Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing (1968) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Writer:

Ernest Chambers (writer)

Release Date:

25 November 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Music

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Diahann Carroll	...	Herself
Billy Davis Jr.	...	Himself (as The Fifth Dimension)
Fifth Dimension	...	Themselves
Florence LaRue	...	Herself (as The Fifth Dimension)
Marilyn McCoo	...	Herself (as The Fifth Dimension)
LaMonte McLemore	...	Himself (as The Fifth Dimension)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Sinatra Enterprises

Even Frank's best toupee can't save this one

Francis Albert Does His Thing has its moments, but literally just moments in a 50-plus minute show. Sinatra's material is an uncomfortable mixture of pre-Reprise classics and his attempt at late 60's adult-pop. He opens the show with Hello Young Lovers and Baubles, Bangles and Beads (both wrongly arranged with a chorus) but soon tumbles into a strange, laugh-track-laced monologue and Cycles. After this Frank yields his show to Diahann Carrol and The 5th Dimension. He does duets with both, but nothing could be more tragic than Sinatra in 5th Dimension garb singing and "dancing" to Sweet Blindness. Frank could easily be forgiven if it were Aquarius, but not this. Fortunately that embarassment is followed by a great solo-Sinatra medley of Nice'n'Easy/How Little It Matters. Frank's other material throughout the show (Lost in the Stars, torch-song medley) is decent but the sound is poorly mixed. And attention taken away from Sinatra's singing becomes directed to his toupee, which, as a fan, is probably the best he ever wore.