The mini docuseries 'Sinatra: All of Nothing At All' made me see Frank Sinatra as more than Hollywood's favorite crooner.
Photo credit: Production Co, IMBd. Distribution: HBO
His voice was a smooth as frosting on a cake. He's was an actor, ladies loved him and men wanted be him. But with the obvious, here's something that I took away from this series: Humanitarian.
Yes. THE Frank Sinatra. Allow me to elaborate on that and other gems I watched in this series.
I'm very grateful to have been gifted Netflix a few years ago. I watched somethings here and there, tv shows that I got caught up on after they were no longer on the networks and couldn't have discussions with anyone on social media because I was a, no, a few seasons behind. But the documentaries and docuseries that have been on here, some have caught my full entire attention. And that hard for someone like me who can lose interest within 15 minutes. This one did not disappoint.
'Sinatra: All or Nothing At All' based off of his 1939 hit, originally shown on HBO in 2015, centers around his show from 1971, that he called his "retirement concert". He selected 11 songs that summed his his life, career, his marriages, his loves, his good and hard times, and this brilliantly captured the essence of Sinatra's life. There was things in this documentary that I did not know, such as him hitting the ultimate rock bottom and the turnaround with the role in the 1953 hit movie, 'From Here to Eternity', which Sinatra earn and Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. His deep involvement with the election of John F. Kennedy, how he was or wasn't connected to the mob, how he spoke up about Black entertainers being treated unfairly and his part in the Civil Rights causes (which blew me away how involved he was, but still not enough when it came to is 'Rat Pack' shows involving Sammy Davis Jr.). But the meat and the potatoes intertwined between both of the episodes, I was struck by the fact that he was involved with the Jewish community and became part of their causes. There was footage of him interacting with children with special needs and bonding with them. He had that magic to connect to people, even though that he was at that time one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, these scenes showed an authentic, down to earth humanitarian side of Sinatra. He was a huge advocate for the Jewish community and would be, for the rest of his life. This was a side of him that I learned about, that I was in awe about.
My 'Heard That' Entertainment Take:
If you have 4 hours, and your a fan of Sinatra, invest them in this documentary.
Whatever you already know of Sinatra, every song, every movie, this documentary brilliantly shows different sides of him. I don't want to give anything else away. Invest the time and watch. You might learn something new while you sing "New York, New York".