Some Came Running is a drama film from 1958 and tells the tale of a returning war veteran and author who has come home and is discontent. This film was released in Cinemascope and Metrocolor. The film was also nominated for five awards at the 31st Academy Awards which is something to be said about this classic.
The iconic actor and musician Frank Sinatra (The First Deadly Sin) stars as Dave Hirsch as a drunken war vet who finds himself back home in Parkman, Indiana only to encounter more problems in his life with his friends and with his brother Frank (screen legend Arthur Kennedy, The Lusty Men, The Window) who only cares about his image and reputation. He has seemingly adopted an uneducated, low-class woman, Ginny Moorehead(Shirley MacLaine, The Children’s Hour) who has fallen in love with Dave and wants out of her relationship with her abusive boyfriend, Ray. Dave takes care of the boyfriend, but despite being there for Ginny, he isn’t in love with her. He’s in love with an educated professional teacher Gwen French (Martha Hyer, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, First Men in the Moon). Along for the ride is Bama Dillert(iconic singer and actor Dean Martin, Rio Bravo, Ada) an often drunk card player that befriends Dave. Because of the company he keeps and knows that Ginny loves him, Gwen shuts the door on Dave, who winds up marrying Ginny despite all her shortcomings.
I had never seen Some Came Running up until now and fell in love with it. The performances are all fantastic from top to bottom. The story of a troubled man trying to find himself was played to perfection by Frank Sinatra. Poor Dave Hirsch was so dejected by Gwen that he married Ginny, someone that is not up to his intelligence or is even remotely compatible with him. Dean Martin was great as the alcoholic Bama, who is told that he had diabetes after he sees a doctor after being stabbed. I don’t recall seeing a film where a character had been told that they have diabetes. He never removes his hat and takes exception to those that try to remove it.
The town of Parkman is one of those small towns where if you are caught doing something that you aren’t supposed to do, the word spreads quickly, which is why Dave’s brother Frank is so worried about his reputation and status, but also is not without his own sins. The gossip about Dave travels super-fast, which leads to a lot of dissension between himself and his brother Frank.
Warner Archive has released this amazing film on Blu-ray and it’s a beautiful release. The picture overall is sharp, but I did notice a few blurry scenes that occur every now and then. The colors come in strong throughout the presentation, with some amazing color sequences toward the finale and, Shirley MacLaine’s make-up (blush, lipstick) really stands out. Daylight scenes stand out with some great shots of the city under blue skies. The film is clean and polished and even with a few flaws that I noticed, this is the best the movie has ever looked.
For the audio, Warner has opted to use English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono, and everything sounded crisp and clear without drop-offs or hissing. Dialogue, action sounds, and Elmer Bernstein’s background musical scores all come in perfectly. English subtitles are available for this release.
There are a pair of extras for this Blu-ray. We get The Story of Some Came Running and a theatrical trailer. These were ported over from the Warner DVD. No new content in the extras department.
A great new find for my collection, Some Came Running is a film that I recommend to those who haven’t seen it. The Blu-ray looks and sounds perfect with the ported over extras to make this a bit more of a complete package.
Some Came Running
Director- Vincente Minnelli
Cast- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Shirley MacLaine,
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Warner Archive/Warner Brothers
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date –11/28/2021