Editing The Man with the Golden Arm

{{short description|1955 film by Otto Preminger}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{for-multi|the novel|The Man with the Golden Arm (novel){{!}}''The Man with the Golden Arm'' (novel)|the blood donor|James Harrison (blood donor)}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = The Man with the Golden Arm
| image          = The Man with the Golden Arm poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by [[Saul Bass]]
| director       = [[Otto Preminger]]
| producer       = Otto Preminger
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[The Man with the Golden Arm (novel)|The Man with the Golden Arm]]''<br>1949 novel|[[Nelson Algren]]}}
| screenplay     = [[Walter Newman (screenwriter)|Walter Newman]]<br />[[Lewis Meltzer]]<br />[[Ben Hecht]] (uncredited)
| starring       = [[Frank Sinatra]]<br />[[Eleanor Parker]]<br />[[Kim Novak]]<br />[[Arnold Stang]]<br />[[Darren McGavin]]
| music          = [[Elmer Bernstein]]
| cinematography = [[Sam Leavitt]]
| editing        = [[Louis R. Loeffler]]
| studio         = Carlyle Productions
| distributor    = [[United Artists]]
| released       = {{Film date|1955|12|15}}
| runtime        = 119 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $1 million<ref name="tino">Tino Balio, ''United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry'', University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 71</ref>
| gross          = $4.3 million (US)<ref>'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', ''Variety Weekly'', January 2, 1957</ref>
}}
'''''The Man with the Golden Arm''''' is a 1955 American [[independent film|independent]]<ref name="screeningamericanindiefilm">[https://books.google.com/books?id=F868EAAAQBAJ Screening American Independent Film - Google Books]</ref> [[Drama (film and television)|drama]] [[film noir]] directed by [[Otto Preminger]], based on the [[The Man with the Golden Arm (novel)|novel of the same name]] by [[Nelson Algren]]. Starring [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Eleanor Parker]], [[Kim Novak]], [[Arnold Stang]] and [[Darren McGavin]], it recounts the story of a [[addiction|drug addict]] who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. Although the addictive drug is never identified in the film, according to the [[American Film Institute]] "most contemporary and modern sources assume that it is [[heroin]]", although in Algren's book it is [[morphine]].<ref name=afi>{{cite web |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51583-THE-MANWITHTHEGOLDENARM|title=The Man With The Golden Arm |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2015 |website=AFI.com |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2022-11-07}}</ref> The film's initial release was controversial for its treatment of the then-[[taboo]] subject of [[drug addiction]].<ref name=afi /><ref name=phillips>{{cite book |last=Phillips|first=Gene D.|date=1998 |title=Exiles in Hollywood: Major European Film Directors in America |url=https://archive.org/details/exilesinhollywoo0000phil |url-access=registration|location=[[Cranbury, New Jersey]] |publisher=[[Associated University Presses]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/exilesinhollywoo0000phil/page/115 115] |isbn=0934223491}}</ref>

It was nominated for three [[Academy Awards]]: Sinatra for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]], [[Joseph C. Wright]] and [[Darrell Silvera]] for [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White]] and [[Elmer Bernstein]] for [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture]]. Sinatra was also nominated for best actor awards by the [[BAFTA]]s and The [[New York Film Critics]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048347/awards IMDB awards page]</ref> The film is in the [[public domain]], and in 2020 was added into the [[National Film Registry]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Kehr|first=Dave|title=New DVD's|date=11 October 2005|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/11/movies/new-dvds.html|access-date=9 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="Alter">{{cite web | last=Alter | first=Rebecca | title=Shrek Has Been Inducted Into the National Film Registry | website=Vulture | date=2020-12-14 | url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/12/national-film-registry-2020-dark-knight-grease-and-shrek.html | access-date=2020-12-14}}</ref>

==Plot==
Frankie Machine is released from the federal Narcotic Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, and returns to his run-down neighborhood on the [[North Side, Chicago|North Side]] of [[Chicago]]. A drug addict (the drug is never named, but [[heroin]] is strongly implied), Frankie became clean in prison. On the outside, he greets friends and acquaintances. Sparrow, who runs a con selling homeless dogs, clings to him like a younger brother, but Schwiefka, whom Frankie used to deal for in his illegal card game, has more sinister reasons for welcoming him back, as does Louie, Machine's former drug dealer.

