A Hole in the Head (1959)

One of my all time favorites.

i must have seen a different film!!

Absolutely the worst movie.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Every single movie played by Sinatra has angry and a bitter taste,he never got to be the character he was yourself all times,slapping a kid who is (really?) love is awful,your music spoil the movie and he's a bad actor!!! The movie show itself when arguing with your brother and also his past friend Keenan Wynn...Capra was trapped by unbelievable plot...the kid was amazing who deserves a better father!!!Sinatra should played a gangster....a mob boss....this is your ground and style...

The story is set in Miami, where down-on-his-luck Tony (Frank Sinatra) is struggling to keep his shabby hotel in the black. He's also got his hands full raising his precocious son Ally (Eddie Hodges) and romancing a free-spirit (Carolyn Jones). His wealthy brother (Edward G. Robinson) agrees to support Tony but in exchange, Ally must come to live with him.This is a wonderful, feel-good comedy/drama with excellent acting all around. Sinatra's Tony is a handsome and cool dreamer who can't seem to catch a break but he's a loving father and has many tender scenes with young Eddie (who mugs a bit too much but is very talented). Robinson and Thelma Ritter as the rich relatives provide a lot of dry, Brooklyn humor and are wonderful as is Eleanor Powell in a small but endearing role.This 1959 movie is a bit dated but still quite enjoyable. I had a smile on my face and a little tear as well. Sweet and wholesome; highly recommended.

Okay, sometimes they get it wrong. Oscar certainly did. They gave the gong to a piece of cheese like High Hopes whilst completely ignoring the gorgeous ballad from the same stable (Jimmy Van Heusen-Sammy Cahn) and the same (this one) movie, namely All My Tomorrows which Sinatra sings over the opening credits. They also got it wrong with the choice of director, Frank Capra. Indisputably a great director in the thirties and forties but out of touch with the modern world. And did they really think that Beatniks were here to stay in 1959. What was a great role and a great performance by Carolyn Jones in 1959 is now embarrassing to watch. Okay, Sinatra's charisma can get him through a role like this standing on his head but his style is totally at odds with Eddie Robinson as his brother-in-law (they would appear in the same film fifteen years later but on that occasion Robinson's cameo was self-contained in the first reel and they never shared a screen). There's very little attempt to 'open out' what began as a stage play and we have to wait almost one hour before Eleanor Parker appears. E for Effort and that's about it.

The 1950s had a number of strong films, and this is one of them. It's not what most people would call a black comedy, but I do. I agree with the previous poster who called this an under-rated gem.First of all, I like Sinatra better as an actor than as a singer; he's also really strong in the original version of the Manchurian Candidate and in The Man With the Golden Arm.This film reminds me a bit of the much more recent "Full Monty," with a middle-aged father who acts like a young adolescent who is essentially being parented by a pre-teen son who has had to grow up too fast. That's what I mean by black comedy; it's a situation that is so sad (and, alas, so common) that you have to laugh to keep from crying. (Another comparison, but not quite as apt, is to "A Thousand Clowns.") Sinatra's character is matched by that of his girlfriend, who says, without a trace of irony to the idea of having a baby, "I'm a baby myself."It wasn't until I came here just now that I realized this was directed by Frank Capra; I should have been able to guess it.Everyone mentions "High Hopes," and rightly so, as a terrific (and award-winning) song. But you gotta love any movie that has a tune about how "The monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga."