JERSEY CITY AND BEYOND — Technically, Frank Sinatra was born in a Jersey City hospital, even though his family was living in Hoboken. Now, his face will grace the screen in a palacial theater in the city where he was born.
The Landmark Loew’s theater is screening three Frank flicks this weekend:
Friday, November 19 – 8 PM
The Man With The Golden Arm
Starring Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Eleanor Parker, Darren McGavin Directed by Otto Preminger
(1955, 119 mins., B&W) Unrated, but may not be suitable for very young children.
Sinatra is riveting as a two-bit card shark and drug addict trying to go straight in this deep, very dark film that features razor sharp characters, great acting, a crisp jazz soundtrack by Elmer Bernstein and a stylish rendering of the post-war hipster milieu. Sinatra’s depiction of the agony of drug withdrawal remains one of the most chilling yet powerful scenes ever filmed. Director Otto Preminger released this groundbreaking drama without the sanction of a Production Code seal, and helped break the stranglehold the censorial Code held over American cinema. This rare big-screen presentation will be shown in a restoration print.Saturday, November 20 – 6 PM
On The Town
Starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garret, Anne Miller, Vera-Ellen, Jumes Munshin.
Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly.
(1949, 98mins, Color) Not rated, but suitable for all ages.
The kind of movie they don’t make anymore — great music, great dancing, fun, romantic, exhilarating. Three sailors go on a whirlwind, 24-hour leave in New York City. Sinatra is great as the one more interested in seeing the sites than chasing girls — but who winds up being chased by one. Dazzling on-location scenes of mid-century New York, including the now iconic “New York, New York” opening. Choreography by Kelly, music and story by Adolph Greene & Betty Comden, score co-written by Leonard Bernstein.Saturday, November 20 – 8:20 PM
From Here To Eternity
Starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine.
Directed by Fred Zinnemann.
(1953, 118mins., B&W). Not rated, but may not be suitable for young children.
Extraordinary cast playing complex, engrossing characters, including Sinatra in an Academy-Award wining role that proved his power as a dramatic actor and revitalized his career. The story broke American cinematic ground — and taboos — with its frank depiction of ambitions, frustrations, personal conflicts, deliberate cruelty, sexual desire and adultery on a Honolulu Army base in the languid months leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack. The scene of Lancaster and Kerr in erotic embrace on the beach is legendary.
Admission per film for this film series: $6 for Adults, $4 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).