Frankie returns home to his wife Zosh, who supposedly needs to use a wheelchair after a car crash years earlier that was caused by Frankie driving drunk. Zosh is secretly recovered but pretends to be unable to walk to guilt Frankie into staying with her. He thinks he has what it takes to play drums for a big band. While calling to make an appointment, he bumps into an old flame, Molly, who works in a strip joint as a hostess and lives in the apartment below Frankie's. Unlike Zosh, Molly encourages his dream of becoming a drummer.

Frankie soon gets an audition and asks Sparrow to get him a new suit, but the suit is stolen and he ends up in a cell at a local [[Chicago Police Department|Chicago police precinct]]. Schwiefka offers to pay the bail. Frankie refuses at first because he thinks that Schwiefka told the police that the suit is stolen. But soon Frankie changes his mind, hoping to get out and have an audition.

To repay the debt for his bail, he deals cards for Schwiefka again. Soon Frankie succumbs and is back on drugs and dealing marathon all-night card games for Schwiefka. He gets a tryout as a drummer but spends 24 hours straight dealing a poker game, during which he is discovered cheating and beaten up. At the audition, with withdrawal coming on, Frankie cannot keep the beat and ruins his chance of landing the job. When Louie goes to see Zosh to try to find Frankie, he discovers that she has been faking her paralysis. Zosh, scared of being found out, pushes Louie over the railing of the stairwell to his death, but Frankie is sought for the murder.

[[File:The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) by Otto Preminger.webm | thumbtime=19 | thumb | left | The full film]]

Frankie goes to Molly hoping to get money for a fix. After learning that Captain Bednar and the police are looking for him, Molly convinces him that he must go [[cold turkey]] if he is to stand a chance with the police. Frankie agrees and is locked in Molly's apartment where he goes through a grueling withdrawal to clear the drugs from his body. Finally clean again, he tells Zosh he is going to leave her, start anew, and stand trial. In her desperation to keep Frankie from leaving her, Zosh gives herself away, standing up in front of Frankie and the police. She runs but gets no farther than the outside balcony. Trapped, she throws herself off the balcony to her death. A police ambulance arrives to remove Zosh's lifeless body and drives away, while Frankie watches in dismay. He walks away, with Molly following as Sparrow walks away in the opposite direction.

==Cast==
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Frank Sinatra]] as Frankie "Dealer" Machine
* [[Eleanor Parker]] as Sophia "Zosh" Machine
* [[Kim Novak]] as Molly Novotny
* [[Arnold Stang]] as Sparrow
* [[Darren McGavin]] as "Nifty Louie" Fomorowski
* [[Robert Strauss (actor)|Robert Strauss]] as Zero Schwiefka
* [[John Conte (actor)|John Conte]] as Drunkie John
* [[Doro Merande]] as Vi
* [[George E. Stone]] as Sam Markette
* [[George Mathews (actor)|George Mathews]] as Williams
* [[Leonid Kinskey]] as Dominowski
* [[Emile Meyer]] as Captain Bednar
* [[Shorty Rogers]] as himself (bandleader at audition)
* [[Ralph Peña (musician)|Ralph Peña]] as himself (bassist at audition)
* [[Shelly Manne]] as himself (drummer at audition)<ref name=afi />
{{div col end}}

