Godard, Scorsese- and Linklater- show their taste with their admiration for this rich, complex, and profoundly misunderstood film. Adapted from James Jones' overblown 1200 page follow-up to From Here To Eternity, this is one of the best examples of that misunderstood fifties sub genre, the the romantic melodrama/"dramedy", which was brilliantly practiced by Ray, Minelli, Sirk-and, even, sometimes,Robert Aldrich and Delmer Daves . Like the decade which produced them, these films are sadly misunderstood. The Fifties are stereotyped as "the bland leading the bland", however, a closer study of the decade shows inner tensions and paradoxes.Neither Eisenhower nor his decade were "bland " at all, but rather, rich in layers of tragedy and ambiguity, coupled with a suppressed restlessness and undefined spiritual longing in the midst of outward smug prosperity. Similarly, the glossy surface of fifties melodrama conceals profound tensions. On the surface, this films are just melodramatic "glossies", but a closer viewing shows extraordinary power and even depth. In part, this is due to acting that can only be described as excellent. The cast is close to superb. The main cast is divided into two camps; ; Three "rat packers" and f"respected TV stage and movie veterans. The rat packers are Sinatra and his trashy, vulgar pals, Dino and Shirley. Sinatra shows nuances of compassion and sensitivity through the smallest gesture or turn of phrase. Dean Martin, always wearing a not quite pure white hat, is far better than his reputation, playing a doomed small time gambler /hustler quite well. Shirley Mclaine's character, her hair a red crows nest, is a pig, a slut, a drunk,a dummy, and and a floozy. She is also a gentle, sad, human with a soul who truly longs for love, and -who knows-salvation.. They are the Films " Low-life" characters- its "sinners". The other characters are more or less "pharisees"- outwardly respectable but inwardly problematic. They are played by five excellent performers: Arthur Kennedy, Martha Hyer, Nacy Gates, Larry Gates, and Leora Dana. The last three were recurrent faces in fifties and sixties television. They were in EVERYTHING; Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Playhouse 90, Naked City, Route 66, The Defenders, Slattery's People, Channing, etc. Kennedy is excellent as Sinatra's estranged small town Babbitt of a brother., a weak and confused man, who alternates between genuine love of his bother, for his " scandalous " behavior, and envy of his honesty. Martha Hyer offers a rich performance as Sinatra's "nice" girlfriend. Despite her love for Franks character and her sincere desire to awaken his talent. she too no more understands him than Shirley does. This is shown by the scene in the classroom. In response to a students question, she goes into a remarkable soliloquy about the moral flaws of great writers , and how these flaws reflect their passion, their appetite for life. While these flaws should not be emulated, they also do not detract from the writers achievements, or lessen their humanity. Then, class is dismissed, and who should walk in but Ginny Moorehead, in all her trashy vulnerability. Hyer pretends to be compassionate and understanding, but instead sees in the poor B-girl every one of her lovers flaws. It is not until Ginny Sacrifices herself at the end that she perceives her essential goodness-and the goodness in Frank's character as well. Finally, there are Larry Gates, Nancy Gates(no relation) and Leora Dana. Larry Gates, who also played the peace-loving Missionary in The Sand Pebbles and the bigoted Fat Cat in The Heat of The night, is very good here as a perceptive and intelligent Small Town/Small college who understands Sinatra's character better than everyone else but remains very much a small town, small college, professor. Nacy Gates is solid as Arthur Kennedy 's girlfriend, who longs to flee Parkman and its insular hypocrisy. Finally, Leora Dana is great as Kennedy's Social climbing wife, who despises Sinatra's character- but still wants to use his literary reputation to inflate her own standing in the community. . The Production design is beautiful-as can be expected in any Minnelli film. In addition, Bernstein's score is driving , bluesy, and occasionally perfectly overwrought. The next to last sequence is Cinemascope at its highest. Finally, there is the subtext of the film. Probably, few who watch it nowadays grasp that the title is taken from The Gospel Of Mark. The "some" who "came running" are the sinners who came "running" to hear Jesus preach. The story , therefore, is implicitly about the search redemption, and about those who, for all their surface sleaziness, would "come running" if they were to actually hear the gospel: failed writers who hang out in dives, dying Gamblers with cirrhosis of the liver, Barroom searching for love. In short, A great film. Not quite an "Eleven", but at least a Nine and a Half teetering on the margin of ten, and sometimes toppling over.