Comment from a former heroin-addict.

Hi

Just wanted to comment on the movie, as I'm a former heroin-addict myself. Even though I'm from Denmark, it's still the same thing, heroin-abuse and its consequences are universal.

I just watched The Man With the Golden Arm today for the first time. I was surprised how accurately Preminger portrayed addiction. Just little things like Darren McGavin's character Louie telling Frankie that he knows he feels bad about thinking of heroin, when he's just swore he'd never touch it again. That inner-feeling of defeat is dead-accurate. The look on Frankie's face in prison when the junkie reminds of heroin. Or how Frankie begs and pleads with Kim Novak's character Molly to lend him 10$... just 5$... 3$ or 2$ will do it. It tears him up inside, but the most important thing is heroin. Self-respect is second. Also when the police-man tells Sparrow that Frankie'd throw a steamroller on him for a fix. Very true! I came to think, there wasn't one friend I'd have put above heroin in my active period if I had to chose. I also noticed Sinatra's eyes getting small after injecting. Nice touch.

There are some unrealistic elements in the movie too, of course. Frank Sinatra's craving in Novak's bedroom is over-the-top. It's not a physical pain that hurts like getting hit. It's sweat and cold at the same, cramps, extreme tiredness, hunger with no appetite, constipation, and a feber-like feeling. The Sparrow character is also very cartoonish, but he doesn't really have anything to do with the addiction. Also I've never met ONE junkie who could hang around a pusher (in the bar) for that long, without falling back to heroin.

My post's kind of a mess, but you get the point. I think the movie is spot on, especially for its time.

My YMDb Top-20 Movies List: http://www.shompy.com/ulrikone/l37847_ukuk.html