==Differences from the novel==
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2016}}
After replacing novel author and original screenwriter Nelson Algren with Walter Newman, Preminger proceeded to change the plot and characters extensively from the original novel, which led to feelings of bitterness from Algren. When photographer and friend [[Art Shay]] asked Algren to pose below the film's [[marquee (sign)|marquee]], he is reported to have said, "What does that movie have to do with me?"<ref name="Reader">{{cite news |url= http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/full-nelson/Content?oid=897786 |author= Jeff Huebner |title= Full Nelson |newspaper= [[Chicago Reader]] |date= 19 November 1998 |access-date= 13 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="Chicagoist">{{cite web |url= http://chicagoist.com/2009/05/18/interview_filmmaker_michael_caplan.php |author= Rob Christopher |title= Interview: Filmmaker Michael Caplan |publisher=[[Chicagoist]]|date= 18 May 2009 |access-date= 13 July 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101019202146/http://chicagoist.com/2009/05/18/interview_filmmaker_michael_caplan.php |archive-date= 19 October 2010 }}</ref>

Even though the first draft of the novel did not even deal with drug addiction (it was only added later),<ref name="Paris">{{cite journal |last1= Anderson |first1= Alston |last2= Southern |first2= Terry |url= http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4987/the-art-of-fiction-no-11-nelson-algren |title= Nelson Algren, The Art of Fiction No. 11 |journal= [[The Paris Review]] |issue= 11 |year= 1955 |access-date= 13 July 2011}}</ref> this became the singular focus of the film. In the novel, Frankie served in [[World War II]] and became addicted to morphine following treatment for a war injury. There is little mention of Frankie's film counterpart serving in the war, and he tells Molly that he started drugs "for kicks."

In Algren's novel, Frankie is a blond-haired man in his late 20s, and as a poor veteran he often wears a torn Army jacket and [[brogan (shoes)|brogans]]. Played by Sinatra (who was nearly 40 years old at the time), the film's protagonist has dark hair and normally wears slacks and a dress shirt. In the film he is given a drum set and almost lands a job as a [[big band]] drummer, but in the novel he only has a [[practice pad]], and his dream of being a drummer is only a fleeting aspiration.

The novel implies that Zosh's paralysis is a [[Wiktionary:psychosomatic|psychosomatic]] symptom of her mental illness, but in the film she is deliberately deceiving Frankie and is fully able to walk.

The novel's version of Violet ("Vi") is an attractive young woman and Sparrow's love interest. In the film, she is played by [[Doro Merande]], who was in her 60s at the time. The movie combines the character of her spouse, "Old Husband" Koskozka, with that of the landlord, "Jailer" Schwabatski.

Frankie's employer, Schwiefka, is a relatively neutral character in the novel, but in the film he is a villain and Nifty Louie's partner.

In the novel, Frankie inadvertently kills Nifty Louie during a fight, while in the film, a walking Zosh pushes Louie to his death.

Algren's novel ends with a cornered and hopeless Frankie committing suicide, but in the film Zosh is the one who dies, while Sinatra's Frankie and Novak's Molly survive the end of the film together.

In April 1956, Preminger and others were sued by Algren, who was seeking an injunction to keep him from claiming ownership of the property as "An Otto Preminger Film". Algren's suit said the original agreement in 1949 for the film rights had promised him a percentage of the gross for the screen rights. However, he had to drop the suit because he could not afford the legal fees.<ref name=afi /><ref name="TCM" /><ref name=fuji194>Fujiwara, [https://books.google.com/books?id=z-2-CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA194 p. 194].</ref>

==Production==
[[File:Paramount Theatre ad - 17 February 1956, Glens Falls, NY.jpg|thumb|150px|Theatre advertisement, February 17, 1956]]
Screen rights to Algren's novel were first acquired in 1949 on behalf of [[John Garfield]], who planned to star in the film version. However, production was delayed because the [[Motion Picture Production Code|Production Code Authority (PCA)]] refused to approve the script, with [[Joseph Breen]] stating that the basic story was "unacceptable" because of the Code's prohibition on showing illegal drug trafficking and drug addiction. The ability to obtain PCA approval was critical because at that time, many movie theaters would not show films that had not received approval. The PCA further predicted that the subject would also be unacceptable to the [[National Legion of Decency]] (a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] film censor board), Federal authorities, and state and local censor boards in the United States and abroad. Garfield died in 1952 and the film rights were acquired by [[Otto Preminger]] from his estate.<ref name=afi />

