Check Out the Trailer

This quick thriller is a curious product of its day and age. The sleepy town of Suddenly, California is getting an unexpected visitor on the train — the President of United States. Sheriff Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden, DR. STRANGELOVE) teams with chief secret service agent Dan Carney (Willis Bouchey, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF!) to secure the town for the President’s arrival.

Before this, we learn that Shaw has been courting the pretty widow Ellen Benson (Nancy Gates), who has a young son nicknamed Pidge (Kim Charney, HOW THE WEST WAS WON). Her husband died in WWII and she has a tough time dealing with Tod’s stance on guns and violence. Moreover, her father Pop (James Gleason, 1947’s THE BISHOP’S WIFE) is a former secret service man and lectures her on patriotism. Claiming to be an FBI agent, John Baron (Frank Sinatra, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY) shows up at the Benson home, taking the family hostage. He’s being paid to assassinate the President.

The 1950s moralizing about family, church and necessary violence carried out by the “good guys” is presented in a very heavy-handed way. The awe-shucks tone of the being of the film is straight up LEAVE IT TO BEAVER. The prologue wrongly tries to recapture this as well. However, the middle section, especially the bloody climax, is really solid.

This is mainly due to a great performance by Sinatra as an unhinged ex-soldier who “loves killing more than he loves women.” Baron is a complex and layered character in comparison to the good ole heroes in the film. Ellen has the biggest arch in the film, but her transformation is so abrupt that it doesn’t feel natural and more a product of the film’s agenda.

Nonetheless, the film compels and fascinates because it presents a devious villain placed against the morals of the 1950s. The violent conclusion doesn’t pull punches either, which was really surprising. The clumsy attempt at a moral dates the film, however Sinatra’s “I’m gonna make them respect me” bad guy is timeless. It’s an interesting, entertaining thriller that proves that Ol’ Blue Eye was as fine an actor as he was a singer.