The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American
drama film with elements of
film noir, based on the
novel of the same name by
Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a drug addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. Although the addictive drug is never identified in the film, according to the
American Film Institute "most contemporary and modern sources assume that it is
heroin", in contrast to Algren's book which named the drug as
morphine. The film stars
Frank Sinatra,
Eleanor Parker,
Kim Novak,
Arnold Stang and
Darren McGavin. It was adapted for the screen by
Walter Newman, Lewis Meltzer and
Ben Hecht (uncredited), and directed by
Otto Preminger. The film's initial release sparked controversy due to its serious, in-depth treatment of the then-taboo subject of
drug addiction.