While he was a highly prolific director, one can separate Vincente Minnelli’s work into some major groups, classifying nearly all of his efforts under one of the few categories in which he mostly thrived. Some of his most cherished work falls under the grouping of his melodramas, with many of the films that made him such a beloved filmmaker being made during an era when this form was at its peak. Its also a group that I have notoriously had trouble with, finding several of his more notable melodramas to be works that are effective and often very touching, but also occasionally bloated and vacant from emotion where it matters the most. This isn’t necessarily the case for Some Came Running, certainly one of his most valiant efforts, and a film that demonstrates to even the most fervent Minnelli heretics, that he was a truly great director, if not one that sometimes found himself weighed down by the sheer volume of his work (both in terms of the vast number of films he produced during his life, as well as how overloaded many of them tend to be in regards to subject matter and narrative flow). While it may be a film I respect more than I love, Some Came Running is a strong entry into the director’s impressive list of credits, a delicate and heartwrenching drama that understands the characters that populate it, not being loaded with too much exposition, and instead focusing on the most intricate minutiae that guide them and make them interesting, and in the process reveals much of what makes the genre one that is so widely-cherished by film-lovers of the past and present. Simple but effective, Minnelli struck gold with this elegant, powerful human drama that is far more complex than it would appear based on a superficial glance, which is the best way to appreciate works that may not always appeal to one’s individual tastes, but are still interesting enough for us to give a chance.

Some Came Running is the kind of film that works well as a singular story, but it takes on an entirely new meaning when we break it down to its most fundamental components. Something that is not really discussed in relation to melodramas (particularly those produced in the 1950s), is how rarely they focused on a single issue, with many of the best using cinematic tropes to conceal a range of interesting conversations, which gradually come to the surface as the story progresses. In terms of this particular film, Minnelli is looking at the post-war experience through the lens of a single character and his relationship with a group of individuals that he encounters upon his return to his hometown. Whether it be the proverbial All-American girl-next-door he meets at a country club, or the free-spirited hedonist he encounters in a crowded Chicago bar, or the pernickety brother who is secretly ashamed of him, or the libertine gambler who takes a shine to the quiet protagonist, we see a variety of different figures woven into the film, each one interacting with the main character and aiding him on his journey to assimilate back into society. Minnelli fundamentally understands how to pull various narrative strands together and use them as a means to develop interesting, insightful characters that are far more complex than we’d anticipate from something with as simple a premise as this. Humanity is a difficult concept to portray on film, especially in terms of the more intricate recesses associated with trauma and the harrowing nature of addiction in its various forms, but as a profoundly moving drama that never infantilizes these issues, but rather approaches them with immense respect and a touch of strict honesty, Some Came Running strikes all the right notes to become something incredibly effective.

Some Came Running contains one of the finest screen performances by entertainment legend Frank Sinatra, who has always been in the strange position of being almost universally beloved as a musician, but who has struggled to receive the same immense acclaim as an actor, despite being showered with accolades and praise for his numerous memorable screen performances. Perhaps its a matter of his presence being distracting from a contemporary perspective, where most of us come to know him through his musical career before we are aware of his forays into film. Personally, I’ve been guilty of such hesitation, with many of his films feeling like they’re weighed down by his status as a world-renowned crooner. However, the more one ventures deep into his film work, the more we see how profoundly gifted he was as a performer – and Some Came Running has some of his best work, with ex-soldier David being a truly compelling character that allows Sinatra to make use of his distinctly American personality in unexpected ways, as well as an opportunity to dig deeper and find the complexities in a character that was almost entirely void of the actor’s debonair charm. He’s joined by an array of memorable performers, such as the lovable Shirley MacLaine, who is the beating heart of the film as the lovesick young woman who follows a relative stranger across the country, only to be greeted by a rejection in the sober light of day. Martha Hyer is stoic and unforgettable as the conflicted schoolteacher who is considered a potential wife to the damaged soldier (and their shared literary pasts only helps bring them together), and Dean Martin is a scene-stealer as the hilarious Bama, who functions as comedic relief, but also has some impressive moments towards the end of the film, where he also demonstrates a complexity far beyond the dashing, all-around entertainer we knew from his work outside of this film. It’s a strong cast, and Minnelli makes sure everyone, whether major role or simply a minor character, has something impactful to do on screen, creating this poignant human drama that relies quite heavily on a vivid portrayal of real issues through its characters.

Cutting to the core of Some Came Running shows us the extent to which Minnelli was willing to go in order to explore the underlying tensions that existed in the period directly after the Second World War. The novel by James Jones that served as the source material for this film gradually peels away the layers of the ambiguous period between the end of a war and a soldier’s return home, with the challenges of re-entering civilian life being perhaps the most prominent theme, and one that Minnelli translates beautifully onto the screen, showing the right amount of restraint without becoming too flippant about the very real issues of returning from war. Perhaps it was too much to expect a film made in 1958 to show the brutal reality of post-war trauma, especially when there was an array of sub-plots that needed to be resolved as well, but the film is relatively successful in showing the challenges that the main character has to face during the process, demonstrating his struggles without becoming too overwrought, which is a massive benefit in a film that could’ve easily have come across as overstuffed with narrative. Instead, the final product is an elegant, strikingly beautiful glimpse into the human condition, taken from the perspective of someone returning to society after a harrowing journey abroad, only to realize that his home has become ravaged with a kind of hideousness – the question is whether this is a new development, or if it existed before he left, and the ravages of war have only caused him to see his environment in profoundly different ways. Adding a social message to this psychological exploration lends the film a deeper meaning that only bolsters the central theme and makes it more poignant.

Veering towards gritty realism at several points (which merges unexpectedly well with the melodramatic beats), Some Came Running is a fascinating film with a strong message at its centre. It doesn’t always come across as such, but there’s a simplicity to it that works very well, especially when it is trying to pull together the varying narrative threads and present us with a single portrait of an array of lives, each one interwoven into this narrative in such a way that feels deeply authentic, while still profoundly cinematic. Populated by some major stars, many of which are doing exceptional work that both shows off their natural charms and gives them the chance to demonstrate their underseen talents, and made with conviction and dedication to both the craft and the specific themes that underpin the source material, Minnelli’s film is a triumph. It may run slightly too long (at 137 minutes, it could’ve easily have found a few minor details to elide, for the sake of tightening the narrative and not wasting too much time on content that doesn’t amount to much), but every moment feels compelling, and we’re taken on quite a poignant journey that may feel somewhat dated in the superficial sense, but has a vibrancy to how it portrays humanity that supersedes any sense of being outdated. The story is restricted to a particular time and place, but the themes are universal – and this is the precise reason why Some Came Running is likely to resonate with modern audiences, since its traditional melodramatic style combined with the grittiness of its overriding story makes for a truly unforgettable look into the mind of someone who has seen some of the more psychologically-scarring sides of life, and now has to readjust to a world that is almost entirely blind to reality – and it all makes for a truly striking work of fiction.