Meet Danny Wilson *** (1952, Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters, Alex Nicol, Raymond Burr) – Classic Movie Review 9914

Director Joseph Pevney’s 1952 film Meet Danny Wilson stars Frank Sinatra as Danny Wilson, a singer (what else!) who rises to the top of his profession, but gets mixed with racketeering hoods and is threatened by a gangster. Assuming you are a Sinatra fan, this is a pleasing musical drama with strong performances and stupendous old songs.

The songs include ‘All of Me’, ‘How Deep Is the Ocean?’, ‘When You’re Smiling’, ‘All of Me’, ‘She’s Funny That Way’, ‘I’ve Got a Crush on You’, and ‘That Old Black Magic’.

Other than Sinatra, these songs are the movie’s main recommendations, though Shelley Winters, as a nightclub songbird called Joy Carroll, is vivacious and, unexpectedly, in good voice (catch her sing ‘A Good Man Is Hard To Find’ with Sinatra), while Raymond Burr is classy as the gangster hoodlum heavy, Nick Driscoll alias Joe Martell. Alex Nicol co-stars as Danny Wilson’s easy-going pianist buddy Mike Ryan.

Look out for an uncredited cameo guest appearance by Tony Curtis as himself ‘Nightclub Patron’ and by Jeff Chandler also as himself ‘Nightclub Patron’.

The story and screenplay are by Don McGuire.

Also in the cast are Raymond Burr, Tommy Farrell, Vaughn Taylor, Donald MacBride, Barbara Knudsen, Carl Sklover, Jack Kruschen, Tom Dugan, Pat Flaherty and George Eldredge.

The film gave its title to Scottish pop group Danny Wilson, best known for its 1988 UK number three hit single ‘Mary’s Prayer’. Gary Clark, Ged Grimes and Kit Clark had initially called their band Spencer Tracy, but were obliged to change its name after the estate of the late actor Spencer Tracy threaten to sue, so they had to come with a new name fast. The film was a favourite of Gary Clark and his brother Kit Clark’s father. The band’s debut album was called Meet Danny Wilson.

Allegedly, Winters and Sinatra hated each other, engaging in a contentious feud, and at one point Winters slugged Sinatra in a fit of anger, though he did not retaliate.

A troubled, already skinny Sinatra began to lose more weight and Winters worried that she was looking increasingly bulky. Sinatra was suffering from a painful divorce, a career slump, money issues and a volatile marriage to Ava Gardner.

Meet Danny Wilson is directed by Joseph Pevney, runs 88 minutes, is made by Universal International Pictures, is released by Universal Pictures (1952) (US) and General Film Distributors (1952) (UK), is written by Don McGuire (story and screenplay), is shot in black and white by Maury Gertsman, is produced by Leonard Goldstein, is scored by Joseph Gershenson, and is designed by Bernard Herzbrun.

It was released by Eureka Entertainment in 2009 in the UK on DVD.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9914

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