[MMM]

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Based on the novel "The Ballad of Dingus Magee" by David Markson
Producer and Director: Burt Kennedy
Screenplay: Tom Waldman, Frank Waldman, & Joseph Heller
Music: Jeff Alexander
Director of Photography: Harry Stradling, Jr.

Cast
Frank Sinatra: Dingus Magee
George Kennedy: Hoke Birdsill
Anne Jackson: Belle Knops
Lois Nettleton: Prudence Frost
Jack Elam: John Wesley Hardin
Michele Carey: Anna Hotwater

(Notes transcribed from Nancy Sinatra's "Frank Sinatra: An American Legend")

sinatra's comical ability is strong which help's this movie for me to be lots of fun to watch. thanks, joe....

Just finished this video, and really enjoyed it! Francis was a hoot - quite the commedian, and very adorable in an unkept sort of way!

Interesting info from Robert Osborn prior to the film on TCM, Mr. S. had been offered the role in "Dirty Harry" but selected Magee instead. Would have been interesting to see how he would have handled that role versus Clint Eastwood! He also wasn't very happy w/MGM due to the changes since he had previously worked on the lot.

This was the last movie Mr. S. made prior to his brief retirement, received very bad reviews, but reviewers are in the most cases always wrong!

It was cute, and worth seeing if you can rent it or find it! It really shows what a versatile actor Mr. Sinatra really was! As I have always said, he was a chamelon!

Hi Lux, I couldn't agree more with you, i think Sinatra was one very versatile performer....he did a good job in the western films he made....I enjoyed "The Kissing Bandit", 4 for Texas, and Dirty Dingus MaGee...Sinatra had a flair with comedy.....I wonder if the other two westerners he made, one on the lightside [Sgt.s 3] or one serious role [Johnny C.] will someday be available, i would hope so.... Joe....

I think I have Seargents Three taped but Johnny Concho doesn't seem to be ever shown on AMC or TCM. Wonder why? I'm going to do a search for it and see if it's not available at half.com Now that you mentioned it, must have it to add to the "western saga" of Francis Albert!



Lux

The "unkept Frank",Lux? I think I could learn to love it!

Hannah

[Franco]

Yesterday evening I enjoyed this movie (the only reason for enjoy it is the Frank presence). I would like to know why our Man decided to do it....bad story, cast inexistent, direction absolutely crazy (only the old George Kennedy is worth of mention) .
A movie produced for fun ...but how could you lough at it ? I cried for Frank, instead . (I had a strange dream two night ago..I was with him, asking for an autograph,,he was much much older than his last 82. He was very gentle with me and then I hug him as he was my grand father...telling him I love him and crying...I'am going out of my head?.)
Frank was obviously not needing the cash at the time of this one.
Probably , as stated by Nancy , he was trying to unwind after his father died

The Kissing Bandit is a great piece of art, compared to this one.

It has been suggested (if I recall that correctly, by Nancy herself) that Sinatra somewhat wanted to make a not-so-serious fun movie to "get away from" (so to speak) the grief over his father's death in early 1969. Wouldn't sound unlogical. Also, while "Dingus" was still in the works, Sinatra was already planning his next film, which should have been "Dirty Harry" and thus quite a serious project. (He later had to cancel doing Harry because of his necessary hand surgery, so eventually Eastwood got the part).

Bernhard.

[Thorsten]

I've been watching this film last year - it was the first and the last time!
"Dirty Dingus Magee" ist the most absurd movie I've ever seen, Sinatra dressed in pink underwear

That's overkill!

I'm so-so about that movie.

[Edwin]

Dumb movie, waste of his talent, a misfire. .Jack Elam has a nice cameo but that cannot redeem it. A bomb that deserved to be the failure it was. A short time later Frank Sinatra bgan his brief retirement.

Maybe it looked better on paper. I'm sure he had his reasons for making it, but not a great choice.

Ed Spiegel

[Nancy]

Dad changed his mind about Dirty Harry because he felt it was too violent.

Originally posted by bvo35
(He later had to cancel doing Harry because of his necessary hand surgery, so eventually Eastwood got the part).

Bernhard.

Would this be a result of the injury he sustained during the fight scene in "The Manchurian Candidate", or is it another one I'm not aware of?

For those of us with Comcast as our cable provider and service that offers us the "MOJO" network: "Dirty Dingus Magee" will be screened Saturday morning 05/26/07 at 2:30am and 7:00am.


Sleep Warm

[firefly]

It is just too funny.

Originally Posted by Bennet Marco

Would this be a result of the injury he sustained during the fight scene in "The Manchurian Candidate", or is it another one I'm not aware of?

Certainly not. That took place eight years before!

Originally Posted by Nancy

Dad changed his mind about Dirty Harry because he felt it was too violent.

Wow, Nancy, thanks for sharing the real story with us! The official version states his injury as the reason for not doing the film, but apparently everyone got it wrong. Or maybe the injury came as a blessing in disguise to your father, who then had a very good reason to turn down the part without a breach of contract... I'm glad he didn't do Harry, which indeed was too violent a character for your dad. I have a feeling the cop in Contract on Cherry Street was the closest to your dad's personality.

I really wonder what Frank could have done with the Dirty Harry character. The film, however, would have been quite different not only without Clint in the lead role, but under the direction of Irvin Kershner, not Don Siegel.

"Too violent" ... For Frank at the time, or just in general? Frank would also have been playing a detective for the fourth time in as many years and if it wasn't quite as gritty as Dirty Harry, The Detective pulled few punches. That Bullit and Dirty Harry supeseded it somewhat is quite a pity and I do wish that Frank had acted in more films during the '70s because he had so much to offer as an actor.

Contract on Cherry St. was ace, though. It NEEDS a DVD release badly!!!

[rich]

Frank's orange PJ's make the movie...haha

[Gregory]

Not Sinatra's finest hour but it's fun to watch at least once. I wonder if it will be out on DVD soon.