not even look at a picture of Mr. Blair when Monique's mother tries to show him one. Mrs. Blair goes on to tell Sam the story of her husband and how the two of them met, and then how he decided they would move to France when she found out she was pregnant because they knew it would be too hard to raise their child in America. We hear on multiple occasions from Monique and her mother how great and dear Mr. Blair was, but that does not seem to register with Sam once he finds out that Mr. Blair was not white. I found it interesting that Mrs. Blair does not seem to resent Sam for his attitude or hold it against him, and welcomes him back to their house whenever he wants. The next day when Sam is reflecting on this, we learn that he used the N- word a lot growing up because it showed he was tough. From what I have learned in various classes, I feel like that is one of the main reasons that people use derogatory language like that, and I find it so sad that people's insecurities about themselves are taken out on others for no reason at all. One week later though, Sam goes back to visit the Blair's and realizes that the race of Monique's father is not a big deal. As the film goes on, Britt moves in on Monique, makes her fall in love with him, and proposes to her and says that they're going to be married. Sam doesn't really believe that he'll go through with it, but Britt continuously assures him that he really is in love with Monique and fully plans on marrying her soon. After talking to another officer though, Sam finds out that Britt is a liar and never filled out or returned the marriage forms. That night, Sam forces Britt to tell Monique and her mother the truth, that he never intended to really marry her. He says that he's had a lot of girls in his life, but that Monique was kind of a novelty for him because she is the only one who is not white. This plot faces the problem of racism head on, and I really liked that it did that because it forces the problem to the center of the film.

Explicitly addressing racism and bigotry in Americans is different from the approach that was taken in the short that Sinatra starred in, The House I Live In. I think a big part of why two different approaches were taken with these pieces is the time in which each one was produced; the short was released in 1945, while the film was released in 1958, a time when the Civil Rights movement was already in full swing, and there had been landmark moments and legislation by that point. The issues of race and racism were definitely around in 1945, but the issue was not yet at the forefront of society, so the short implicitly refers to the problem of racism while outwardly dealing with religious intolerance. While it is unfortunate that racist attitudes could not be specifically attacked in the short, I think that layering in message under religion and framing tolerance in a nationalistic way was necessary because of the time. By the time that Kings Go Forth was made, there was a lot of public discourse about racism and race, and because of that discourse that was going on society was (hopefully) more receptive to hearing about and facing this problem head on. 

High Society 9/28/10

Prompt: Here, Sinatra vies with Bing Crosby. How has the crooner rivalry changed? Where does Sinatra fit musically in this film, which locates Bing amidst jazz culture?

While Sinatra and Crosby's characters do vie with one another for the affection of Grace Kelly's character in the film, there is still a good rapport between the two of them, that is friendly and competitive at the same time. In the one duet that the two of them have together, the combination seems to really work well and it seems like they feed off of each other. Crosby plays C.K. Dexter-Haven, the ex-husband of Tracy Lord (Kelly). Mike Connor (Sinatra) and  Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) are reporters from Spy Magazine who are supposed to be covering Tracy's upcoming wedding to a man named George. Dexter and Mike are both attracted to Tracy, and while the two males do share some characteristics they also are different from one another.
Crosby is strongly tied to jazz music and that culture, while Sinatra stays more true to his normal performance style. Jazz was becoming more of a popular musical style, but some people considered it to be somewhat vulgar or not 'real' music. In the beginning of the movie Tracy scathingly calls Dexter a "jukebox hero" because of the popular jazz music that he's made, and then tells him that he could have been a great composer and done something great with his life. She feels like he's completely thrown away his talent and doesn't understand why he is so drawn to jazz. Not only does Dexter write music that Tracy doesn't really approve of, but he is also hosting the Jazz Festival at his house. The influence of jazz and its welcoming of improvisation are seen in some of Crosby's singing numbers; at one point he starts randomly humming and singing along to the music that Louis Armstrong is playing, and while it probably was staged, it has a feeling of spontaneity to it.
It feels like there is not much improvised or spontaneous in Sinatra's performances, and that he is much more traditional in his style and approach to musical numbers. However, I will add that his songs fit well with the story and what is happening at a particular moment. Twice in the film Sinatra sings directly to Kelly in attempt to woo her, and this is very unusual for one of his characters in a film to do. In contrast, the night of Tracy's bachelorette ball, Crosby sings a song about her that she overhears from her bedroom window.

