When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.
When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.
The film's central conflict revolves around an individual's personal battle with drug addiction, and its championed solution emphasizes self-reliance and willpower, aligning with right-leaning themes of individual responsibility over systemic or societal interventions.
The film features a predominantly white cast, reflecting the typical casting norms of its era without any explicit efforts towards diverse representation. Its narrative focuses on the personal struggles of a white male protagonist, without engaging in critiques of traditional identities or incorporating explicit DEI themes.
The Man with the Golden Arm does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The narrative is entirely centered on the heterosexual protagonist's battle with heroin addiction and his relationships, rendering the LGBTQ+ portrayal N/A.
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
The 1955 film "The Man with the Golden Arm" is an adaptation of Nelson Algren's 1949 novel. All significant characters, including Frankie Machine, Zosch Machine, and Molly Novotny, retain their original genders from the source material in the film adaptation.
The film is an adaptation of Nelson Algren's novel, depicting characters within a Polish-American community. The on-screen portrayals of major characters by white actors align with the implied or explicit racial background from the source material. No character's race was changed from the original canon.
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