Sinatra is just plain evil in this one.

Why is Frank Sinatra in all these Presidential assassination films? This one is much hokier than the chilling The Manchurian Candidate. Most of the behavior is ludicrous, and Sterling Hayden is as stiff as a board. But lanky Frankie is lively enough to keep interest.

Pure cheese all the way through. None of the family members can deliver a good line to save their life, and I laughed my ass off when that kid got smacked in the face.

Not good but not bad. I'm a Sterling fan and it's fun spending time with Frank even if he is kind of unbearable. Was Pidge (the kid) cross-eyed or what?

This is a good film about a little town that is preparing for a visit from the president. Frank Sinatra is good as the head gangster and Sterling Hayden is good as the cop.

Suddenly only teases you with the idea of competence and threat -- that Sinatra's crook might know what he's doing. By the end, this illusion disintegrates, leaving only the film's conventional wisdom and facile dialogue to consider. It's a last-act rug pull that ruins a modestly pleasing effort.

The acting and dialogue are terrible and the only reason to watch this movie is Sinatra who does his best to save this movie.

Not a complete loss. Sinatra is pretty good, there's some sharp postwar cynicism and one or two clever plot moments. But yeah, the other actors are terrible and the script is crap. Lots of overly patriotic mumbo-jumbo, and the fact that the obnoxious little boy doesn't get murdered (spoiler alert!) is a huge disappointment. Why does every hostage drama have to have an obnoxious little boy to fuck things up anyway? It kind of makes me appreciate Funny Games a little more.