SUDDENLY: a Frank Sinatra podcast

The world has lost the legendary Bobby Caldwell. More than just a futuristic and soulful singer/songwriter, he was also the greatest Sinatra interpreter of his era. This week, we pay tribute to his life - from the strange original songs that made him a superstar in Japan during the City Pop era, to his stunning Sinatra-inspired recordings and the legacy he left for subsequent generations in hip-hop, vaporwave and neo-soul. Since the recording of this episode, Mary Caldwell has shared the details of what happened to Bobby in a recent interview. She asks that as many people read and share it as possible.

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Where does the visual motif of "leaning on a lamp post" come from? Since at least 1840, it was associated with drunkenness, sleaze and criminality. At some point in the mid-20th century, it became a symbol of sophistication, nonchalance and cool. How did this happen? All evidence seems to point to the cover of Frank Sinatra's 1953 album, SONGS FOR YOUNG LOVERS, as turning the tide. This week, a deep dive on two centuries of lamp post leaning, and Sinatra's place in it as the man who fused the drunk loner with the cool guy. Photo gallery for this episode here.

CORRECTIONS (to be mentioned in ep. 27)

• "Apache", a French term meaning hooligan, criminal etc, is pronounced "apasch" and not like the Native American designation "Apache" - I assumed these were two different things, and they are, but didn't know they were pronounced differently - apologies to Native American listeners!
• Christine and the Queens is now using he/him pronouns as of mid-2022 - this is on me for not keeping up with his career for a while. Apologies and GOOD FOR HIM!

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To a modern Australian audience, Sinatra's shockingly violent noir film SUDDENLY (1954) now seems like an obvious cautionary tale: Guns are bad for society, they drive you mad with power, and kids should be kept away from them. But 1950s American audiences took home the exact opposite message: that guns keep your home safe, everyone should own them and kids should get used to them as early in life as possible. How can this be the same movie?

This week, we're looking at gun culture in the US and Australia, the history of political assassinations and mass shootings, and asking the question: when life comes at you fast, and a bad man has a gun, can you keep up?

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The Mau Mau Rebellion of 1952 saw the Kenyan Land and Freedom Army (KLFA) take up arms against the British Empire's occupation of their land. The struggle for decolonisation was bloody and protracted, with many of the KLFA ending up tortured by British soldiers in cruel labor camps. A film crew from Pathé arrived from London to film staged propaganda newsreels on Kenyan streets, depicting the Mau Mau as terrorists and white civillians as the real victims. Enter Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra. In the midst of this uprising, they land in Nairobi with an entourage of 600 and under heavy armed guard. They are issued a weapon each. Ava is there to make a film, Mogambo. MGM's publicity for the film refers to the African continent as "the white man's graveyard." Sinatra, at a low point in his career, is just tagging along for the ride. He spends most of the trip distracted, anxiously reading his copy of James Jones' novel, From Here to Eternity, over and over. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) - a boring film based on a bad novel. Why was it such a hit? Does it deserve to be thought of as the turning point of Sinatra's life? And what really happened in Kenya?

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In 1987, the Scottish band Danny Wilson released their debut album, Meet Danny Wilson. The name came from an old movie that band members Gary and Kit Clark had never actually seen. They knew Frank Sinatra was in it. Their father had seen it once and had complained he'd never been able to find it again. He wasn't alone. MEET DANNY WILSON (1952) borders on "lost film" status, rarely seen and mostly unavailable even today.

Audiences and critics passed on it. Sinatra biographers consider it a footnote at best. Watching it now, this seems inexplicable. Sinatra arrives on camera having ditched his MGM persona entirely, singing classic after classic with a newfound confidence and swagger that would stay with him for the rest of his career - and here, seems to have somehow possessed him overnight.

How did all this happen? Why did the film disappear? And what if the story of Sinatra's 1950s comeback isn't what we think it is?

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Howard Hughes named DOUBLE DYNAMITE (1951) after Jane Russell's breasts - and the city of Brisbane was obsessed with them. This week, the lost stories of Fr. Kiley, the Catholic priest who tried to ban a Jane Russell film from the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo, and Shirley Vercoe, the woman who became known as "Brisbane's Jane Russell." On theme with the exploitation and harassment of large-breasted women in Hollywood, we also watched Soleil Moon Frye's stunning found-footage documentary KID 90 (2021). Plus, special tributes to the memory of Mira Bellwether and Lisa-Marie Presley - and we announce a new member of the SUDDENLY team.

