AllMovie

Francis Albert Sinatra (1915-1998) went a long way for a kid from Hoboken, NJ. He became one of the world's most admired singers, a recording star, a radio star, and an Academy Award-winning actor. By the 1960s, however, he was feeling the heat of rock & roll. Part of a ten-tape collection, this program features Sinatra singing and cutting up with his Rat Pack pals Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop. Highlights include a brief appearance by Elvis Presley, his very first after he was mustered out of the U.S. Army. Sinatra, who had publicly scorned Presley and his music, nevertheless asked him to be a guest on his ABC television special, hoping it would boost ratings. It worked: the program garnered "Old Blue Eyes" his highest ratings, but it's likely that a good portion of the audience only had eyes for the King, who pocketed a cool $100,000 for his brief performance.