Never look at small towns as just another Hicksville. Many of our greatest Americans were born in the sticks, and many more are to come out of there. Events occur that make the history books, whether triumph or tragedy, and in Suddenly, U.S.A., there is the possibility of a tragedy. Bit more matter what happens, Suddenly won't forget what happened...quickly.What sounds like an Abbott and Costello skit occurs in the opening scene where a passer through asks friendly deputy Sterling Hayden why the town has that name. Hayden explains that things really used to happen there thank to organized crime, but now pretty much nothing happens. That's about to change, and one family will feel the brunt of it, thanks to "Old Blue Eyes".Yes, this is Sinatra as you've never seen him before, a total bad guy, posing as a government agent to get into the home of widowed Nancy Gates. He's waiting for a train, not to catch, but to shoot at, and his target is the president of the United States. Gates' young son isn't afraid to stand up to him, and Sinatra belts him. There's no gentility here, so be prepared.Like the ticking clock in "High Noon', the tension rises until the thermometer breaks. It's similar in theme to Sinatra's later masterpiece" The Manchurian Candidate", threatening American piece of mind with an act of violence by one of our own. James Gleason is great as Gates' worried father-in-law, with Kim Charney pretty impressive as the courageous kid. Some moments may have you cringe, particularly how Sinatra deals with the wounded Hayden, suffering from a broken arm. The script goes into the psychology of how Sinatra went bad, and there is no clichéd dialog to make you groan. It's tough and brutal and unapologetic, and most importantly, it makes you think.

Prior to watching SUDDENLY, I had no idea that the 'home invasion' thriller existed before the 1970s. I thought the genre had its origin in gritty films like Sunday IN THE COUNTRY, FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE, and STRAW DOGS, but it turns out that SUDDENLY had a stab at the genre long before those movies, and just so happened to do a very good job of it too.The film features a snarling, hissable turn from Frank Sinatra who is surprisingly efficient as the cold-blooded hit-man who will do anything to complete his job. The rest of the cast are almost as good in their clearly-defined roles, from the brave but foolish kid whose role is pivotal to the story, to the patriotic grandfather and even the dumb TV repair guy.Sure, SUDDENLY has dated in a few respects, and it's doubtlessly not as thrilling as it once was due to a new threshold in on-screen violence. But British director Lewis Allen really knows what he's doing here and he packs his film with suspense and tension where you never know what violent act will take place next. The last twenty minutes of the piece are particularly gripping, rounding off an unexpected gem of a thriller.

This is an entertaining crime drama with an excellent performance by Frank Sinatra in the role of an assassin. I was surprised at how convincingly Sinatra played a very different character than he'd normally be cast as. Usually he played the hero, here he plays a despicable cold-blooded killer.It's very well-written by Richard Sale and carefully directed by Lewis Allen. Most of the cast performed very well, notably Nancy Gates as widow Ellen Benson, Sterling Hayden as Sheriff Tod Shaw who is in love with Ellen, and James Gleason as Pop Benson, the father of Ellen's husband who was killed in WW II.

For his entire career, Frank Sinatra remained the skinny kid (and later skinny legend) with a voice that made you believe in God. That voice, that voice, was and is one of the many wonders the entertainment industry has given us over the years. Throughout the 1940s, he was placed in throwaway musical comedies that only continued to paint him as a singer first and foremost — but the 1950s changed all that typecasting stuff.Beginning with his stunning performance in 1953's From Here to Eternity, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, audiences were introduced to Frank Sinatra The Actor; he was no longer just a singer who decided that headlining movies would be a fun side-gig. Today, only the nerdy cinephiles seem to appreciate his stunning acting abilities, while the rest of the world paints him as Old Blue Eyes. Either party will find themselves bathing in a hearty basin of nostalgia, but exploring all of his occupational triumphs is nothing short of astonishment. Singers turned actors were and are never ever this talented.Suddenly continued his "serious actor" path, placing him in a low-budget thriller and having much of the focus lie single-handedly upon him. Like Dial M for Murder, much of the action takes place in a single location — a house in the suburbs — and like The Manchurian Candidate, the assassination of the president may or may not be the climax. At just 77 minutes, it's a tight, to-the-point psychological exercise, giving Sinatra one of his juiciest roles as the assassin. It's an unexpected character for an actor who always played the hero.In Suddenly, Sinatra portrays John Baron, a psychopathic sniper whose arrival coincides with that of the country's leader, who is stopping by the small town of Suddenly, California for a visit. John's intent is to ambush him and successful exterminate him, with payoff. Finding a perfect safe house in the suburbs, Baron and his men hold the Benson family hostage until they meet the point of no return.The film is a minor work in Sinatra's filmography, but it's also an important one. It shows a performer unafraid to explore low-budget but challenging territories, curious about his abilities and willing to see how far he could go. As Baron, Sinatra is surprisingly formidable, managing to make us forget about his charming past and replace it with unbridled fear. Perhaps Suddenly is too stagy for my taste, but it manages to be taut and pulse-pounding when we least expect it. This isn't a film concerned with deep characterizations or in your face action — it is a film about acting, writing, and directing, and how the three characteristics can take you to places you never thought you would have traveled to before. Read more reviews at petersonreviews.com