Marlon Brando Movie:

		List Price: $39.98		Label: MGM (Video & DVD) Salesrank: 13572 Released: July 24, 2007
		Our Price: $15.00
		Used Price: $15.79
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Disc 1: Guys and Dolls WS Disc 2: Hole In The Head WS Disc 3: Kings Go Forth P&S Disc 4: The Manchurian Candidate WS Disc 5: The Pride and Passion WS

Description of Frank Sinatra MGM Movie Legends Collection (The Manchurian Candidate / Guys and Dolls / The Pride and the Passion / A Hole in the Head / Kings Go Forth):
Five Sinatra movies are boxed in this set, culled from his biggest era as movie star. There are no Rat Pack movies here, nor the early croonings of the bobby-soxer's dreamboat, rather a look at how Sinatra chose to spend his most powerful years as a box-office draw. There's just one bona fide classic in the bunch, The Manchurian Candidate, although Guys and Dolls is an awfully fun picture. Not many extra features for this box, although Manchurian Candidate has the good supporting stuff from its regular disc.

1962's Manchurian Candidate, directed by John Frankenheimer from a crackerjack novel by Richard Condon, is simply one of the essential American films of the 1960s, and a gnawing cry of discontent that sounds more clearly with each passing year. Sinatra and Laurence Harvey are ex-Korean War POWs with a shared nightmare, but only Harvey has a purpose: he's a lethal political weapon. Frankenheimer's direction is brilliant, capturing the feel of the early TV age, and the film is blackly, weirdly funny. Sinatra gives maybe his greatest performance, but Angela Lansbury nearly steals the movie as Harvey's mother.

Guys and Dolls (1955) is adapted from one of the finest of Broadway musicals, so you can understand why director Joseph Mankiewicz (All About Eve) fell in love with the Damon Runyon characters and the stylized milieu of sharpies and dames. Sinatra makes perfect sense as Nathan Detroit, and Vivian Blaine repeats her show-stopping stage role as Adelaide, but Mankiewicz perversely cast two non-singers in the leads: Marlon Brando as high-roller Sky Masterson, and Jean Simmons as Salvation Army lass Sarah Brown. Neither is a belter, but they do bring something gentle to their roles. The whole thing is overdone, but the marvelous music holds up.

The Pride and the Passion (1957) puts Sinatra in one of his most embarrassing roles, a Spanish fighter in the age of Napoleon, shepherding a giant cannon with the help of a British military man (Cary Grant). The boys share a mistress, Sophia Loren. This madness was directed by Stanley Kramer, who somehow let Sinatra do a Spanish accent, complete with rolled "r"s. Amazingly, it was one of the ten biggest grossing films of its year.

An even odder curio is Delmer Daves's Kings Go Forth (1958), with Sinatra and Tony Curtis as WWII soldiers competing for the attention of Natalie Wood, who has a secret that will affect the way they see her. It comes from Hollywood's era of "topic" movies, but simply doesn't gain much traction--the only character not Representing Something is Sinatra's tender portrait of a soldier at loose ends.

Finally, Frank Capra's A Hole in the Head (1959) gives Sinatra the kind of lovable rogue part he could knock off without breaking a sweat. He's a Miami widower with a son and some big dreams… you might even call them "high hopes." Yes, that Oscar-winning song comes from this movie, with Frankie and child star Eddie Hodges providing the vocals. If the movie isn't quite a Capra classic (he'd been out of film for a few years before this, and would make only one more feature after it), it fits neatly into the "family film" format. There goes another rubber-tree plant…. --Robert Horton

Frank Sinatra MGM Movie Legends Collection (The Manchurian Candidate / Guys and Dolls / The Pride and the Passion / A Hole in the Head / Kings Go Forth) Reviews:
Sinatra comes in to his own
2008-06-29 - Another great collection. Hole in the Head is probably the weakest. But all in all very enjoyable grouping.

Correction: Yes, They're Musicals!
2008-03-08 - Thierry Guillo "loulou05" is incorrect. I have not seen the other movies in this set (yet), but Guys & Dolls and A Hole in the Head are very much musicals! Frank Sinatra does sing in A Hole in the Head, including the popular "High Hopes." He also sings "All My Tomorrows" in this movie. In Guys & Dolls, Sinatra sings the title song as well as "Adelaide," "Sue Me," and the crap game song in the barbershop. Marlon Brando does a lot of singing in Guys & Dolls, too, and the horse race song sung by the characters Nicely, Benny, and Charlie is so catchy it will stay in your head for days! Movies don't get much more musical than Guys & Dolls! This set looks like a great deal & I plan to try it soon!

Re: Guys And Dolls
2007-09-27 - Thank you for your email, I guess I'm really slow to watch these movies.... since I've only sat down and watched the one ... "Guys and Dolls". The movie brings back memories of going to all the "good" musicals as a kid with my parents. My mom loved movies and kept a diary with her ratings and the main actors since she first went to movies as a kid. So I do want to watch the other 4 Sinatra movies as I get time, however there was one dissapointing feature with the Guys & Dolls CD; the sound was delayed a second or so. Can this be fixed? Thanks, Cliff

A Good Selection Though Disappointing
2007-07-12 - Sinatra has a vast body of filmed works. It is curious how these major stars boxsets are put together.
Manchurian Candidate and Guys & Dolls are great but had been available
in DVD for a long time.
Pride and Passion is not a good film, especially for Sinatra in an embarassing role as a Spaniard.
A Hole in the Head is a gem and joy to watch, by the great Frank Capra.
Kings Go Forth is a soapy war film.

This collection is silly ....
2007-07-07 - As a huge Frank Sinatra fan, I disapointed; So many movies -especially the early musicals- have never been available on Dvd...I was hoping to see a box set one day....Now comes the box set but at my surprise this collection features dvds that we already had....Frank Sinatra was a singer and none of those movies is a musical...I can't believe they missed a great opportinity to release wonderful movies such HIGHER AND HIGHER/ IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN/ THE TENDER TRAP/ THE KISSING BANDIT etc.... Shame on those people who makes those Dvds and just don't care about the fans.