Just One More Time (1974) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

'Just One More Time' is a 1974 short documentary film promoting the release of the feature film 'That's Entertainment!' (1974).

The short film is primarily made of footage of the hosts of 'That's Entertainment' including Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, James Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Mickey Rooney, Bing Crosby and Peter Lawford.

With some insightful narration and clips from some of MGM's most memorable musicals, this is a rather entertaining short film.

Did you know...

• The song "Good Morning" from 'Singin' in the Rain' (1952) as it appears in this short with Debbie Reynolds' narration was originally to appear in 'That's Entertainment' (1974), but cut before release

Sinatra Singing at His Best (2004) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

'Sinatra Singing at His Best' is a 2004 DVD release featuring some of Sinatra's best performances with a linking narration by Henry Stephens providing some context to the songs.

The release features the following songs:

• "I've Got the World on a String"
• "Stardust"
• "I've Got my Love to Keep Me Warm"
• "Ol' Man River" (footage from the film 'Till the Clouds Roll By')
• "Fly Me to the Moon" (with Count Basie)
• "Last Night When We Were Young"
• "I'll Never Smile Again" (with The High-Lows)
• "When You're Smiling the Whole World Smiles With You"
• "My Romance" (with June Hutton)
• "Hello, Young Lovers"
• "Oh, Look at me Now" (with Eileen Barton)
• "That Old Black Magic"
• "Talk To Me" (with Mitzi Gaynor)
• "It Had to be You" (featuring montage footage of Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Shirley MacLaine, Gina Lollobrigida, Kim Novak, Eleanor Parker & other screen sirens)
• "Luck Be A Lady" (with Count Basie)
• "High Hopes" (begins with a brief clip from the film 'A Hole in the Head', followed by a performance with a children's choir)
• "Angel Eyes"
• A montage of images from his many films to close

Not As A Stranger (1954) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

"Gentlemen, this is a corpse. " - Charles Bickford (as Dr. Dave Runkelman in 'Not as a Stranger')

'Not as a Stranger' is a 1954 medical drama starring Olivia de Havilland, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford and Charles Bickford with Lon Chaney Jr., Lee Marvin, Harry Morgan and Mae Clarke. The melodrama was directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, with it's screenplay written by Edna and Edward Anhalt based on the novel by Morton Thompson.

'Not as a Stranger' follows a group of medical students throughout their career from their medical studies, hospital internships and eventually as physicians. Lucas Marsh (played by Mitchum) is obsessed with becoming a doctor. His medical career is put into jeopardy after his father (played by Chaney) gambles the money Lucas was left by his mother. To sponsor his medical career Lucas married wealthy older woman Kristina Hadvigson (played by de Havilland).  Throughout the film, Lucas' obsession for perfection and success causes pain and and happiness for those around him.

An outdated film with relevant themes

'Not as a Stranger' is a product of it's time with some very obvious references to the 1950s including:

• An all-male medical class, with no female students
• All doctors in the film are male, and all nurses in the film are female
• Doctors and nurses openly smoking inside the hospital

Despite these outdated events, many of the central themes to the film are still relevant today, including loveless marriage into wealth for material gain, marital infidelity, father-son conflict due to alcoholism, internal drive for perfectionism and success.

Did you know...

• This was one of the first times a real human heart was shown in a film during an open-heart surgery scene
• This was Stanley Kramer's directorial debut
• In preparation for their roles, Olivia de Havilland and Robert Mitchum attended a number of operations - Broderick Crawford even attended an autopsy

Award nominations

• Academy Award nomination for Best Sound Recording
• BAFTA Award nomination for Best Foreign Actor (Frank Sinatra)
• National Board of Review Award winner for Best Supporting Actor (Charles Bickford)

Closing remarks

A very made and entertaining drama, albeit very long. 'Not as a Stranger' features fine dramatic performances by Mitcham, de Havilland and Sinatra. What I like about this film is unlike many other medical dramas, 'Not as a Stranger' is essentially a character study focusing primarily on the lives and relationships of the principle characters. The hospital and medical subplot as a backdrop to complete the story.

