A Hole in the Head (1959)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Capra's "A Hole in the Head" tells the story of "kiwi" Tony Manetta and his son. Tony has potential but as "kiwi" he is unable to fly - which means he can't live his dreams and fails. Of course there is another thing that is more important after all... It's not just subjective to say that Frank Capra is one of the most important Hollywood directors of all time. He is one essential brick for château Hollywood. While watching his "A Hole in the Head" what came to my mind was that probably every excellent director career has at least one movie which somehow doesn't work out even though they try hard to be good - think about Coppola's "Cotton Club", Hitchcock's "Under Capricorn", Huston's "Casino Royal" and in my point of view "A Hole in the Head" is another addition to the long list. For my taste this picture itself is some sort of "kiwi". It holds several great moments but it's never becoming a great whole. I think the plot fails to live a duality of comedy and drama and the end is abrupt and sudden as if the director suddenly lost interest...So on the whole "A Hole in the Head" indeed has some good moments and it's no weak movie. Only it never achieves the certain greatness Capra is capable of...

this movie is clearly a forgotten classic film with a great cast. Primarily shot on location with some scenes obviously shot on sound stages in Los Angeles. Over all a great movie. Gloria Estefan's Cardozo Hotel was used at Sinatra's Garden of Eden. That hotel was also used in There's Something About Mary. The Fountainebleu also provided a great location shot in 2 scenes. I did notice in one beach scene that was to take place in Miami Beach, in the background was Catalina Island, which is in Los Angeles. There is also a tribute web-site for this movie that features original memorabilia like lobby cards, still shots, information about the Broadway play and other cool things.

The memory plays strange tricks.Movie fans in 1959 described Carolyn Jones as "hip",a beatnik,and - was it "wacky"?I truly hate that word.Together with "kookie"(she was called that too)it smacks of Rat Pack smugness and closet misogyny.Anything or anybody remotely off-centre could be referred to as "wacky"(accompanied with a wiseass grin)with it's inference of slight contempt for things that deviated from the accepted norm. I have a nagging fear that I might be misremembering the time when that most irritating word came into general use by a few years,but any number of other adjectives meaning "strange"will do to describe her various screen personas.To admit to liking Miss Jones was in itself "Wacky/Kookie" because she was by no means the average young up and coming movie girl in the 1950s.She capitalised on her distinctly unaverage appearance,and I would imagine many better-known actors were wary of sharing the screen with her because she could certainly grab your attention.When I think of "A hole in the head",hers is the image that defines the film for me,not Mr.Sinatra,Mr Robinson,Miss Ritter or even Mr Keenan Wynn in a very showy part indeed. It is not a typical Sinatra vehicle;he plays a not particularly sympathetic single father who owns a run-down hotel in Miami.No playboy lifestyle here,"broads" wall-to-wall and "ring-a-ding-ding" all night. He looks careworn,battered by life.This is the only film I've ever seen him in where I could actually believe he had an existence when he wasn't on-screen.When he does eventually get to sing,it's not the usual Hollywood mush but the defiant "High Hopes",deservedly an Oscar winner and he is very nearly outshone by little Eddie Hodges who plays his son. Mr Robinson and Miss Ritter ,possibly responding to the hand of Frank Capra,give performances far beyond the call of duty,investing their roles with real humanity.Miss Eleanor Parker - previously seen with Mr Sinatra in "The man with the golden arm" - is equally impressive. Miss Carolyn Jones steals the film with her usual adroitness and the great Mr B.S. Pulley appears as a gangster,a role he is clearly comfortable with. Mr Keenan Wynn is very exuberant as Mr Sinatra's old army buddy. All children are of course born actors and there are no accepted criteria for their performances to be judged against in any meaningful way.Eddie Hodges ,fortunately not terminally cute,projects well and seems to have a rapport with his screen father. "A hole in the head "was popular in the U.K. on its first release then was promptly forgotten.My personal feeling is that it is long overdue for reassessment.Mr Frank Capra directed many better-known films in a distinguished career,but this one deserves recognition as a major example of his work,a worthy addition to his oeuvre.

Adaptation of Arnold Schulman's play about feckless Miami Beach widower with a young son who needs a fast loan to save his ramshackle hotel, considering the idea of marrying into money with a shy (but beautiful) young widow. Slick, but not very moving comedy-drama won an Oscar for the memorable tune "High Hopes", but--with Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, and Eleanor Parker in the cast--it should have been much better. The youngster is played by sharp, yet Hollywood-smart Eddie Hodges, who is decent with the kind of lines concocted for him. Frank Capra directed, weakly. Some good scenes, but it runs too long and has too few jokes. **1/2 from ****