Madison, Indiana, 73 miles from Cincinnati, suddenly found itself elevated to more than just an insignificant spot on the American map, when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and 80 actors and location workers moved in overnight to make the film of James Jones' massive novel about snobbishness in small-town America. Madison had been picked out as 'the most typical US town'. It also bore a fine resemblance to Jones' description of the fictional town of Parkman, where returning serviceman Dave Hirsh (Sinatra) meets all sorts of problems and prejudices. The best performance, in the sprawling, brawling film that results, comes surprisingly from Dean Martin as a gambler - but it was durable Hollywood blonde Martha Hyer who snatched the film's Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.


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