( mild spoiler ) frankie machine have be dealt a bad hand in life . a card dealer at an illegal gamble den in his chicago neighborhood he be bust when the joint be raid by the cop and give six month in jail . while behind bar frankie be treat for his heroin addiction at the prison hospital and learn how to play the drum a part of his rehabilitation program . now out of prison and back in his old neighborhood frankie be try to put his life back together by get a union card in the musician union and then a job a a drummer in a band and put his old life behind him but instead it catch up with frankie in no time at all in the man with the golden arm . otto preminger ground break 1955 film about heroin addiction with frank sinatra give the performance of his life a the drug addict card sharp frankie machine and the man with the golden arm . frankie try to getaway from the life that he lead but have this monkey or and good yet and gorilla on his back that just would not let him . soild performance by the entire supporting cast start with frankie friend sparrow and arnold stang . sparrows attempt to get frankie back on his foot by shoplift a suit of clothes for him end up put him and frankie in the slammer and and almost back to prison and until his former bos at the gamble den schwiefka bail him out . there frankie psychically as well a emotionally cripple wife zosch and eleanor parker and who see that her hold on frankie be slip and be slowly drive to madness murder and suicide . there frankie drug dealer louie and with darren mcgavin in one of his first acting role and who hold on frankie be only good as long a he stay addict and louie go out of his way to make sure that he do . there the owner of the gamble joint that frankie work at a it top card dealer schwiefka and robert strauss and who like louie go out of his way to get frankie back to work for him even though if he arrest again frankie hope for a new and good life will go down the drain . and then there frankie next door neighbor and friend molly and kim novak and who go to almost impossible length to get him over his addiction by lock him up in her apartment . it there that he go cold turkey and almost end up die try to kick the habit in one of the most harrowing sequence ever put on film . a no hold bar movie with explosive performance by everyone involve make the man with the golden arm one of the great classic of realism in motion picture come out of the 1950 .