Guys and Dolls 9/21/10

Prompt: Compare Sinatra and Brando. What mode of performance does each represent? What model of masculinity?

At the beginning of this movie it seemed like Sinatra's and Brando's characters had different ideologies when it came to women, but by the end of the movie they were both on the same page. Sky Masterson (Brando) doesn't believe in monogamy, and compares dolls to cough drops (just something nice to have around every once in awhile) which I thought was a really amusing analogy. Even though Sky talks a big game, like saying all dolls are the same, he does end up falling in love with Sarah Brown (played by Jean Simmons), and ends up in the same position that he was making fun of Nathan for being in. Nathan (Sinatra) doesn't want to get married, even though him and his fiance have been engaged for fourteen years, but he's also not ready to let her go like Sky suggests because he feels like there's no other doll like her.
Even though Nathan is involved in the gambling wold and he hangs out with a rough crowd, he still is more sensitive than Brando and some of his friends. He's not really into chasing after dolls and always having multiple different options, which seems to be how men are supposed to feel in this movie in order to be considered a force to contend with. After Nathan and his fiance, Adelaide, get in a huge fight because he's still setting up craps games, it seems like Nathan fully realizes that he loves her and he is really down and sad. His two lackeys try and convince him that dolls are only trouble, and that he's better off without having one particular girl.
Once Sky starts hanging out with Sarah his more sensitive side starts to come out even though he tries to resist admitting that he truly has feelings for her. He wants to be with her, and in a way proves himself wrong from his earlier statements. However, there's still always an air of toughness about him, as if he's not quite ever going to be as vulnerable or emotional as Nathan is about a girl. Brando was very much in the Actors Studio acting genre of method acting, and that comes across in Guys and Dolls. There's a sense of him always being somewhat anti-social no matter what situation he's in, which is interesting to observe when watching one his films.

On another note, today our review papers are due. For this I chose to look at the film Pal Joey, which not only has Sinatra in it, but also the legends Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. I won't go into everything that I wrote in my paper, but in doing my research I came across two really fun and interesting things so hopefully the links work! One is a quiz to test your knowledge on Sinatra and his films (I got a 10 out of 10!) which was published in the Washington Post in 1990. The other is the movie trailer for Pal Joey, which is so much fun to watch because Sinatra explains some of the "hep" language that is used in the film and also shows scenes from it. It is so funny and fun to watch!

http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.library.nd.edu/pqdweb?did=868690902&sid=2&Fmt=10&clientId=11150&RQT=309&VName=HNP


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-chWouJQflw

From Here to Eternity 9/14/10

Prompt: Consider Sinatra's performance. What does he do here that is different from his acting in musical films? How does the role relate to those earlier roles (re: ethnicity, class, masculinity, etc.) and how does it differ?

I was excited that we watched From Here to Eternity this week, because I have never seen the entire thing but have always wanted to. I normally am not a fan of war movies and instead enjoy lighter films, but for a drama I thought this was very good. The acting of some of the characters seemed a little stilted and forced at times, but I thought Sinatra did an excellent job as Pvt. Angelo Maggio and I see why he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. It seemed to me that Sinatra was not on screen for the majority of the movie, but that he made the most of his time and tried to be as memorable as possible. Portraying Maggio is a big departure from the acting that Sinatra did in the other films we've seen so far. This is an extremely dramatic role, and he has to convince the audience of the pain he's in when he's dying. Maggio is kind of a funny, wise cracking guy, and somewhat of a smart alec, which seems to be different from the other characters that Sinatra has played. He's also extremely positive and determined to try and not let life get him down. A good example of this is when he's on KP duty and is bringing lots of dishes back and forth, he has a big smile on his face and is determined to do the best that he can. One similarity between the character of Maggio and the other's that we've seen Sinatra play is that they come from a working class background. In From Here to Eternity, Maggio, as well as a lot of the other guys in his company, don't speak with the best grammar and use words like 'ain't' a lot.