Preminger had previously released ''[[The Moon Is Blue (film)|The Moon Is Blue]]'' (1953), which succeeded at the box office despite being denied the [[Production Code]] seal of approval due to its sexual subject matter.<ref name=phillips /> He told [[Peter Bogdanovich]] why he was attracted to Algren's novel: "I think there's a great tragedy in any human being who gets hooked on something, whether it's heroin or love or a woman or whatever."<ref>{{cite book|last=Bogdanovich|first=Peter|title=Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors|year=1997|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|isbn=0-679-44706-7}}</ref> Although [[United Artists]] (UA) had a distribution contract with Preminger, a clause in the contract allowed them to withdraw if a film failed to get Code approval. Preminger stated that in that event, he would set up his own company to handle distribution of ''The Man with the Golden Arm''. Preminger continued to have problems with the PCA during the making of the film.<ref name=afi />

Although the [[The Man with the Golden Arm (novel)|novel]]'s author, [[Nelson Algren]], was initially brought to Hollywood to work on the screenplay, he and Preminger were incompatible from the start and the situation did not improve.<ref name="O'Hagan">{{cite news|last=O'Hagan|first=Andrew|url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/11/07/nelson-algren-singing-back-streets/|title=Singing the Back Streets|work=The New York Review of Books|date=November 7, 2019|access-date=October 21, 2019}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Algren was quickly replaced by [[Walter Newman (screenwriter)|Walter Newman]].<ref name="Reader" /><ref name="TCM">{{cite web |url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/3720/the-man-with-the-golden-arm#articles-reviews|last=Thompson | first=Lang |title=The Man with the Golden Arm (1956) |publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date= 2022-11-07}}</ref> Preminger and Newman made significant changes to Algren's original story,<ref name=fujiwara>{{cite book |last=Fujiwara |first=Chris |date=2008 |title=The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z-2-CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA184 |location=[[New York City]] |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |pages=184–187 |isbn=978-0-86547-995-1}}</ref>

Frank Sinatra jumped at a chance to star in the film before reading the entire script. The script was given to [[Marlon Brando]] around the same time as Sinatra, who still harbored some anger at Brando for beating out Sinatra for the lead role in ''[[On the Waterfront]]''.<ref name=fuji187>Fujiwara, [https://books.google.com/books?id=z-2-CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 p. 187].</ref> To prepare for his role, Sinatra spent time at [[drug rehabilitation]] clinics observing addicts going [[cold turkey]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cantarini|first1=Martha Crawford |last2=Spicer |first2=Chrystopher J. |title=Fall Girl: My Life as a Western Stunt Double |year=2010 |publisher=McFarland & Company |location=Jefferson, N.C. |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOo2-O1maYgC&pg=PA70 |isbn=978-0-679-44706-1}}</ref> He also learned to play drums from drummer [[Shelly Manne]].<ref name=afi /> The picture was shot in six weeks at [[RKO Pictures|RKO]] Studios in Hollywood from September 26 through November 4, 1955.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.varietyultimate.com/search/?page=9&startYear=1955&endYear=1955&search=Golden+Arm+Otto&searchType=&sortBy=DATE&searchDate=&showAll= |title=Variety Archives |date=23 February 1993 |publisher=Varietyultimate.com |access-date=2015-11-03}}</ref>

[[Saul Bass]] designed the crooked arm symbol used in the film's advertising campaign, which Preminger liked so much that he threatened to pull the picture if an exhibitor changed the advertisements. Bass also created the animated title sequence for the film, the first of many such sequences that he created for films by Preminger, [[Alfred Hitchcock]], and others.<ref>Fujiwara, [https://books.google.com/books?id=z-2-CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA193 pp. 193–194].</ref>

