Little White Lies magazine

Based on the novel by James Jones and famously referenced in Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Mépris, Vincente Minnelli’s love-triangle melodrama Some Came Running depicts the contradictory social forces shaping a small American town in the late ’40s. It tells the story of Dave Hirsh, an ex-serviceman/writer who, with an unpublished novel under his arm, is sent back against his will to his narrow-minded hometown in Indiana. Set in 1948 the film stars troublemaking Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, not to mention gorgeous debutante Shirley MacLaine, aflame with youthful energy. Elevated to classic status since its original release in 1958, the film boasts a histrionic Technicolor that seems about to ignite at any moment, splattering its characters’ emotions all over the screen.