Not even bad in a good way

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I was in the mood for Frank and this was my pick. I have seen this before, twice through the years. It was one of the earliest classic films I saw and one that got me into watching movies from this era (and before) so I have a particular fondness for it. Ahh, Frank Capra, a legend, the man who brought us It's A Wonderful Life, turns in his second to last big screen directing job. Then there's the Frank I wanted to see -- Sinatra. He turns in a fine performance as a single dad looking to make it big in Miami so he can take care of his son instead of being the bum he is. Edward G. Robinson also stars, not exactly someone you'd picture as Sinatra's brother, but suspend belief for a moment and enjoy his work! Not the best Capra or Sinatra but it's fun, and has the Oscar winning best song for 1959 -- High Hopes. Definitely a worthwhile picture.--A Kat Pirate Screener

This movie, originally a Broadway play, tells a story of a man, who runs an unsuccessful Miami Hotel.This man, Tony Manetta, is constantly broke, therefore he has a hard time taking care of his 12-year old son.But those two have an undying love for each other, and he doesn't want to let go of him.A Hole in the Head (1959) is directed by the legendary Frank Capra.It's written by Arnold Schulman.The lead, Tony Manetta, is played by Frank Sinatra.Edward G. Robinson is terrific as his brother Mario.Eleanor Parker is very good as Eloise Rogers.Carolyn Jones is wonderful as Shirl.Thelma Ritter is fantastic as Sophie Manetta.Keenan Wynn does a great job playing Jerry Marks, a character based on Walt Disney.Dub Taylor is great as Fred.The kid, Alvin "Ally" Manetta is played by Eddie Hodges, and he does the job very well.Frank Capra certainly came up with better than this in his career, but this still isn't a bad movie.I don't think Frank Capra was able to make a bad movie.There was something enjoyable in this movie, like the song High Hopes.So even at his worst, Capra was quite good.

this movie is clearly a forgotten classic film with a great cast. Primarily shot on location with some scenes obviously shot on sound stages in Los Angeles. Over all a great movie. Gloria Estefan's Cardozo Hotel was used at Sinatra's Garden of Eden. That hotel was also used in There's Something About Mary. The Fountainebleu also provided a great location shot in 2 scenes. I did notice in one beach scene that was to take place in Miami Beach, in the background was Catalina Island, which is in Los Angeles. There is also a tribute web-site for this movie that features original memorabilia like lobby cards, still shots, information about the Broadway play and other cool things.

A Hole in the Head is based on a Broadway play that ran for 156 performances during the 1956 season by Arnold Schulman. So popular and enduring has it proved that a full musical version was done on Broadway in 1968-1969 that starred Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme in the parts done here by Frank Sinatra and Eleanor Parker. High Hopes didn't make it to Broadway, but the song I've Got To Be Me was introduced there by Steve Lawrence and made popular by fellow Rat Packer Sammy Davis, Jr.In Frank Capra's autobiography he says that Schulman was not happy with the change of characters from Jews to Italians, but Capra brought him around to his point of view on this and other things. The ending in the film version is not as upbeat as in the original play.Capra had heard a lot of stories about how disagreeable Sinatra could be to work with, but he says that Sinatra was nothing, but cooperative during the entire work. His biggest difficulty was the fact that Sinatra likes to do things in one take because he becomes bored with repeated efforts. Whereas Edward G. Robinson likes to go over things repeatedly until it was perfect. Capra did work out a compromise where Robinson did his rehearsing, but without Sinatra.The story is about a widower who owns a ramshackle motel in a not popular area of Miami Beach and he's got money problems. Sinatra as the widower also has a son, Eddie Hodges and they are devoted to each other. Edward G. Robinson and Thelma Ritter are his brother and sister-in-law who are visiting from New York and Sinatra is hoping for a touch from him. Robinson's bailed him out a few times and he puts a lot of conditions on future help. Like maybe a remarriage for instance and Ritter tries to hook him up with an old friend, Eleanor Parker. They actually hit it off. But there's still a whole lot of complications.High Hopes which is sung by Sinatra and Eddie Hodges sold a few platters for Frank back in 1959 and won the Oscar for best movie song. Sinatra also sings All My Tomorrows over the opening credits and that song did not catch on at first. Later in the mid Sixties, Sinatra recorded it again this time for his own Reprise label, before it had been done for Capitol as had High Hopes and this time it became a minor hit for him. It's quite a poignant ballad.Keenan Wynn has a small, but important part as a real estate kingpin promoter who came down with Sinatra to Miami Beach, but made a big success. Sinatra also tries to hit him up with not so good results. Funny thing is that his big idea was a Walt Disney like park for Florida and life imitated art there, though the park got located in the Orlando area.Frank Sinatra is not as noble as some of Capra's populist heroes, but he's also down to earth and likable. It's one of his best screen performances in one of his best films.Though I have to say with that red hair Eddie Hodges looked a whole lot more like Eleanor Parker's son than Frank's.