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I just started watching this on TCM, figuring it would be a throwaway 50s romantic drama. It's better than that.

The first thing that grabbed me was the dialogue. It's unusually sophisticated, natural, and modern in its rhythms. They situations aren't overly simplified. They're not saccharine, they're not melodramatic. They're modern.

Second, who knew Shelly Winters could sing?

Winters is refreshing and wonderful as a well-adjusted, successful professional. Here, Winters is not burdened by her usual portrayal as damaged goods.

And despite a shaky start, Sinatra turns in a good acting performance. His buddy, Alex Nicol, is bit of a stuff, but a likeable one. Burr is a refreshingly lighter touch as his usual heavy villain.

And it's beautifully photographed as well.

Not at all bad. Meet Danny Wilson, a show-business melodrama with a lot of songs thrown in, betrays a distinct noirish tinge which darkens as the movie progresses. It's a thinly-veiled knockoff of the stories about Frank Sinatra's early days in show business – from the shrieking bobby-soxers to the extortionist contract that almost held him back. Obviously, it stars Sinatra, at a low ebb in his career before he had gained the imperial control of his later days as Chairman of the Board, and before he had assembled the legendary `cool' that, as much as his voice, was to become his hallmark.

Crooner Danny Wilson and his pianist/manager/buddy (Alex Nichol) are a couple of rough-and-ready slum-bred boys having trouble breaking into the big time. Through the help of a lounge singer they meet up with (Shelly Winters), they get a gig in a posh nightclub run by a mobbed-up entrepreneur (Raymond Burr). The catch is, Burr spots Sinatra's potential and demands half of his future take. A messy love triangle emerges, too, with Sinatra falling head over heels for Winters, who's smitten with the loyal square rigger Nichols. The plot points get connected with the arrival of Success, in the form of recording contracts, attendant royalties and even the movies.

Most arresting is Burr as gangster Nick Driscoll. An indispensable fixture of the noir cycle, where so often he played the Heavy Menace, here he takes on a better-written, more shaded role. In addition, he's slimmed down drastically, and the slimming brings out his huge and expressive – even seductive – eyes. But he still doles out the menace, even if it's cushioned in unaccustomed suavity. Apart from Sinatra, he's the most memorable actor in the film (certainly more memorable than the generic Nichol).

Sinatra performs several of the hits which were to enter his standard repertory; he also duets with Winters in a patter-song. Meet Danny Wilson remains strangely obscure, but, despite a warm and perfunctory wrap-up, it's a better crafted and more solid outing than many of the movies he made in his pigs-in-clover Rat Pack days.

Most enjoyable film with Sinatra and Shelley Winters in a love triangle and messy criminal goings on. Specifically interesting is the part of Raymond Burr, who is a real meany, and cameo roles abound including Tony Curtis and Jeff Chandler, among others who look like they're waiting for something to happen! It does! The music and singing is great! The acting is great! Be ready to enjoy! 7/10

Once he got important enough to do such things Sinatra banned Suddenly (he blamed it for getting Kennedy shot) and this film (too close to his own life story). The former was released a few years ago and now, at last, this one. I first saw it on my honeymoon over 50 years ago and never again until now.

The plot has been filmed some thousands of times before - both the love affair and the shoot out (unarmed Sinatra kills two armed hoodlums) are ludicrous but Sinatra acts well and sings sublimely. Despite this being filmed when his career was going downhill the singing is positively the best he ever did on film so it gets its 9 score for this.

Forgetting the singing maybe 5 or 6 although Sinatras acting must be nearly up to his Maggio of a year later. Shelley Winters is o/k but many of the rest dire and there's some nice cameos - was that Ray Anthony on trumpet in Sinatras big time try-out? Buy the DVD even though for some reason there are no credits, extras or even scene selection spots on the version I purchased in the UK!

Danny Wilson (Frank Sinatra) and Michael Francis (Alex Nicol) are a struggling entertainment duo. Hot head Danny keeps getting them into trouble. Joy Carroll (Shelley Winters) grabs them off the streets. She needs drinking company after a bad break. Danny hits a policeman and the guys get arrested. Joy bails them out and gets them jobs in a nightclub owned by gangster Nick Driscoll (Raymond Burr).

This movie is going all out on Sinatra's crooning. His real stardom helps although in his post-war real life, he did fall into a small dip. This has a lot of old classics. Winters is playing the sexy dame but she does it with force. She surprises me with some sassy singing. Notoriously, she and Sinatra had a big dust up during the filming. One doesn't really sense the animosity although their romantic chemistry is not that great. Winters could never do that demure lovey-dovey romantic stuff that well. It's not really in her bag of tricks. The movie takes a hard turn into gangster violence which doesn't really fit. Sinatra's big fight scene before that is his opponent laughing at his weak punches. Sinatra is not really the hard hitting type. The movie is a mishmash of elements. Some of them like Sinatra's singing is great. Some others are ill-fitting. All in all, it's an interesting intersection for these two legendary entertainers.