 You can watch the complete film on YouTube here: 

Anything Goes (1954) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

'Anything Goes' is a 1954 episode of the Colgatte Comedy Hour, starring Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra, Bert Lahr and Sheree North with Arthur Gould-Porter. Produced by Jule Styne, the TV special is an abridged version of Cole Porter's classic musical comedy.

Reno Sweeney (played by Merman) is on her way from America to England to marry Sir. Evelyn Oakleigh (played by Gould-Porter). Reno's ex-boyfriend Harry Dane (played by Sinatra) follows her on the boat. Also on the boat is public enemy #1, Moonface Martin (played by Lahr) and his friend Bonnie LeTour (played by North).

Musical program

• "Anything Goes" - Ethel Merman
• "You Do Something To Me" - Frank Sinatra & Ethel Merman
• "Anything Goes (Reprise)" - Ethel Merman
• "I Get A Kick Out of You" - Ethel Merman
• "I Get A Kick Out of You (Reprise)" - Frank Sinatra
• "Just One of Those Things" - Frank Sinatra & Ethel Merman
• "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" - Ethel Merman
• "All Through the Night" - Frank Sinatra
• "Friendship" - Ethel Merman & Bert Lahr
• "I Get A Kick Out Of You (Reprise #2) - Ethel Merman & Frank Sinatra
• "Anything Goes (Reprise #2)" - Cast
• Encore: "Anything Goes" - Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra & Bert Lahr

Did you know...

• Ethel Merman originated the role of Reno Sweeney on Broadway more than 20 years earlier

Watch the full TV special:

Closing remarks

'Anything Goes' is a good TV special with memorable and well-known Cole Porter songs, designed to showcase the talents of Ethel Merman and Frank Sinatra. The plot is very thin, and a little different to the Broadway show. Some of the character names are different, and many of the songs are removed.

The musical 'Anything Goes' is very special to me, as I played Lord Evelyn Oakleigh in a production when I was in high school.

Not as enjoyable and showstopping as the Broadway show but still worth watching.

The All-Star Bond Rally (1945) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

'The All-Star Bond Rally' is a 1945 propaganda short film intended to encourage the public to purchase additional war bonds in aid of World War II.

The film opens with an introduction from Darryl F. Zanuck and features Marian Jordan and Jim Jordan as Fibber & Molly McGee, a married couple attending the rally.

Hosted by Bob Hope, the film features...

• "I'll Be Marching to a Love Song" - Betty Grable and her Bombardiers
• "Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week" - Frank Sinatra with Harry James and his Orchestra
• "Guardian Angels" - played on the harp by Harpo Marx 
• "Thanks for the Memory" (short snippet) - Bob Hope
• A tribute to popular war time pin-up girls including Linda Darnell, Faye Marlowe, Jeanne Crain, June Haver, Vivian Blaine and Carmen Miranda
• "Bond Rally Song" - Bing Crosby with Harry James and his Orchstra

Watch the complete short film:

Show-Business at War (1943) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

'Show-Business at War' (March of Time, Volume 9, Number 10) is a 1943 short film newsreel chronicling the many ways in which the American entertainment industry was assisting during World War II. 

Watch the film:

From the publication of the "Show Business at War" edition of Variety newspaper, to the many stars dedicating their time to raise money on war bonds, to the volunteering at the Hollywood Canteen. I found it interesting to see Hollywood cameraman up-skilling army officers in how to use film cameras  to enable them to film their combats.

Hollywood studios had an important role to play during the war, by not only  providing entertainment to those risking their lives, but to also produce propaganda films to discredit the enemy.

