Frank Sinatra Movies

It's Frank vs. Franc as the Dollar Dwindles

The Swiss President has gone on record saying he's concerned that the world's investors are taking to his tiny nation's currency in droves as a hedge against slumping currencies walloped by the latest economic crisis. True, the Swiss franc has always been a haven during times of economic uncertainty, especially now that the euro has replaced the sundry currencies of Old Europe. Not to mention the fact that the dollar is in free fall as the result of several rounds of so-called quantitative easing.

Like the Swiss franc, we can't help but think of another Frank that's a gold standard of sorts. We're talking, of course, about Frank Sinatra, the chairman of the board. Whether he was serenading bobbysoxers during the dark days of World War II or belting out upbeat tunes in Las Vegas, Nev. when the blackjack tables were tilting decidedly in the dealers' favor, Ol' Blue Eyes' record as the 20th century's greatest entertainer helped generations of people endure the challenges and hardships of life -- including bear markets.

Considering the strain that the current global economic mess is placing on humanity, we wondered which is a more effective force to battle the blues: the Swiss franc or Frank Sinatra? Here are the results of our study:

Resilience

As a currency, the Swiss franc is a terrific hedge against other, more volatile pieces of paper. But at the end of the day, it's a currency of a small country that can -- as it is now -- show the effects of massive global buying sprees. A precious metal it is not. Frank Sinatra, however, was at a career low in the early '50s when his records took a beating from the new sounds of rock-n-roll. Plus, the beautiful Ava Gardner dumped him. Yet he secured a part in "From Here to Eternity" that won him an Academy Award, and his recording of "Come Fly With Me" was a chart-topping success. Winner: Frank Sinatra.

Neutrality

In the early 1960s, Sinatra paid for a state-of-the-art helicopter landing pad to be built at his Palm Springs estate so that he could host President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy. At the last minute, the Secret Service decided that Sinatra's alleged ties to the Mafia put the president's safety in jeopardy. Kennedy ended up stayed at Bing Crosby's estate instead. Sinatra always made a point of taking a side, even when that side consisted of unsavory mobsters. The Swiss franc, on the other hand, is the currency of a neutral country. Winner: Swiss franc.

Some Brief Notes on: Frank Sinatra, Sandra ... - Cinema Station

We of a certain age all grew up with Frank Sinatra. At least his music. He came after Bing Crosby and somehow somewhere in the late 1950s surpassed him as America’s most popular singer. By this time he had gone through several highs and lows that had not only deepened and matured him but left a residue of anger and bitterness as well. It was during this period that he recorded so many of his classic   albums with Nelson Riddle, Billy May and Gordon Jenkins. Now he had been in movies for nearly a decade already but it wasn’t until his famous “comeback” in From Here to Eternity (1953) (1954) when Marlon Brando at first refused to play the role. Later when Brando changed his mind and accepted, the film’s producer Sam Spiegel had to financially settle with Sinatra out of court. My point being that Elia Kazan in selecting Sinatra was indicating how high in his esteem Frank was as an actor. Right up there next to Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift who were then thought of as America’s finest.