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Suddenly

Suddenly

Crime · Thriller · 1954

The tranquility of a small town is marred only by sheriff Tod Shaw's unsuccessful courtship of widow Ellen Benson, a pacifist who can't abide guns and those who use them. But violence descends on Ellen's household willy-nilly when the U.S. President passes through town... and slightly psycho hired assassin John Baron finds the Benson home ideal for an ambush.

Movie details

Suddenly

“A cold-blooded thriller!”

1954 Crime · Thriller 1h 17m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.8 / 10

7.6K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

100 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

The tranquility of a small town is marred only by sheriff Tod Shaw's unsuccessful courtship of widow Ellen Benson, a pacifist who can't abide guns and those who use them. But violence descends on Ellen's household willy-nilly when the U.S. President passes through town... and slightly psycho hired assassin John Baron finds the Benson home ideal for an ambush.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Suddenly?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Criss Cross

Criss Cross

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Crime Wave

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Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter. The other two former cellmates then attempt to force him into doing a bank job.

Executive Action

Executive Action

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Rogue intelligence agents, right-wing politicians, greedy capitalists, and free-lance assassins plot and carry out the JFK assassination in this speculative agitprop.

The Mechanic

The Mechanic

Action · 1972

Arthur Bishop is a veteran hit man who, owing to his penchant for making his targets' deaths seem like accidents, thinks himself an artist. It's made him very rich, but as he hits middle age, he's so depressed and lonely that he takes on one of his victim's sons, Steve McKenna, as his apprentice. Arthur puts him through a rigorous training period and brings him on several hits. As Steven improves, Arthur worries that he'll discover who killed his father.

Foreign Correspondent

Foreign Correspondent

Thriller · 1940

American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the imminent war. When he walks into the middle of an assassination and stumbles on a spy ring, he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s daughter and an urbane English journalist to uncover the truth.

Nick of Time

Nick of Time

Thriller · 1995

An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.

The Day of the Jackal

The Day of the Jackal

Action · 1973

An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin’s trail.

The Sentinel

The Sentinel

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Veteran Secret Service agent Pete Garrison investigates a colleague's murder and is subsequently framed as a mole in an assassination attempt on the President due to the machinations of a blackmailer who knows the secret he is hiding. Disgraced, dismissed, and now a fugitive with two relentless federal investigators hot on his heels, Garrison must both clear his name and save the president from assassination.

The Amateur

The Amateur

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After his life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant but introverted CIA decoder takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors refuse to take action.

Killer's Kiss

Killer's Kiss

Thriller · 1955

Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Lewis Allen

Written by

Richard Sale

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

John Baron

Sterling Hayden

Sterling Hayden

Sheriff Tod Shaw

James Gleason

James Gleason

Peter 'Pop' Benson

Nancy Gates

Nancy Gates

Ellen Benson

Kim Charney

Kim Charney

Peter 'Pidge' Benson III

Willis Bouchey

Willis Bouchey

Secret Service Detail Chief Dan Carney

Paul Frees

Paul Frees

Benny Conklin

Court is in session

Put Suddenly on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Restraint trusts the audience.”

It leaves emotional space unlabelled, trusting viewers to notice what the characters cannot say aloud.

The prosecution The Sentimental Softie

“Distance mistaken for discipline.”

The chill may look elegant, but withholding a heartbeat is not the same as having complicated feelings.