One thing that really stood out to me in this film is how strong Maggio's Italian identity was. In the other three Sinatra films that we've watched, he's always been an Italian from a working class family but never this strongly Italian. Angelo Maggio is also the first believable, Italian name that Sinatra's character has had. I was also surprised to hear all of the racial slurs directed at Maggio about Italians (wop, Mussolini). As someone whose grandparents are from southern Italy I took a slight offense to the slurs, and felt glad when Maggio got angry and stood up to Fatso.

While there were moments when Maggio needed someone to step in and try and protect him, in general this character is a lot more assertive and ready for a fight than Sinatra's other characters. When Maggio almost fought Fatso in the bar, it was kind of like seeing a little dog pick a fight with another dog who the little dog thinks is his size but is actually a lot bigger. I have a feeling that the fight would not have gone well if Burt Lancaster's character hadn't have stepped in. After walking out on guard duty and getting court martialed and sent to the stockade for six months, he gets beaten daily by Fatso who is in charge of the stockade. Maggio tries his best to not let his spirit break, and only shows some weakness right before he's about to die in Prewitt's arms. Maggio was also the one who tried to look out for his friend Prewitt, and help make his transition into their company easier. In the other three Sinatra films that we've watched, Sinatra's characters have been the more shy ones when it comes to the opposite sex, but in From Here to Eternity Maggio is the one who convinces Prewitt to go to the New Congress Club to meet some girls and have a fun night.

On the Town 9/7/10

Prompt: Consider Sinatra's relationship to women in films. Also, consider what model of masculinity he and his male co-stars each represent.

The film of the week was On the Town, which I have seen multiple times and own. I think Betty Garrett (who plays the character of Hilde the cab driver) is hilarious, and that Ann Miller (the character of Claire Huddesen) is such a fun dancer to watch. On the Town is an interesting film to look at because Sinatra is paired with two male foils, and they each show somewhat different types of masculinity in my opinion. Frank Sinatra is once again placed in uniform, this time as a Navy sailor named Chip. Gene Kelly plays the character of Gabey, and Jules Munshin is Ozzie. The three friends have a 24 hour leave in New York City, and are determined to make the best of their day off.

I feel that this male character that Sinatra is portraying is one step closer to the image of masculinity that he is most remembered by today, and is also one step farther in the evolution of his screen persona. Chip seems to have a little more game when it comes to the ladies, but he is still more reserved than his friends in terms of pursuing women. Chip does join in with Gabe and Ozzie in making the wolf whistle, but then he seems to revert back to the more naive and inexperienced guy that we've seen him play before. When all three of them are talking about what they're going to do during their day, Ozzie and Gabe want to go and find some women, but Chip really wants to go sightseeing; this is Chip's chance to see a big city and experience things that he wouldn't see in the small town of Peoria where he's from. Chip sometimes gets talked down to like a kid, which seems to be a common theme throughout his early movies. One example is when Chip asks Gabe why he has to run after girls all the time, and Gabe says he'll tell Chip the answer to that once Chip's voice changes. Gabe also calls Chip 'junior' on a few occasions, and even Hilde calls Chip 'kid.' Towards the end of the movie, when talking about Chip, Hilde describes him as being a "skinny little runt," which echoes a lot of the actual descriptions of Sinatra at the time.

