At 1200+ pages the James Jones novel "Some Came Running" deals with family divisions, drinking, gambling, sexual repression, adultery and other small town USA vices. All this is embedded in a general theme about the hypocrisy so pervasive in 1948 Middle America.

Jones was most famous for his explorations of WWII and its aftermath. "Some Came Running" is somewhat autobiographical as Jones was one of those returning soldiers from WWII whose long absence gave them a new perspective on details in the social fabric that they had not really noticed before. He was from a small town in Illinois and served in the 25th Infantry Division. He was present during the attack on Pearl Harbor and the battle of Guadalcanal. Basing "From Here to Eternity" and "The Thin Red Line on his experiences.

The film adaptation of "Some Came Running" is long but entertaining, especially if you like seeing a lot of big-name stars. Despite its setting in a small town (it was filmed in Madison, Indiana) this was a big budget epic picture.

The Jones character is named Dave Hirsch and played by Frank Sinatra. He is a successful writer but has not written anything for several years. The film begins inside a bus on its way to Dave's hometown of Parkman, Indiana. He has just been discharged from the army and is wearing his uniform (no rank insignia is visible).

His brother Frank (Arthur Kennedy) has become a big shot in the town and introduces him to Gwen French (Martha Hyer), a college literature teacher who is impressed with his writing but put off by his wild life style. Dave has been followed to Parkton by Ginny (Shirley MacLaine), an airhead he met in a Chicago bar. This sets up the film's love triangle.

Dave becomes friends with a local gambler named Bama Dillert (Dean Martin), moves into his house, and pairs up with him on the regional poker circuit where they are very successful.

While Dave tries to come to terms with his roots and with his future, his brother Frank begins an affair with his secretary.

Generally speaking, adopting a 1200 page book to the screen is ill advised and "Some Came Running" is no exception, if only because the screenwriter incorporated too much of the story for a feature length film to handle effectively.

But the producers compounded this problem with the hiring Vincente Minnelli as director and by casting for box office draw instead of acting talent. This resulted in a film with slick production values, an extremely thin plot, lots of characters (but none with any depth), and a too long running time. Can you say flat, lifeless, prosaic, and unconvincing?

Minnelli was a freak about visual details. He was more interested in whether an actress' dress coordinated well with the wallpaper in the set than how the actress handled her character. The inexperienced MacLaine has commented on how the only guidance she received during filming was from her male co-stars. In fact it was Sinatra who insisted the film end differently than the book as a way to make MacLaine's character more memorable. Minnelli's lack of interest in acting for the camera made him an especially poor choice for an overloaded film that needed subtle and nuanced elements in each scene to flesh out the characterization.

For the same reason, a non-actor like "one-take" Sinatra was completely over-matched by the demands of playing his character. Sinatra was comfortable playing himself in front of the camera and in most of his roles this was more than satisfactory, as it is during the early stages of "Some Came Running". But things start to crash and burn with the start of his scenes with Hyer, and the film essentially collapses the first time he reveals that he loves her.

Because of time constraints this romance had to be compressed, requiring a really skilled performance to set up things for the declaration of love, if it is to be at all convincing. Even if Sinatra took direction well (he didn't) and even if Minnelli was a master of acting for the camera (few were worse), the sudden transformation from Sinatra to lovesick puppy would have been a difficult sell.

A very interesting element of this film is Minnelli's obsession with the sets and the moving camera. There are no close-ups and relatively few medium shots. Almost everything is a wide shot or the master shot itself. This could reflect Minnelli's overriding interest in showcasing his sets, or indicate that Sinatra's work habits made changing camera setups difficult, or that the editor found that many of the performances could not withstand close scrutiny. Whatever the cause, it makes it much more difficult to identify and connect with characters who are always so distant from the camera. This is a detail you may want to watch for the next time you see the film.

This was Dean Martin's signature performance and he is truly excellent. Arthur Kennedy won an Oscar for his portrayal of Frank Hirsh but I think the best performance of all was by Leora Dane as his wife Agnes. Their scenes together have real energy, and almost creepy believability.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Typical Minnelli masterpiece, as melodramatic, emotional and stylised as his more famous musicals. Lumpen James Jones novel stripped to the bone, its macho posturings shifted to anatomy of a society. Slow, repetitive narrative mirrors stagnation of such a society. Impotence, disease and writer's block all part of a wider malaise. The psychological visuals are unsurpassed, gaudy, intense floods of light, colour and composition disrupt superficial politeness. Climax one of the greatest in American cinema; the three male leads do the most difficult work of their careers. Shirley MacLaine gets hard deal, though.

A garish , extreme drama about thunderous relationships , complex love stories and tragic events . Madison, Indiana , 73 miles from Cincinnati , suddenly found itself elevated to more than just an insignificant spot on the American map due to this film . Dealing with a burn-out writer called David Hirsh : Frank Sinatra returning from the war to the small town he grew up, and along the way , he is chased by a vulgar , neurotic woman : Shirley McLaine who fell in love for him . Concerning the dramatic curve of Sinatra's agonising voyage of self-discovery and as a result ends in his self-acceptance . Other central characters are Arthur Kennedy as his brother , Dean Martin as a compulsive card player , the wealthy teacher Martha Hyer , among others

An intense, spectacular drama about snobbishness with thrills , brawls , emotion , tragic romances and anything else . It provides a contrived plot with superbly orchestred intensity of the feelings the main roles generate in their numerous clashes . Producers financed a big budget and star-studded cast to carry out this great production in which 80 actors and location workers moved in overnight to make the movie of James Jones' massive novel. Madison bore a remarkable resemblance to Jones' description of the fictional town of Parkman. Main and support cast are pretty good . Frank Sinatra is frankly well as Dave Hirsh returning serviceman meets all shorts of prejudices and problems, and Shirley MacLaine provides overacting as a silly street girl , while Dean Martin gives surprisingly one of his best interpretations as a stubborn gambler . And support cast is frankly magnificent , such as : Arthur Kennedy , Nancy Gates , Leora Dana , but was durable blonde Martha Hyer who grabbed the movie's nomination .

Colorful cinematography in Technicolor by William H Daniels , showing splendidly cheap-neon lit bars and cold houses . Moving and stirring musical score by Elmer Bernstein in his usual style. This brawling and attractive motion picture was competently directed by Vincente Minnelli . Vincente was one of the best Hollywod professionals , shooting a lot of films with penchant for Musical , Drama and Comedy , such as : Cabin in the Sky, Meet me in St Louis , Yolanda and the Thief, The Clock , Ziegfeld Follies , The Pirate , Undercurrent , Madame Bovary , Father of the Bride, An American in París, The Bad and the Beautiful, The Band Wagon, The long long trailer , Brigadoon , Kismet, The Cobweb , Tea and sympathy , Gigi , Bells are ringing , Two weeks in another town, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , Goodbye Charlie , The Sandpiper , A matter of Time , among others. Rating 7/10 . Better that average . Worthwhile watching .