(Frank Capra's) A Hole in the Head (1959) is about a similarly desperate dreamer at an impasse. Played by Frank Sinatra, this dreamer maybe isn't all that far removed from Capra himself. It was Capra's first feature in eight years, and the once unimpeachable filmmaker was openly bitter about his long, steady fall from critical and popular grace. A Hole in the Head is adult, dark and serious in some respects, but it also wants to be a warm, sentimental crowd-pleaser. And, like Sinatra's character in the film, it tries way too hard. It's not a bad movie overall; like most of Capra's postwar movies there are nice little moments sprinkled throughout. But, overall, it's a dissatisfying, even depressing movie-watching experience.

Olive Films' new Blu-ray, licensed from MGM (inheritors of most of the United Artists library, A Hole in the Head's original distributor), shows a lot of minor damage: scratches, even a colossal hair in the film gate at one point, but mostly it's a decent transfer. Indeed, it's the first decent home video transfer the film has ever had.

Widower, single father, and Bronx native Tony Manetta (Sinatra) manages a small hotel, "The Garden of Eden," in Miami. Unable to complete with more glamorous hotels nearby, Tony has to raise $5,000 or face eviction. He loves his adoring 11-year-old son, Ally (Eddie Hodges) but is torn between his responsibilities as a father and the temptation to chuck it all for his free-spirited girlfriend, beatnik Shirl (Carolyn Jones, unusually sexy).

Tony believes he's within a hairsbreadth of striking it rich. His crazy scheme? To build a Disneyland, in Florida.

That five grand being the immediate problem, Tony calls his wealthy older brother, Mario (Edward G. Robinson), implying that Ally is sick. Mario and his wife, Sophie (Thelma Ritter), are weary and all too aware of Tony's perennial insolvency and highly critical of his child rearing. Nonetheless, concerned Ally might really be sick, they fly down to Florida from New York.

At this point, A Hole in the Head becomes rather interesting. Adapted by Arnold Schulman from his play, the movie takes on the air of a theatrical production, with that same kind of fresh immediacy of a live performance. Things get serious when Sophie gently but firmly tries to persuade Tony into letting Ally come live with them instead. Mario, holding all the cards, criticizes Tony mercilessly. Shirl relentlessly pressures Tony to run off with her even if it means abandoning his son.

Sinatra and especially Robinson are very good in these scenes. Robinson's big brother, with Mario more like a father to Tony, isn't overbearing so much as pleading with Tony to come to his senses. He wants Tony to buckle down and learn to be a responsible, stable parent, even if it means never getting rich and surrendering grandiose dreams that ain't ever gonna happen. Mario repeatedly calls Tony "a bum," but when the chips are down reveals in a heartfelt scene just how much he loves his kid brother, for all his faults. Sophie isn't trying to snatch Ally from Tony's arms, and she recognizes that removing Ally from Tony's universe might not be such a great idea either. Her concern for the boy is sincere. Shirl's attempts to lure Tony away are unquestionably selfish, but she sees no other path to happiness and personal fulfillment.

Also good are Tony's last-ditch attempts at swinging that Florida Disneyland deal. (Is it possible that Tony's idea actually inspired Walt to develop Disneyworld there a few years later? Disney was thinking of building a second park as early as 1959, but didn't survey Florida land until 1963.) Tony approaches an old pal, wildly successful hotel promoter Jerry Marks (Keenan Wynn), but as Tony's desperation begins to reveal itself, Jerry gives Tony the brush in a squirmily uncomfortable scene that's like something out of Scorsese's The King of Comedy.

Another mostly-good sequence is a blind date set up by Sophie with lonely widower Eloise Rogers (Eleanor Parker). Tony goes along with the idea, solely in the belief that if he reports back with news of a promising relationship Mario will front him the five grand. But in visiting Eloise's cramped apartment, filled, apparently, with mementos of a once-happy family before losing her husband and son in a drowning accident, Tony is too nice a guy to treat her so callously.

Unfortunately, sticky and unconvincing sentiment seeps into A Hole in the Head at every corner. The father-son relationship is never convincing. Ally never resents his father's irresponsible actions, nor does he worry about their future together, beyond the possibility that Mario and Sophie might take him away. Hodges, the Broadway Winthrop Paroo in The Music Man (he strongly resembles, Ronnie Howard, who played Winthrop in the film version*), is a decent enough child performer, but he and Sinatra never even seem distantly related. DVD Savant, in his review, rightly pegs him "the perfect All-American Eisenhower-era kid." This unreality is compounded by the concession to Sinatra's popularity as a singer; onscreen the pair performs the Oscar-winning song "High Hopes." It's delightful in its own way, partly because, unusually, it's performed live (instead of to prerecorded playback) but also takes viewers right out of the drama. Far better and more apt is the superb Sammy Cahn-Jimmy Van Heusen song "All My Tomorrows," sung by Sinatra under the main titles. ("Today I may not have a thing at all except for just a dream or two; But I've got lots of plans for tomorrow and all my tomorrows belong to you.")

The movie seems to be heading for a depressing but realistic ending when Capra jerks away literally at the last minute for a more conventional, crowd-pleasing but absurdly unbelievable one that strikes like a fatal arrow. Arguably, the movie still ends in total surrender and defeat.

Video & Audio

Filmed in Panavision, A Hole in the Head looks good for the first time ever on home video. The film elements sourced are far from perfect, with too many negative scratches and other imperfections, and even a big hair in the film gate in one scene, but it's also film-like with its light grain appearance. Capra and his cameraman use the 2.35:1 widescreen format well, blocking characters at the extreme edges of the wide frame, and the Miami locations are vividly photographed. The mono audio, not supported by alternate audio or subtitle options, is okay. No Extra Features.

Parting Thoughts

Compelling with moments of truth outweighed by others aspects simply not credible, A Hole in the Head is alternately impressive and frustrating, but still a worthwhile viewing experience. Recommended.

* Hodges, or rather another child actor playing Hodges, turns up in The Right Stuff (1983), in a recreation of Hodges's game show TV appearance with future Mercury astronaut John Glenn.

Stuart Galbraith IV is the Kyoto-based film historian and publisher-editor of World Cinema Paradise. His credits include film history books, DVD and Blu-ray audio commentaries and special features.