It was very interesting to watch this film and consider the prompt question, because I noticed that there were alternating moments where Chip would be very forward with Hilde or clueless and scared. Hilde the cab drive is EXTREMELY direct with her intentions towards Chip, and has no reservations about going after what she wants. This is really the first time that we've seen Sinatra's character paired with a woman who openly and actively pursues him, so that is interesting. It seems that she takes on the more traditionally masculine role of the forward pursuer, but there are also moments where Chip takes the lead in their relationship. Hilde will only drive the guys around if Chip sits up front next to her, and within a few minutes of their interaction she invites him up to her place. Chip tries to rebuff her and says that he really wants to go see the sights of New York, to which Hilde says "stick with me kid, I'll show you plenty" (lots of sexual innuendo in that), tries to get Chip to kiss her, and throws her legs over his lap. Chip doesn't know what to make of these advances, and seems like a scared little boy who isn't sure how he got put in this situation. Eventually, however, Hilde wears him down and gets him to go up to her apartment. As soon as they get up there, the 'little boy Chip' disappears and is replaced by a man who certainly knows how to embrace a woman and kiss her passionately. The not so smooth Chip re-appears when they're at the top of the Empire State Building and he's completely ignoring Hilde and looking through the telescope at Manhattan. Once he realizes she's really sore though, he throws his guide book over the railing and focuses on her. Another similarity that I found between Sinatra in this movie and others that we've watched of him is that he always becomes extremely more confident in himself and his relationships once he starts singing. When they're at the top of the Empire State Building he tells Hilde that he can't whisper sweet nothings in her ear because the words get all tangled up, but he can sing to her and let her know that he cares. Sinatra's strongest talent is his ability to sing, so once again that is played up to his character's advantage to help him get the girl. Gene Kelly is the strongest in his dancing, so it is perfect that he's paired with Vera-Ellen who is quite a talented dancer, in my opinion, and can keep up with him.

Gabe is once again the guy who seems to feel that he has to put on a big show to impress a girl, and that he also has to play up his exploits for the other guys in the service. Once Gabe realizes that acting cocky and condescending is not the way to impress Ivy, his shell disappears and he is very nice and humble. Just like in Anchors Away when Joe makes up a big story about the dames they found to impress the other servicemen at the hostel, Gabe kind of does the same thing here. He can't resist bragging about having a date with Miss Turnstiles that night, and how she was attracted to him because of his sheer magnetism. Even though he has that cocky exterior, he really does fall hard for Ivy Smith (played by Vera-Ellen) and tells her that he wants something serious that will last beyond his one day on leave. Ozzie is the guy who continuously makes jokes, but gets down to business when it comes to wooing Claire. Claire seems to be a good match for him because she has a very dry sense of humor and can hold her own in her interaction with Ozzie.

As I was looking back through my notes from the movie earlier, I noticed that I have a few on the interesting relationship between Sinatra and Kelly's characters. In one of my other classes, Men in America, Women in America, we have been reading and talking about same sex relationships and friendships and how they've changed over the centuries. Back in the 19th century it was not unusual for men to form extremely close relationships with one another, or to be affectionate in their letters. Having that kind of relationship and expressing their affection for one another did not necessarily mean that they were having a sexual relationship of any kind, which is the stigma that gets attached to people today who show loving emotions for someone of the same sex (especially males). In the two movies that we have seen Kelly and Sinatra in, even though they have a very close relationship, do almost everything together, and look out for one another I do not feel that there is any insinuation of homosexuality. I might be alone in thinking that however. I feel like at the time when these movies were released though they were just seen as devoted friends and nothing more, and that it was still okay for men to display their close relationships with friends. One scene in On the Town that really stands out to me is when Chip is worried about Gabe being upset and depressed because Ivy ditched him. When Chip expresses his concern and knows Gabe is taking it hard, Gabe replies "I know you know, that's why I love ya." I feel like in films and on tv today you would rarely see one guy say I love you to another guy who was not related to him.


As I was searching online for things about this movie, I came across this event from a few years ago where On the Town was played in the middle of Times Square in NY. I thought it sounded pretty cool!
http://www.timessquarenyc.org/about_us/MemorialDayMovie.html

It Happened in Brooklyn

Prompt: Compare this film to Anchors Away and consider the difference between Sinatra and his male costars here. What aspects of his image are strongest? How does his image relate to his recording persona?

