Frank Sinatra had mob ties. At least,
he did in 'Robin and the 7 Hoods.'The World Entertainment News Network [1] reports the 1964 film "Robin and the 7 Hoods" is scheduled to be reprised as a Broadway musical in 2010.

Producer Bruce Charet told WENN, "It's a fascinating little moment in history when the old culture met the sexual revolution. It is the Rat Pack and James Bond and Playboy ..."

I don't know if I agree with Charet's assessment, as I thought "Robin and the 7 Hoods" was fairly tame. And I don't see the James Bond angle at all. If anything, the movie is a light-hearted take on the gangster films of the '30s and '40s.

But, for what it's worth, I did get to watch the film on the big screen once (at the Oak Street Cinema [2]) and the restored 35mm print I saw had last been shown at the Playboy Mansion, or so the theater management claimed.

Incidentally, if you haven't see "Robin and the 7 Hoods," I highly recommend it. Even if you're not a fan of the Rat Pack, the songs are infectiously catchy and there's plenty of gallows humor throughout. Sinatra sings his classic ode to Chicago, "My Kind of Town," and Sammy Davis Jr.'s song-and-dance number “Bang! Bang!” is chock-full of fancy footwork and weird Fruedian imagery.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com [4])