==Musical score and soundtrack==
{{Infobox album
| name       = The Man with the Golden Arm
| type       = soundtrack
| artist     = [[Elmer Bernstein]]
| cover      = 
| caption    = 
| alt        =
| released   = Mid February 1956<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pR4EAAAAMBAJ&q=bernstein+man+Golden+Arm+1956&pg=PA30 |title=''Billboard'' Feb 25, 1956 |date=1956-02-25 |access-date=2015-11-03}}</ref>
| recorded   = September & December, 1955<br><small>Hollywood, CA</small>
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = [[Film score]]
| length     = 45:22
| label      = [[Decca Records|Decca]]<br><small>DL 8257</small>
| producer   =
| chronology = [[Elmer Bernstein]]
| prev_title = [[The Eternal Sea]]
| prev_year  = 1955
| next_title = [[The Ten Commandments (1956 film)|The Ten Commandments]]
| next_year  = 1956
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[Allmusic]]
| rev1Score = {{rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Allmusic"/> 
}}
The [[film score]] was composed, arranged and conducted by [[Elmer Bernstein]], and the [[soundtrack album]] was released on the [[Decca Records|Decca]] label in February 1956.<ref name="Decca discography">Edwards, D., Callahan, M., Eyries, P., Watts, R., & Neely, T. [http://www.bsnpubs.com/decca/decca/decca8000.html Decca Album Discography, Part 4: Main 12-inch 8000 Series (1949-1960)] accessed August 11, 2015</ref> [[Allmusic]]'s Bradley Torreano called it "one of the finest jazz soundtracks to come out of the '50s" and said that "on its own it still shines as an excellent example of how good film music can get. Bernstein's control over the smallest details of the music is what gives it the energy it contains; his blustery horns and deep percussion are only the front while some gorgeous orchestration happens almost unnoticed behind the music."<ref name="Allmusic">{{AllMusic|first=Bradley |last=Torreano |class=album |id=mw0000213342 |title=''The Man with the Golden Arm (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' – Review |access-date=August 11, 2015}}</ref>

The [[(Themes from) The Man with the Golden Arm|title theme]] was recorded by many other musicians including [[Billy May]] & His Orchestra who had a #9 hit in the UK in May 1956; [[Jet Harris]], who released it as a single in 1962,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Jet-Harris-Main-Title-Theme-From-The-Man-With-The-Golden-Arm/release/2280807 |title=Jet Harris - Main Title Theme (from The Man With The Golden Arm)  |website=Discogs.com |year=1962 |access-date=2015-11-26}}</ref> Glam rockers [[The Sweet|Sweet]] covered the theme on their album ''[[Desolation Boulevard]]'' (Europe LP only), and [[Barry Adamson]], who released a version on his album ''[[Moss Side Story]]'' (1988). A vocal version of the theme called "Delilah Jones", with lyrics by [[Sylvia Fine]] unrelated to the subject matter of the film, was released by the [[McGuire Sisters]] on [[Coral Records]] in 1956.<ref name=afi /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/McGuire-Sisters-The-Picnic-Delilah-Jones/master/613226 |title=The McGuire Sisters* - Picnic/ Delilah Jones  |website=Discogs.com |access-date=2015-11-26}}</ref>

A vocal version of Bernstein's composition "Molly" with lyrics by Fine, entitled "Molly-O", was also recorded by a number of artists, including [[The Gaylords (American vocal group)|The Gaylords]], Dick Jacobs and his orchestra, and others.<ref name=afi /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200183258/ |title=Notated Music: Molly-O |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |website=Loc.gov |access-date=2015-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Dick-Jacobs-And-His-Chorus-And-Orchestra-Main-Title-And-Molly-O-Butternut/release/1525951 |title=Dick Jacobs and his Chorus and Orchestra - "Main Title" and "Molly-O"/ Butternut |website=Discogs.com |access-date=2015-11-26}}</ref>

