Frank Sinatra is obviously best known for crooning. However, take out several song-and dance set pieces like High Society and Guys And Dolls where he operated on autopilot, and he was a top class actor. He proved as much in From Here To Eternity, The Man With The Golden Arm and The Manchurian Candidate. He was also
perfectly acceptable as the private eye Tony Rome.
The Naked Runner was the only film he made in Britain and somehow got lost - possibly locked in the Tower after unreasonable negative reviews.
In a spy story, Sinatra is lured to East Germany on false pretenses in order to deliver a package. There he discovers he is involved in espionage and locks horns with Darren Nesbitt, a member of state security. There is a scene in a forest where a gun is drawn and cocked by Nesbitt's character before being pointed at Sinatra's head. The close up of Sinatra's face seconds before we, the audience, fear it is to become a death mask, demonstrates how convincing 'Ol Blue Eyes was.
This may not be his best film, but it deserves to be seen by Sinatra fans or lovers of this category.
An underrated work, give it a spin if you get the chance.
February 22, 2010
