Suddenly
Director: Lewis Allen
Year Released: 1954
Rating: 3.0
A team of assassins (led by Frank Sinatra's disgruntled 'war vet') take over a widow's home and hold hostage the town Sheriff (Sterling Hayden) in order to get a clear shot at the U.S. President, who's scheduled to come into the town of Suddenly via train. While eerie in a historical sense as a precursor to the assassination of JFK (ironically, Sinatra was a major supporter of Kennedy and Oswald may or may not have seen this), it works as a claustrophobic post-WWII B-movie, as if Mayberry of The Andy Griffith Show was invaded by murderous, paranoid killers (even anti-gun Mom has to take up arms against Sinatra, suggesting non-violence is ineffective in the U.S.). Notable character actor James Gleason (as Nancy Gates' father) deserves special mention for holding his own amidst the Hayden-Sinatra conflict.