The newsreel features the following personalities:

• Al Jolson (actor, who entertained troops)
• Alfred Hitchcock (director)
• Alfred Lunt (stage actor, who cooked for soldiers)
• Anatole Litvak (director)
• Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (ballet company, who entertained troops)
• Bette Davis (actress)
• Bing Crosby (singer)
• Bob Hope (actor)
• Carole Lombarde (actress, who was tragically killed in a plane crash returning from a war bond rally)
• Clark Gable (actor, who enlisted)
• Daryl Zanuck (film producer)
• Deanna Durbin (actress, who danced with soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen)
• Dorothy Lamour (actress)
• Edgar Bergen (ventriloquist, who entertained troops with his doll Charlie McCarthy)
• Errol Flynn (actor)
• Ethel Barrymore (actress)
• Frank Sinatra (actor)
• Fred MacMurray (actor)
• Gertrude Lawrence (actress)
• Ginger Rogers (actress)
• Glenn Ford (actor)
• Hal B. Wallis (producer)
• Hedy Lamarr (actress, who danced with soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen)
• Irene Dunne (actress)
• Irving Berlin (composer, who wrote the songs in the wartime musical 'This is the Army', which featured an all-soldier cast)
• Jack Benny (radio comedian, who entertained troops)
• Jack L. Warner (head of Warner Bros.)
• James Cagney (actor)
• Joe E. Brown (comedian, who entertained troops)
• John Ford (film director, who headed the film producing unit of the Office of Strategic Services)
• John Garfield (actor, who co-founded the Hollywood Canteen)
• Kay Francis (actress)
• Lana Turner (actress)
• Linda Darnell (actress)
• Loretta Young (actress)
• Louis Armstrong (entertainer, who entertained troops)
• Marlene Dietrich (actress, who danced with soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen)
• Michael Curtiz (director)
• Mickey Rooney (actor)
• Myrna Loy (actress)
• Olivia de Havilland (actress, who danced with soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen)
• Orson Welles (actor/director)
• Rita Hayworth (actress)
• Robert Benchley (comedian, who volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen)
• Tyrone Power (actor, who enlisted)
• Walt Disney (who provided Disney studio resources to aid the production of instructional films for the armed forces)
• W.C. Fields (actor)

The musical highlight in the film is Al Jolson singing his signature tune "Mammy".

Suddenly (1954) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

John Baron (played by Sinatra) berates one of his hostages

'Suddenly' is a 1954 dramatic film noir thriller directed by Lewis Allen and starring Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason and Nancy Gates. The film's screenplay was written by Richard Sale.

The film is set in the tranquil town of Suddenly. When the American President is scheduled to make a visit to the town while passing through on a train, three gangsters, led by John Baron (Sinatra) hold a family hostage in their home as part of an assassination attempt on the president.

Ironically at the start of a film, a police officer says: "Things happen so slow now, the town councillor is thinking of changing the name to Gradually". Little do they know what is about to happen in this small town.

Use of guns

Sterling Hayden as Todd

A key theme in the film is the use of guns. At the start of the film, Ellen (played the Gates) does not like guns as her husband was recently shot in the war. When Todd (played by Hayden) buys Ellen's son a cap gun, Ellen is not happy. Todd tells Ellen, "The boys gotta learn sometime that guns aren't necessarily bad... It depends on who uses them." It is ironic later in the film Ellen must make consider this statement when making a choice as to whether or not to pick up a gun in order to save her family.

Home invasion

Another key theme in the film is home invasion. The home is the one place where we expect to feel and be safe.  Being held captive removes the barrier between personal and public space, and bring the dangerous realities of the outside world inside our front door. The claustrophobia you would feel when being held hostage in your home I imagine would be one of the most terrifying ordeals a person could experience.

Did you know...

• This film was shot in 4 weeks
• Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly watched this film a few days before assassinating President Kennedy - one could consider if this film was a catalyst for the assassination, or whether the event may not have taken place had Oswald not seen this film
• When 'Suddenly' was colorised for home video in 1986 by Hal Roach Studio, they coloured Frank Sinatra's famous blue eyes brown, causing much controversy. A second colourised version from 2009 by Legend Films, restores his eyes to it's natural blue color.
• The film's copyright was not renewed and the film is now in the public domain - hence the myriad of budget home video releases and availability online