When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra) 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, small-time con man Schwiefka (Robert Strauss), and Frankie's old drug dealer, Louis (Darren McGavin), re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

Release date: December 14, 1955 (USA)

Director: Otto Preminger

Story by: Nelson Algren

Nominations: Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, MORE

Screenplay: Ben Hecht, Walter Newman, Lewis Meltzer