An alternate theme song, "The Man With the Golden Arm", was composed by [[Sammy Cahn]] and [[Jimmy Van Heusen]], and recorded by Sinatra backed by [[Nelson Riddle]]'s orchestra. However, the song was ultimately not used in the film and did not appear on the soundtrack album. Although Sinatra's recording appeared on some [[bootleg recording|bootleg albums]], it remained officially unreleased until 2002, when it was included in the box set ''[[Frank Sinatra in Hollywood 1940–1964]]''. [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] also recorded a version of the Cahn/ Van Heusen theme, which was released on Decca in 1955.<ref name=afi /><ref>{{cite news |last=Oliver |first=Myrna |date=1993-01-16 |title=Sammy Cahn, Oscar-Winning Lyricist, Dies |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-16-mn-1323-story.html |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |location=[[Los Angeles, California]] |via=Latimes.com |access-date=2015-11-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Sammy-Davis-Jr-The-Man-With-The-Golden-Arm-In-A-Persian-Market/master/670602 |title=Sammy Davis Jr. - The Man With The Golden Arm/ In a Persian Market  |website=Discogs.com |access-date=2015-11-26}}</ref>

===Track listing===
''All compositions by Elmer Bernstein''
# "Clark Street: (a) The Top; (b) Homecoming; (c) Antek's" - 4:58
# "Zosh" - 4:28
# "Frankie Machine" - 4:57
# "The Fix" - 3:30
# "Molly" - 4:53
# "Breakup: (a) Flight; (b) Louie's; (c) Burlesque" - 3:42
# "Sunday Morning" - 2:49
# "Desperation" - 2:47
# "Audition" - 2:42
# "The Cure: (a) Withdraw; (b) Cold; (c) Morning" - 5:57
# "Finale" - 4:13

===Personnel===
Orchestra [[conducting|conducted]] by [[Elmer Bernstein]] featuring:
*[[Shorty Rogers]] - [[flugelhorn]] 
*[[Conte Candoli]], [[Pete Candoli]], [[Buddy Childers]], Bob Fleming, [[Ray Linn]], Cecil Read, [[Maynard Ferguson]], - [[trumpet]]
*Albert Anderson, [[Harry Betts]], [[Milt Bernhart]], [[Jimmy Henderson (musician)|Jimmy Henderson]], [[George Roberts (trombonist)|George Roberts]], [[Frank Rosolino]], Ray Sims - [[trombone]]
*Joe Eger, Arthur Frantz, Dick Perissi- [[French horn]]
*Martin Ruderman, Sylvia Ruderman - [[flute]]
*Nick Fera, Mitchell Lurie - [[clarinet]]
*Jerome Kasper, [[Bud Shank]] - [[alto saxophone]]
*[[Bob Cooper (musician)|Bob Cooper]], [[Bill Holman (musician)|Bill Holman]], [[Jack Montrose]] - [[tenor saxophone]]
*[[Jimmy Giuffre]] - [[baritone saxophone]]
*Arnold Koblenz - [[oboe]]
*Fowler Friedlander, Jack Marsh - [[bassoon]] 
*Sam Rice - [[tuba]]
*Israel Baker, Anatol Kaminsky - [[violin]]
*Philip Goldberg, Milton Thomas - [[viola]]
*Armand Kaproff – [[cello]]
*Chauncey Haines - [[novachord]]
*[[Pete Jolly]], [[Lou Levy (pianist)|Lou Levy]], Ray Turner - [[piano]]
*Abe Luboff, [[Ralph Peña (musician)|Ralph Peña]] - [[double bass|bass]]
*[[Shelly Manne]]  - [[drum kit|drums]]
*[[Milt Holland]], Lee Previn - [[percussion]]
*[[Fred Steiner]] - [[orchestration]]