I really enjoyed watching this film on Tuesday because I have never seen it, but it has always been on my long list of movies to look at. Frank Sinatra plays the character of Danny Miller, a soldier in the U.S. Army who was posted over in England during WWII and cannot wait to get home to Brooklyn. At the beginning of the movie Danny seems to be very much cut from the same cloth as Clarence, Sinatra's character in Anchors Away. All of the other servicemen are downstairs socializing or dancing, but Danny is just sitting upstairs by himself. One of the nurses (played by Gloria Grahame) is incredulous when Danny says he's from Brooklyn, because that's where she is from and she feels that he's not extremely friendly like any of the guys she's ever known in Brooklyn. She also points out that compared to most of the other men in the military Danny is kind of an oddity; he doesn't have pictures of pinup girls (besides a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge which he says is his pinup), he doesn't whistle at her, and he doesn't even trade stories with the other guys. Clarence was also kind of a misfit in the Navy, and seemed to lack a lot of the social skills that the other guys had especially when it came to women. Not only do Sinatra's characters stand apart because of their personalities, but also because they don't quite fill out their uniforms which gives him a boyish air in both. Also in these two films Sinatra's character really appears to come out of his shell and be comfortable in his own skin when he is singing. It Happened in Brooklyn was made two years after Anchors Away, and Sinatra's singing voice seems to have a bit more confidence in it.

The two other main male characters who offer comparisons to Danny are Nick Lombardi (played by Jimmy Durante) and Jamie Shellgrove (played by Peter Lawford). When Danny is in England he meets Jamie, who is the grandson of an English duke. Jamie is repeatedly referred to as a "square," and he really has trouble talking to any women. Danny comes up with a whole plan to loosen Jamie up if Jamie ever wants to come and visit Brooklyn. It's kind of hard to tell if this sudden bravado is real or a show, but either way it works to convince Jamie's grandfather that Danny is the man who will be able to help his grandson start enjoying life. Once Jamie does travel to Brooklyn to stay with Danny for a bit, Danny tries to help him become comfortable with himself and find a girl. This is exactly what Joe tried to do for Clarence in Anchors Away, so it's interesting that now Sinatra plays the role of the helper. Also, Danny is the one who really works to put together the concert for Leo and takes the lead in getting support for it and organizing everything. While Sinatra's character is more assertive in this film, he still has some of the same complete cluelessness that Clarence had. Danny doesn't realize that Jamie and Anne have fallen in love with one another, and just continues to take it for granted almost until the very end that Anne is still his girl.

The other main male character is Nick, who is the janitor at Danny's old school. Nick really takes Danny under his wing and fills in the place of a father figure for him. One scene between Nick and Danny when they first get to Nick's apartment seems to echo Sinatra's real life; Nick has pictures of Mr. Chips all around his apartment and says that he went to see the picture 11 times, and he even read the book, but he still can't figure out why the kids like him so much. Many critics of Sinatra said the exact same thing, that they never could understand why all of the girls went so crazy for this skinny and gangly young man. Nick also brings up Bing Crosby a few times, and in real life Sinatra was compared to the legendary Crosby who was held up as a star that others should attain to be like.

One other scene that stands out to me as pertaining to Sinatra's life and his recording persona is when Danny is in the music store singing the song "Same Old Dream" for some of the kids who wanted to hear it. Danny sings it in a way that still seems to be based in the style of the crooners, which is not well received by the kids who go up and play the song in a much more upbeat, swing style. Danny is not convinced though and sings the song again in the style he thinks is best suited to the song, and this time once he finishes a bunch of the girls present in the store start screaming and stare at him in adoration. Sinatra's singing came under scrutiny even more after the war was over because it was geared towards a female audience and it still had a hint of the older, crooner style in it, and this is reflected in the musical taste of the kids in the film and how they only want to listen to upbeat, swing songs.

Anchors Away 8/24/10

Prompt: Consider how Sinatra compares to/differs from Gene Kelly in this film. What image of Sinatra do we get? Does it surprise you?

