The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

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Frank Sinatra stars in Otto Preminger's groundbreaking film which deals with the issue of heroin addiction - a subject matter considered to be shocking in 1955 and one that did not follow the strict Hollywood production code of the time. The film was also the first to use a jazz soundtrack, by the then almost unknown Elmer Bernstein. Sinatra plays a poker dealer with a drugs problem, who is trying to kick the habit and start a new life as a jazz drummer. He wants to earn enough money to find a cure for his wheelchair bound wife, Zosh, but is tempted away from his marital duties by his enigmatic neighbour.

In The Man with the Golden Arm, Frank Sinatra gives a piercing, Academy Award-nominated portrayal many call his best. (The film`s art direction and Elmer Bernstein`s smoky jazz score also earned Oscar nominations.) Pioneering moviemaker Otto Preminger directs this landmark that first defied Production Code taboos against on-screen depictions of drug abuse. A Hatful of Rain, The Panic in Needle Park, Clean and Sober, Drugstore Cowboy, Rush and Blow would offer later portraits of narcotic terror. But it all started with this harrowing, grown-up film.