YMMV / The Man with the Golden Arm

• Alternative Character Interpretation: There seems to be a homoerotic subtext in Louie's interactions with Frankie. The way he singles out Frankie, then pesters him, then takes obvious satisfaction when Frankie gives into his urges and they sneak off together for heroin all suggest that Louie has some kind of twisted personal feelings for Frankie. Louie even takes his shirt off in front of Frankie the last time Frankie comes to see him.
• Once Original, Now Common: Today, it comes off as a Hollywood Melodrama of The '50s that maybe tries a bit too hard to seem gritty, but, at the time, no mainstream film had ever dealt seriously with drug addiction and the seedier side of big city life.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: With the court battles over The Moon is Blue still raging, Otto Preminger and United Artists knew they'd have a fight with the MPAA over this film, since it dealt heavily with drug abuse. Since they'd had success releasing The Moon is Blue without a Production Code seal of approval, they decided to release it even before they submitted the film to the MPAA, hoping that the MPAA would eventually approve it because of the Drugs Are Bad message. Instead, the MPAA rejected it. But the usual consequences of a film not getting the seal didn't happen. Hardly any government entities tried to ban it, most theater chains carried it, and the Catholic Legion of Decency didn't give it the dreaded Condemned rating. Even more than The Moon is Blue, The Man with the Golden Arm was instrumental in hastening the downfall of the Production Code.
• Values Resonance: Alongside Drugs Are Bad, the main points of the story are that decent people can become drug addicts, and that the success of an addict trying to kick the habit is based on whether the addict has a supportive social environment after rehab. Those have both been repeatedly emphasized by people trying to fight the modern opioid problem.

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