So this week was the first weeks of classes, and the Sinatra film that we watched was Anchors Away (1945). I have seen this movie many times, and actually own a copy of it, but it was good to watch it again and think about how the two main male characters differ from one another. I always had kind of been aware of the differences before this class, but once I started watching the movie with the contrasting images being my sole focus, I was very surprised by the blatant differences. Gene Kelly's character seems to be more of the prototype for how a man should act by most of society's standards. Once I noticed and realized this it really surprised me, because Sinatra is usually considered to be a pretty tough guy and very much of a man's man. In this movie however, Kelly's character is the tough one who doesn't like to show emotion, has no reservations about sweet talking a woman to get what he wants, thinks he has everything in life figured out, believes that his perfect relationship is something just for laughs and in no way serious, and doesn't believe in things like wishing wells.

Sinatra plays the character of Clarence Doolittle, and Gene Kelly portrays the character of Joe Brady. Clarence is the younger, more naive, less experienced sailor, and he is also more willing to show his emotions. Clarence is also more serious, not as objectifying towards women, and definitely more introspective. He looks up to Joe Brady a lot because Joe is much more experienced, a ladies man (or a "sea wolf" as he's referred to in the film), and Joe leads Clarence around in a lot of the scenes. When some of the sailors are given a four day leave in California, a group of them go up to Los Angeles. Joe is planning on spending all of his time with a woman named Lola, and watching him talk to her on the phone it is clear how the got the nickname of "sea wolf." Every other time that the sailors have been given leave in port Clarence goes to the library and reads the entire time. This trip he decides he wants to do something out of the ordinary for him, and really wants to try and meet girls. He is incredibly clueless on how to go about making that happen, so he follows Joe around with the hope that Joe will help him. A few times Clarence is compared to a child or seemingly belittled for not living up to the manly, strong expectations of a sailor in the Navy. One example of this is Joe saying that when Donald (the little boy who ran away to join the Navy) talks he sometimes sounds exactly like Clarence. Clarence is compared to the child again (visually and in regards to dialogue) when they both poke their heads through the spokes of the staircase railing and beg Joe not to leave because they both need his help in different ways. Yet another time a few minutes later in the movie Clarence and Donald are sitting next to one another on the couch, and when Donald asks Joe a question Joe says he'll understand when he gets older. Clarence then says that people used to say the same stuff to him and he still doesn't understand a lot of stuff. One last observation of Clarence not living up to the image standards of a man in the Navy is made by the proprietor at a drug store one afternoon. Clarence orders a chocolate milkshake and as he slurps it down at an extremely fast pace the man asks Joe what is the navy coming to as he's looking at Clarence and Joe response is that he asks himself the same thing every day.

When a lot of people think about Frank Sinatra the phrases 'ladies man' or 'womanizer' usually are in there somewhere, so it is interesting to see him in this film because his character is too scared to even use any phone numbers of women that Joe knows in town and offers to Clarence. Even towards the end of the movie once Clarence tells the waitress at the Mexican restaurant (she's nicknamed 'Brooklyn' by Clarence) that he loves her and she says she feels the same way, he doesn't take on the role of the protective, male figure; instead she does as she puts her arm around him and he rests his head on her shoulder.

Sinatra's character really leans on Gene Kelly's character throughout most of the film, and wants to be like him very badly. The notion of Clarence being a follower and willing to try and change who he is as a person is central to the film's plot, but seems to contrast very much with who Sinatra was as a person (from what I've read so far). A good example of this is found in Pete Hamill's book Why Sinatra Matters; growing up as the son of Italian immigrants he was acutely aware that he was often stereotyped because of where his family was from, as well as put in the category of just another immigrant family instead of truly seen as having his own personal identity. These attitudes of many Americans had a huge impact on Sinatra, and as he recounts to Hamill it made him proud of his heritage; "years later, when Harry [James] wanted me to change my name, I said no way, baby. The name is Sinatra. Frank f---ing Sinatra" (Hamill 38). To me this quote says so much about who Sinatra was as a person, and how he truly was an actor in the sense that who he was and his personal life were not reflected in the roles that he took on.

I loved having the chance to watch this film again, and I'm so excited for the rest of the class this semester!