CONTACT: SUDDENLYPOD AT GMAIL DOT COM @SUDDENLYPOD on TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / MYSPACE Donate to the show @ ko-fi.com/suddenlypod

During the 2022 Christmas break, we went over to TCBCast and embarked on an epic four-part, six-hour deep-dive into Elvis Presley's CLAMBAKE (1967). Here's a special preview of Part 1. The rest can be heard on the TCBCast feed (episodes 246A-B, 247A-B). This was a really special experience and if you're into our regular episodes, you'll definitely get a kick out of it. Hope y'all are enjoying the holidays. SUDDENLY will return in early 2023.

It's our final episode of 2022 and we're joined by Henry Giardina, Los Angeles-based film critic and co-host of Totally Trans Podcast, who discovered our show by chance while fending off an airport anxiety attack. This week the 1940s draw to a close with ON THE TOWN (1949), the most iconic and memorable of the three Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra musicals. We're in more than capable hands as Henry takes us on a three-and-a-half hour deep dive into the film, the original stage musical, his childhood affinity with "the other guy" Jules Munshin and the gender politics and social climate of the postwar era. Henry also teaches us about PTSD among returned WWII servicemen and introduces us to two underrated and rarely-seen Gene Kelly films on the topic, COMBAT FATIGUE IRRITABILITY (1945) and IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER (1955). Then, things come full circle and become surprisingly psychedelic. Strap in for this one; with the help of an incredible guest, we're finishing Season 1 and saying goodbye to the 1940s in a big way.

It was an absolute pleasure to have Henry on the show. We highly recommend listening to his podcast, Totally Trans: Searching for the Trans Canon, and subscribing to his Substack.

Get in touch with us: Twitter (for now?) / Instagram - @suddenlypod Email: suddenlypod at gmail dot com

What happens when a brand mascot transitions? Cracker Jack - one of the original junk foods, and a brand that has been part of American culture since the late 19th century, most famously in the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" - became Cracker Jill earlier in 2022. This week we're watching the awkward middle child of the Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra MGM musicals, TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME (1949). We dig into the awkward racial & gender politics of the film, then improvise our own Australian version of Cracker Jack and eat it live on the show as we dig into the Cracker Jill scandal and what we can learn from it.

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History forgot to record that Sinatra's first acting role was inherited from a sea lion. Both stage & film versions of HIGHER AND HIGHER (1944) were poorly reviewed as a whole but succeeded anyway on the back of raves about a single performer, who, despite being tacked on to the haphazard plot at the last minute, stole the show with his unique talent. In the film version, Sinatra. In the original stage production, a sea lion named Sharkey.

And their overlap did not end there. In many ways, Sinatra and Sharkey lived parallel lives. They played many of the same venues, from Steel Pier and Madison Square Garden to Radio City Music Hall. They came of age in the same era and ran in the same circles. They were both considered the best in their fields and both covered songs popularised by Bing Crosby. Both of them worked with Ella Fitzgerald. This week, we're joined by Gary Bohan Jr, author of a new book on Sharkey's surreal career. Gary is the great-grandson of Mark Huling, Sharkey's original trainer from Seal College in Kingston, New York. Six years of dedicated archival research went into Gary's book, published just months ago - a true labor of love, and a delightful, unpredictable read. Far from a dark story of animal exploitation, Sharkey emerges from history as a true performer who was dedicated to his craft and deeply loved performing. (He is not actually smoking in the episode photo.) Gary Bohan Jr's SHARKEY: WHEN SEA LIONS WERE STARS OF SHOW BUSINESS (1907-1958), is out now and comes highly recommended by this podcast. Order it from your local bookstore or buy it from the publisher, SUNY Press, here. Follow Gary Bohan Jr: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Watch a 90-minute talk on Sharkey he gave for the Hurley Heritage Society on YouTube here. Follow the show: on Twitter and Instagram @suddenlypod or get in touch by email - suddenlypod at gmail dot com.