Robin And The 7 Hoods (1964) starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Falk
Synopsis of Robin And The 7 Hoods
It’s The Rat Pack meets Robin Hood in this sly Runyonesque musical revision of the Robin Hood legend, done up Chicago gangland style. Frank Sinatra stars as Robbo, caught up in a gang war with rival mobster Guy Gisborne (Peter Falk) after mob chieftain Big Jim (Edward G. Robinson, in an uncredited cameo) get the big rub-out. With allies Will (Sammy Davis, Jr,) and John (Dean Martin) at his side, Robbo gets suborned by Big Jim’s daughter Marian (Barbara Rush) to ice the man that iced her dad to the tune of 50 Gs.
Song lyrics to It Was a Very Good Year, composed by Ervin Drake in 1961 and originally recorded by Bob Shane with the Kingston Trio
When I was seventeen It was a very good year It was a very good year for small Town girls and soft summer nights We’d hide from the lights On the village green When I was seventeen
It Happened in Brooklyn (1947) starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford, Jimmy Durante, Gloria Grahame
Synopsis of It Happened in Brooklyn
“Everybody is miserable in Brooklyn!” declares Anne Fielding, a pretty music teacher. It may start out that way, but Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Jimmy Durante, and Peter Lawford bring plenty of music, romance, and laughter to New York’s most colorful borough. Anne (Grayson) has to teach music because her opera career started off on the wrong note. Army private Dannie Miller (Sinatra) is too shy to let anyone hear him sing. Jamie, an English duke’s grandson (Lawford), is too stuffy to fit in. And Nick, the janitor (Durante), has never known love. But they all discover anything is possible if they believe in each other and the spirit of Brooklyn.
A Hole in the Head (1959), starring Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eddie Hodges, Eleanor Parker, Carolyn Jones, Keenan Wynn directed by Frank Capra
Synopsis of A Hole in the Head
Frank Sinatra stars as Tony Manetta, a widower living well beyond his means. He lives in Miami where he’s raising his young son, Alvin (Eddie Hodges). With a limited understanding of the word “responsibility,” Tony, finding himself in debt. With his back against the wall, decides to reach out to his older brother, Mario. For yet another in a string of loans. He lies that the money is needed for Alvin who has taken ill. The plot takes full-swing when Mario and his wife decide to pay Tony and Alvin a visit.
Marriage on the Rocks (1965), starring Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, Dean Martin
Product Description of Marriage on the Rocks
What do you do when you have a beautiful house, two great children, and a Marriage on the Rocks? If you’re bored Val Edwards (Deborah Kerr), you swap your fuddy-duddy hubby Dan (Frank Sinatra) for his swingin’ bachelor best friend Ernie (Dean Martin). Watch the sparks fly! Ol’ Blue Eyes breezes through this romantic comedy romp at the head of an all-star cast. Along for the laughs are frequent Sinatra co-stars Martin, Cesar Romero, and Tony Bill, plus daughter Nancy Sinatra and Kerr. The fun starts when the Edwards take a second honeymoon in Mexico. Once there, they fall into the hands of the quickie-divorce/quickie-marriage lawyer Romero. Faster then jumping beans, everybody’s unhitched, rehitched, confused, confounded, and cohabitating. But Dan has the right attitude. “We had a bad marriage”, he says. “Let’s have a happy divorce!”
MGM’s remake of The Philadelphia Story as High Society, a star-studded, Technicolor musical with Cole Porter tunes – an underrated gem
High Society (1956) starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm
I have to admit, I’m torn between High Society and The Philadelphia Story. Both are very enjoyable, well-done musicals that I enjoy and recommend. Both are powerful, but in different ways. I think High Society has great songs and music — Thank you to both Cole Porter and Louis Armstrong. But I find the acting in the original movie more compelling. Both are good, both are well-acted. I enjoy them both and hope that you do as well.
Editorial review of High Society courtesy of Amazon.com
MGM’s bold idea to remake George Cukor’s Oscar-winning upper-class romantic farce, The Philadelphia Story, into a star-studded, Technicolor musical with Cole Porter tunes somehow works splendidly and remains an underrated gem. Even the plot and character names–and some bits of dialogue–all remain the same as the original. Crooning Bing Crosby replaces Cary Grant as the wealthy ex-husband trying to win back his soon-to-be-remarried ex-wife, spoiled ice queen Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly, stunning and aloof in her last film role, originated in the earlier comedy by Katherine Hepburn). Unlike Grant, however, Crosby has jazz great Louis Armstrong, playing himself, in his corner for quixotic persuasion. Frank Sinatra (cocky in James Stewart’s former role) and Celeste Holm add support as the nosy reporters covering, and subsequently complicating, the upcoming wedding.
Editorial review of Anchors Aweigh (1945) courtesy of Amazon.com
Photo of Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson and Gene Kelly from — ‘Anchors Aweigh”, originally published in Screenland April 1945.
Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra teamed up for their first of three musical comedies in this frothy confection of sailors on leave in Hollywood, with gawky, shy young Sinatra tagging along with his worldly buddy Kelly, who promises to show him the ropes. Overlong at more than two hours, this meandering production is light on story, and more than a little sentimental, but full of first-rate entertainment. Sinatra croons “I Fall in Love Too Easily” and “What Makes the Sunset,” chirpy costar Kathryn Grayson sings “All of a Sudden My Heart Sings,” classical pianist Jose Iturbi provides a little highbrow interlude, and Gene Kelly dances with cartoon mouse Jerry (of Tom and Jerry fame) when not chasing dames.
![Anchors Aweigh [Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly]](https://family-friendly-movies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/anchors-aweigh-dvd-frank-sinatra-kathryn-grayson-gene-kelly.jpg)
