The Man With The Golden Arm - Differences From The Novel

Differences From The Novel

Although the novel's author, Nelson Algren, was initially brought to Hollywood to work on the screenplay, he was quickly replaced by Walter Newman. The filmmakers proceeded to change the plot and characters extensively, which led to feelings of bitterness from Algren. When photographer and friend Art Shay asked Algren to pose below the film's marquee, he is reported to have said, "What does that movie have to do with me?"

Even though the first draft of the novel did not even deal with drug addiction (it was only added later), this became the singular focus of the film. In the novel, Frankie served in World War II and became addicted to morphine following treatment for a war injury. There is little mention of Frankie's film counterpart serving in the war, and he tells Molly that he started drugs "for kicks."

In Algren's book, Frankie is a blond-haired man in his late 20s, and as a poor veteran he often wears a torn Army jacket and brogans. Played by Sinatra (who was nearly 40 years old at the time), the film's protagonist has dark hair and normally wears slacks and a dress shirt. In the film he is given a drum set and almost lands a job as a big-band drummer, but in the novel he only has a practice pad, and his dream of being a drummer is only a fleeting aspiration.

The novel implies that Zosh's paralysis is a psychosomatic symptom of her mental illness, but in the film she is deliberately deceiving Frankie and is fully able to walk.

The book's version of Violet ("Vi") is an attractive young woman and Sparrow's love interest. In the film, she is played by Doro Merande, who was in her 60s at the time. The movie combines the character of her spouse, "Old Husband" Koskozka, with that of the landlord, "Jailer" Schwabatski.

Frankie's employer, Schwiefka, is a villain and Nifty Louie's partner in the movie, but in the book he is a relatively neutral character.

In the film, a walking Zosh accidentally pushes Nifty Louie to his death, but in the novel it is Frankie who accidentally murders Louie.

Algren's story ends with a cornered and hopeless Frankie committing suicide, but in the film Zosh is the one who dies, while Sinatra's Frankie and Novak's Molly survive the end of the film together.