--- title: "Some Came Running" year: 1958 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/some-came-running" fi1m_id: "some-came-running" imdb_id: "tt0052218" tmdb_id: 38724 wikidata_id: "Q377923" fi1m_score: 76 critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 5 published: "2026-09-25T08:36:24.895389+00:00" updated: "2026-09-25T08:36:29.372898+00:00" region: "PA" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Some Came Running (1958) Directed by Vincente Minnelli · 2h 17m · Drama, Romance ## Identity Some Came Running - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/some-came-running - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** some-came-running - **IMDb ID:** tt0052218 - **TMDB ID:** 38724 - **Wikidata ID:** Q377923 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052218/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/38724, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q377923 **Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 71 (early) from 5 reviews *In a sentence:* Dean Martin makes the surrounding romantic anguish look like unnecessarily hard work > Vincente Minnelli’s small-town melodrama is slow and occasionally overworked, but its actors make the wait worthwhile. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin bring bite; Shirley MacLaine gives the romantic suffering enough tenderness to matter. ## Synopsis Dave Hirsh (Frank Sinatra) returns to a small town where everyone knows he is back and romantic trouble is expected to follow. Bama Dillert (Dean Martin), Ginnie Moorehead (Shirley MacLaine) and Gwen French (Martha Hyer) are among the people caught up in the drama, alongside Frank Hirsh (Arthur Kennedy). Dave’s homecoming places private attachments in a community that sets store by conformity and public respectability. Romance, literary life and the town’s judgements become entangled, with hypocrisy complicating the question of who gets to call themselves respectable. ## Review *Some Came Running* is worth staying with for its actors, even when its story takes too long to get anywhere. Vincente Minnelli treats romantic trouble and small-town respectability with a seriousness that can be moving and, occasionally, rather wearing. This is melodrama for an evening when we are willing to let people make a considerable business of their unhappiness. The rewards are substantial, but the 137 minutes ask for patience. Frank Sinatra gives Dave Hirsh a useful streak of sourness. His dry delivery leaves room for kindness, keeping the performance from becoming an exercise in being unpleasant, and we remain interested even when warmth is in short supply. Dean Martin’s Bama Dillert is an equally persuasive reason to stay. He has an ease that makes the surrounding emotional effort more noticeable, and his performance gives us a welcome rest from it. Shirley MacLaine supplies much of the feeling that justifies spending so long with these people. We were moved by her Ginnie Moorehead. The humour in her performance never asks us to stop taking the character’s feelings seriously, or to regard her unhappiness as foolish. That matters in a drama so preoccupied with how people judge one another, and her performance makes its heavier emotional demands feel earned. William H. Daniels’s cinematography holds our attention through the slower passages. Its richness gives the romantic distress a scale that the writing does not always manage, and Vincente Minnelli is right not to apologise for the material’s extravagance. Elmer Bernstein’s music adds to that pressure, sometimes more insistently than we need. We respond most readily when the actors have already made the emotion clear and the film does not seem determined to underline it. The trouble lies in how laborious the storytelling can become. The screenplay by Arthur Sheekman and John Patrick, drawn from James Jones’s novel, is less convincing about literary life than it is about the unpleasantness of respectable people. Its treatment of writing feels awkward, and the story can plod even while the performances keep their bite. Adrienne Fazan’s editing does not establish a pace that consistently disguises that heaviness; there are stretches when we feel ready to move on before the film does. What survives those delays is the film’s anger at the damage done in the name of acceptable behaviour. Its treatment of conformity has force because the actors make the hurt matter, rather than merely presenting a selection of objectionable townspeople. As melodrama, it earns its strong feelings more often than it overstates them, although subtlety is not its chief concern. There is something satisfying about its willingness to take romantic unhappiness seriously, even when that unhappiness becomes exhausting company. The reservation is simple: anyone impatient with prolonged romantic misery will have plenty to be impatient about here. For those who enjoy a drama that gives its performers time, the company compensates for a good deal of delay. The tenderness in Ginnie Moorehead makes the recommendation warmer than the story alone would warrant. Leave it for an evening without an early start. *Fi1m score 76, published 25 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Some Came Running worth watching?** *Some Came Running* is worth watching for its performances and its sharp treatment of small-town respectability; we score it 76 out of 100. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin bring bite, while Shirley MacLaine makes the romantic suffering matter, but the slow, sometimes overworked storytelling asks for patience across 137 minutes. **How long is Some Came Running, and what is it rated?** *Some Came Running* runs 2h 17m. It is a drama and romance film. **Where can I watch Some Came Running in Panama?** *Some Came Running* is not on any streaming or rental service in Panama at the moment. It is available in 8 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does Some Came Running compare to The Apartment?** *Some Came Running* is the more heavily worked melodrama; we favour [*The Apartment*](https://film.one/film/the-apartment) for its mixture of humour, sadness and tenderness towards flawed people. Shirley MacLaine makes the unhappiness matter in both accounts of respectable cruelty, but *Some Came Running* better suits an appetite for prolonged romantic anguish, while *The Apartment* offers more comic relief. **Is Some Came Running based on a true story or a book?** *Some Came Running* is adapted from James Jones’s novel, with a screenplay by Arthur Sheekman and John Patrick. We find its treatment of literary life awkward, but its account of small-town hypocrisy more persuasive; the reasons to watch are the performances and the romantic drama, rather than any need to know the book. **What should I watch after Some Came Running?** After *Some Came Running*, try [*The Apartment*](https://film.one/film/the-apartment) (1960, Fi1m 91): Shirley MacLaine brings similar tenderness to another sharp account of respectable cruelty. Then [*Written on the Wind*](https://film.one/film/written-on-the-wind) (1956, Fi1m 83): Family resentments and romantic misery receive an equally rich, uneasy treatment. ### Reviews we read (5) - **Time Out**, David Jenkins (5/5): The review is strongly enthusiastic about the film’s swooning, nostalgic style. It praises Minnelli’s camera work for elevating potentially corny material into something sumptuous. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/some-came-running) - **The Guardian**, Philip French (85/100, inferred): French calls the film a masterwork, despite finding its treatment of the literary life awkward. He praises its portrayal of small-town hypocrisy and conformity, singling out Dean Martin’s performance. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/may/18/culture.drama1) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (70/100, inferred): The review finds the film melodramatic but says its handling sometimes lifts it to tragedy. It praises the performances, especially Sinatra’s sardonic compassion and MacLaine’s empathy and humor. [Read](https://variety.com/1957/film/reviews/some-came-running-1200419067/) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The review's verdict cannot be verified because the article did not load. No specific praise or criticism is visible in the supplied page text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1959/01/23/archives/the-screen-james-jones-some-came-running-sinatra-dean-martin-star.html) - **Empire**, Emily Phillips (35/100, inferred): The review finds the film stylish but weighed down by a plodding story. It praises the stars’ sophistication, while noting the story fails to make the film an instant classic. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/came-running-2-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Vincente Minnelli - **Director:** Vincente Minnelli - **Screenplay:** John Patrick, Arthur Sheekman - **Novel:** James Jones - **Cinematography:** William H. Daniels - **Editor:** Adrienne Fazan - **Music:** Elmer Bernstein - **Costume design:** Walter Plunkett - **Producer:** Sol C. Siegel - **Cast:** Frank Sinatra as Dave Hirsh; Dean Martin as Bama Dillert; Shirley MacLaine as Ginnie Moorehead; Martha Hyer as Gwen French; Arthur Kennedy as Frank Hirsh; Nancy Gates as Edith Barclay; Leora Dana as Agnes Hirsh; Betty Lou Keim as Dawn Hirsh - **Runtime:** 2h 17m - **First release (the US):** 18 December 1958 - **Genres:** Drama, Romance ## Where to watch in Panama Not streaming, renting or buying in Panama at the last check. Also available in: BR, CA, FR, GB, NO, RO, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1959: Best Actress (nominated); Best Costume Design (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated); Best Supporting Actress (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Apartment* (1960), Fi1m 91: Shirley MacLaine brings similar tenderness to another sharp account of respectable cruelty. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-apartment.md) - *Written on the Wind* (1956), Fi1m 83: Family resentments and romantic misery receive an equally rich, uneasy treatment. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/written-on-the-wind.md) - *Floating Clouds* (1955): Romantic disappointment and stubborn attachment, observed with less decoration and equal sympathy. - *Ali: Fear Eats the Soul* (1974): A less ornate romance, equally alert to the cruelty of respectable neighbours. - *The Deep Blue Sea* (2011): A bruising account of unequal love, alert to the indignities of wanting. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/some-came-running