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MAY. 19 1958 he Seb le e- ~ pra Production Patks Plenty of B.O. Appeal; Well-Acted “A HOLE IN THE HEAD” {Sincap Prod.-United Artists release) Producer-director .........-.. Frank Capra Play and screenplay..Arnold Schulman Photography -......... Willian H. Danieis Art direction ... Eddie Imazu Music. .........2....----.= _-- Nelson Riddle Songs: ‘All My Tomorrows,” “High Hopes,"’ by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy. Van Heusen Costumes ..............----.... Edith Head SOUN 22.20... ceecceeeeeeeee nee cree Fred Lau Production manager ............}oe Cooke Fitm editor ............ William Hombeck CinemaScope; Color by De Luxe Cast: Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robin- son, Ei€anor Parker, Carolyn Jones Thelma Ritter, Keenan Wynn, Joi Lans- ing, George DeWitt, Jimmy Komack Du& Taylor, Connie Sawyer, Benn Ruffin, Ruby Dandridga, B. S. Pully, Joyde Nizzari, Pupi Ca , and intro- ducihg Eddie Hodges. unning time — 118 tyinutes! You need “A Hole in the Head” whether you are a ticket-buyer or an exhibitor, It's a double guarantee to Surefire entertainment. First, there is Frank Sinatra, whom youthful audi- ences will find ag modern as hi-fi and aS pungent as a cup of expresso. Then, there is Frank Capra, the first director whose name, following the advent of talkies, attained a marquee value equal or greater than that of any star. Be- ginning with his sensational “lt Hap- pened One Night,"’ Capra never made a flop. Up until his ternporary retire- ment about eight years ago, he cre- ated a succession of the finest comedy dramas in the history of show business. Now he is back with all his past tech- niques in full blossom and with a won- derfully new ability to capture the flavor of our times, The result is a full- bodigd comedy that registers its suc- cess not in chuckles but in roars, Arkold Schulman’s screenplay suc- cessfully expands his stage play until it contains ali the ingredients for a Capra hit. These are so time-tested that it's a wonder other directors haven't latched onto them during Capra's absence. First of all(as in his “Lady For a Day”) there is a solid emotional basis that gives one something to pull for. And this appeal expresses itself iri conflict. Sinatra is a good natured, irresponsible visionary whose urge to fly off beyond the horizon js constantly at war with his devotion to his motherless son. Though he calls the kid a “nag” there woe opm “ - ow wo Vast a “ ALL [MFORMATEOE CONTAINED foe ween - it, he drearns of getting in the chips b promoting an east coast Disneyland. One of the facets of Capra's genius is . his ability to give a change of pace to_ a straight-line story by deygloping a whole series of well-rounded and fullly developed incidental characters, In this case, there is a marvelous beatnik (played with weird fascination by Caralyn Jones) who's constantly mak- - ing ineffectual attempts ta have Sina- tra run away with her. Then there is Sinatra's hard-working and completely “square’’ brother, Edward G. Robinson, whom Sinatra, by devious schemes, tries to put the bite on. If this picture, in which all parts are played to per- fection, has any standouts, they are de- livered by the penny-pinching Robin- -s son and his sentimental wife (Thelma Ritter). Little Caesar has become a great comedian, Confident of their abilities to sustain each other, Capra gives Robinson and Ritter long together, without breaking his ca setup and the laughs come so thick aad fast one is bound to miss some of ft dialogue. There's a marvelous runnin gag (a typica! Capra invention) buil around a platform rocking chair that knocks Robinson om the head every time he sits in it. Robinson's solution for all ills is to! Photography,- in. Cine: get Sinatra married off to some with money, Thelma knows a weal: widow. As played by that stunning head, Eleanor Parker, she turns aut t be tra occurs in a daintily furnished apart- | Taylor as a bolt pind the! detail of “sury: ¢ quite a dish, and gives a brilliant Hn that. performance. Her encounter with Sina-[-3 56-24 HEPEIN Ls mci. SSik down - at - heel Florida hotel. Despite\, the fact that he's on the verge of losing | ‘ed 80 ably in “Broadway Bill.” Having lost his last nickel, Sinatra deliberately tries to alienate the love of his'son so that he will go away with Robinson, There fs a happy but topsy-turvy. ending “in which Sinatra isn't reformed but Rob- inson is. He decides to stop selling gar- ter belts to become a bum too." You ‘feel that he has enough dough to sup- port them all in a crazy ha i vagabondage. -_ ¥ 7 ed on This is a warm, human ‘and .thor- oughly entertaining: comedy in which inatra casually works: in a couple ‘of g00d songs, “All My Tomorrows” and High Hopes” {both by Sammy Cahn and jimmy Van Heusen) . Like the tal- ented and self-assured star that he.is Sinatra allows even minor members‘of The suporting ‘cast to have “big ‘mip- ments. These include Jimmy Komack, as Robinson's amiably ‘stupid ‘son, Dub weevil don’t-give-a- damn Southern desk clerk,’ and ‘Ronnie pawyer who gives the production. two ilarious punctuations a \~ lege Re Luxe Calor, by William’ H- should spelt big: business. > , is really # joyous companionship be- ment, so crowded with feminine: fur. tween them. The boy is played by Eddie Hodges, who scored a hit in the stage production of “The Music Man,” and he’s.a real screen find, who will re- mind one of such. previous youthful naturals as Jackie Cooper and Shirley. - Temple. He gets over a strange kriow--<"; deceént-womat my ingness regarding his pop’s desires to “husband. and son ‘she _k grab a fast buck. and, to make time’, with the dames. Sinatra, ‘never, playing down. ta the boy, establishes avery be-~ lievable and lovable relationship - with: ‘thse kid that, no audience will want, see oa, so de ss Sear it constantly is threatened.ina- Zen \ tra's only. possession .is a mortgaged. . -_a touching portrayal ofa passionate ‘whole marriage fa ey plot belows that the characters are obliged. to move crabwise whenever: they them, they play a torturous love! scene: ” without an embrace. ‘Miss Parker Sinaty *, " each other. With. every_touch’affecting- as JUN 2.3 1959