This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"Some Came Running" is one of the better films that Frank Sinatra made in his career. The story is solid, if a little melodramatic in places. It's based on a 1957 novel of the same title by James Jones. Jones wrote a number of novels, including "From Here to Eternity" (1951) and "The Thin Red Line" (1962).I don't know how closely the movie follows the book. One is reminded of "Peyton Place" from the year before. It seems strange that around this time – the late 1950s to very early 60s, stories that fit the soap opera mold seemed to enjoy a flourish on the big screen as well.But that doesn't mean that some of them weren't good movies. The screenplay and plot twists sometimes could get sappy or melodramatic, as this film does in places. But the performances often saved them. Sinatra is better than good here as Dave Hirsh, and some of the rest of the cast turn in superb performances. Arthur Kennedy as Frank Hirsh, Leora Dana as his wife Agnes, Martha Hyer as Gwen French and Larry Gates as Professor French all were excellent. And, Shirley MacLaine was outstanding as Ginnie Moorehead. She oozes talent to a point just short of stealing all the scenes in which she appears. Of course, she does walk away with the last few of her scenes.The plot for this melodrama is a familiar one. A long-gone son returns to his hometown after many years, and his relatives don't welcome him with open arms. On top of that, he's a veteran. And, the melodrama continues to pile higher because he's also a published author. But he hasn't written anything for years. And, he falls for a local college professor who teaches guess what? Yep! Creative writing. But, he's also pursued by a girl he picked up on his last night in Chicago with some Army pals. Then he meets and befriends another single guy on the scene – Dean Martin, who plays Bama Dillert. Now, if that isn't the stuff for the making of classical melodrama, I don't know what is.Martin isn't particularly good and his role isn't necessary to the film. It seems to be a filler or a holding position to give Sinatra's character something to anchor to while he tries to figure out life and love. Since they were professional friends, one can understand his insertion in the film. It doesn't hurt it, but nor does it help the story and film.I won't tell how all this plays out, except that it follows awfully closely to the melodrama of the soapers of the day. The film does have a little study of human relations and personality. I could see some of my own immaturity that I think many people have in our younger years. Dave and Gwen both display it. When he thinks she has disowned him, he stalks off with his wounded pride and does something stupid. She does the same thing when she thinks Dave has been unfaithful to her. They don't talk about it, they don't resolve it, their wounded pride rules the day. That's the kind of love that wouldn't survive itself – each person judging the other and thinking only of his or her personal feelings and hurt. The crucial elements of love -- sacrifice, trust, forgiveness and care for the other, are absent. What's left is a hollow love, a false love driven only by passion.Toward the end, Ginnie says to Dave, "I don't understand you either, but that don't mean I don't like you. I love you. But I don't understand you. So, what's the matter with that?""Some Care Running,' while overly melodramatic in places, gives a very good portrayal of this human drama and tragedy of misbegotten love. For that, it's an interesting and overall nicely performed film.

So-so. Is fairly interesting at the start, as the scene-setting is intriguing. However, it doesn't ever seem to get beyond scene-setting, and after a while just drags and doesn't seem to go anywhere.Frank Sinatra is disappointing in the lead role. He overdoes the alpha male stuff, and just doesn't seem convincing. Pick of the performances has to go to Shirley MacLaine, who is sweet and delightful as Ginny Moorhead. MacLaine well deserved her Best Leading Actress Oscar nomination. Good support from from Arthur Kennedy, Martha Hyer and Dean Martin.

I saw this film when released in 1957 and really did not like it. I knew people were impressed with Shirley McLaine's acting but to a young guy like me it missed the emotion of a "rat pack" film, which I thought it was. I never gave too much thought to this film, but recently I read that the "Cahiers du Cinema" had placed it among the 100 all time best films ever made. Noticing it was going to be shown on TV I saw it and was amazed. All the actors are excellent and so is Minneli's direction, apart from the last scenes of the killer going wild, this film did not age. The beauty of the film is in the characters. First there is Arthur Kennedy and his wife trying to climb up the social ladder in what we could describe as an "obsessive " way, but that was so typical of a small town in America in the fifties. Then there are Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, the outcasts, but which still fit the category of the bohemians kind of barely accepted . But then comes Shirley McLaine which does not fit anywhere, at first sight you would classify her as a tramp, but she is not one at all, she is just a wonderful person, too naive in her ways, but trying to survive a hard life. She breaks all the rules, she is the opposite of Martha Hyer a compulsive conventional person. When Frank Sinatra, after being rejected by Hyer, decides to marry Shirley, he is accepting the unconventional, specially when he knows he can help. This film is predicting the social changes that would come in the seventies and that would change America. Shirley McLaine as Ginnie Moorehead was standing for all that.

Some Came Running is sometimes referenced as the first Rat Pack movie. However, although it is literally the first time a bunch of Rat Pack members ever starred together, this is a far cry from the series of easygoing comedies that would later be made to capitalise on the group's reputation. Some Came Running is instead a brooding and occasionally poignant dramatic thriller.The director is Vincente Minnelli, a man who is better-known for his lavish musicals, and one often lauded (or dismissed) as a dreamer and a lover of beauty. Some Came Running however proves his abilities with serious and convoluted story lines. What is fascinating here is the way Minnelli uses his elaborate visual style to bring clarity to the picture's web of subplots. No-one really used the widescreen format quite like him, and no-one really has since. It's amazing that he can use so few close-ups, and put so much detail into a shot, and yet still make us focus totally on what is important. A good example is the scene where Arthur Kennedy hears about his brother's return over the phone. Kennedy's secretary enters the room and comes into the foreground. The young men in the background of the shot of the man on the other end of the phone even encourage our eyes to that side of the screen. Secretaries are usually functional but forgettable bit parts, but her placement in this scene makes us remember her even though she doesn't speak, and this pays off when she later has an important part to play in the story. Minnelli doesn't force us to pay too much attention to minutiae of dialogue, but every scene seems arranged to convey some important plot detail like an key character introduction or someone's reaction to a situation, and the distinctive look to each shot helps to seal these ideas in our heads.This picture also happens to be blessed with a perfect cast, whose members shine through their sheer credibility. Take Frank Sinatra and Arthur Kennedy. Neither of them gets any big "powerhouse" scenes, but their performances are captivating because one could really believe they are a pair of chalk-and-cheese brothers, and they subtly bring all the past resentments of their characters to the screen. The real standout though is Shirley MacLaine. She really understands her character's lack of sophistication and goes all out to show it off, but without ever becoming so over-the-top you don't believe it. More importantly she does it in such a way as to elicit sympathy from the audience rather than scorn. And really it is this strand to her story which gives the picture its strongest emotional edge.There were quite a few pictures about small-town morality (or lack thereof) floating about Hollywood around this time, Peyton Place being another prominent example, and in many ways they can be seen a more highbrow counterpoint to Film Noir. Some Came Running is probably the best, and certainly seems the most insightful and the most affecting. To my mind this quality comes mainly from the believability and strength with which its characters are drawn, as they take their places in this overwhelmingly human tragedy.