==Release==
===Controversy over release===
Preminger decided to release the finished film prior to submitting it for a Code seal of approval.<ref name=afi /> He contended that his film would not entice any viewers to take drugs, since drug use was depicted as having severely negative consequences.<ref name=phillips />  United Artists, which had invested $1 million in the film's production, opted to distribute the film, even though doing so could result in the company being fined $25,000 by the [[Motion Picture Association of America]] (MPAA).<ref name=afi /> The president of United Artists, [[Arthur B. Krim|Arthur Krim]], expressed the company's hope that the PCA would make an exception to its usual rules and grant the film approval because of the film's "immense potential for public service." The film received several advance bookings in November and early December 1955, before the PCA had made a decision on whether to grant a Code seal.<ref name=afi />

However, in early December 1955, the PCA denied the film a Code seal, and the decision was upheld upon appeal to the MPAA. As a result, United Artists resigned from the MPAA that same month (although the company re-joined a few years later).<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=June 26, 1957|page=5|title=United Artists Re-Joins MPAA|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety207-1957-06#page/n236/mode/1up|access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref> The [[National Legion of Decency]] also showed disagreement with the PCA ruling by rating the film as a "B" meaning "morally objectionable in part for all", instead of a "C" meaning "condemned", which was the rating normally given to films that were denied a Code seal. Large theater circuits including [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loews]] also refused to ban the film and instead showed it despite the lack of a Code seal. As a result of the controversy, the MPAA investigated and revised production codes, allowing later movies more freedom to deeply explore hitherto taboo subjects such as [[drug abuse]], [[kidnapping]], [[miscegenation]], [[abortion]], and [[prostitution]].<ref name=afi /><ref name=phillips /><ref>{{cite web|author=Bob Mondello |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93301189 |title=Remembering Hollywood's Hays Code, 40 Years On |publisher=[[NPR]]|date=2008-08-08 |access-date=2022-11-07}}</ref>

In the end, ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' finally received the Production Code seal number 20011 in June 1961, which permitted the film to be reissued and sold for television broadcast.<ref name=afi />

===Reception===
''The Man with the Golden Arm'' earned $4,100,000 at the North American [[box office]] and the critical reception was just as strong; ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine stated: "Otto Preminger's ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' is a feature that focuses on addiction to narcotics. Clinical in its probing of the agonies, this is a gripping, fascinating film, expertly produced and directed and performed with marked conviction by Frank Sinatra as the drug slave."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Variety Staff |url=https://variety.com/1954/film/reviews/the-man-with-the-golden-arm-1200417788|title=Review: 'The Man With The Golden Arm' |magazine=Variety.com |date=1954-12-31 |access-date=2022-11-07}}</ref><ref>Furek, Maxim W. (July/August 2007). “Heroin in the Cinema: The Glorification of the Junkie.” ''Counselor Magazine, The Magazine for Addiction Professionals''.</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 81% from 58 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "''The Man with the Golden Arm'' is a difficult watch, but it's held together by Frank Sinatra's impressively committed work in the title role."<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_with_the_golden_arm | title=The Man with the Golden Arm | website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | date=14 December 1955 }}</ref>

===Preservation===
The [[Academy Film Archive]] preserved ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=Preserved Projects|url=http://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=The+Man+with+the+Golden+Arm&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All|website=Academy Film Archive}}</ref> In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="Alter"/>

==See also==
* [[List of American films of 1955]]
* [[Message picture]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb title|0048347}}
* {{Internet Archive film|The.Man.With.the.Golden.Arm.1955.720p.WEBDL.AAC2.0.H.264CtrlHD}}
* {{TCMDb title|3720}}
* {{AFI film|51583}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-man-with-the-golden-arm-am6538 ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' at AllMovie]

{{Otto Preminger}}
{{Shorty Rogers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man With The Golden Arm}}
[[Category:1955 films]]
[[Category:1955 drama films]]
[[Category:1955 independent films]]
[[Category:1950s American films]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:American films about gambling]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Films about heroin addiction]]
[[Category:Films about music and musicians]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Otto Preminger]]
[[Category:Films scored by Elmer Bernstein]]
[[Category:Films set in Chicago]]
[[Category:United Artists films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]