after church the next day, and they kiss. After she leaves, a driver stops to ask for directions and then asks for the name of the town. When Shaw says it is “Suddenly,” the driver notes that “that’s a funny name for a town.” After the driver pulls away, Shaw says to himself, "Oh, I don't know. I don't know about that." Cast Frank Sinatra as John Baron Sterling Hayden as Sheriff Tod Shaw James Gleason as Peter "Pop" Benson Nancy Gates as Ellen Benson Kim Charney as Peter "Pidge" Benson III Willis Bouchey as Dan Carney, Chief Secret Service Agent Paul Frees as Benny Conklin (also voice of TV announcer) Christopher Dark as Bart Wheeler James O'Hara as Jud Hobson (credited as James Lilburn) Ken Dibbs as Wilson Clark Howat as Haggerty Charles Smith as Bebop Paul Wexler as Deputy Sheriff Slim Adams Dan White as Burg Richard Collier as Ed Hawkins Roy Engel as first driver Ted Stanhope as second driver Charles Wagenheim as Kaplan John Berardino as trooper Cast notes Frank Sinatra's role in Suddenly was the first occasion on which he was cast as a "heavy" in a dramatic film. Actor Paul Frees, who plays one of Sinatra's henchmen, is best known for his voiceover work, such as for the character Boris Badunov in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons. Production Writer Richard Sale got his idea for the short story that was the basis of the film from articles in the newspaper about President Dwight D. Eisenhower's visits to Palm Springs, California, by train. There were differences between the story and the film, the most thematically important being that the mother in the story was not bitter about her husband's death in World War II, and in fact, was not present during the assassination attempt, so never had to make the choice the mother in the film has to make: whether to shoot and kill the assassin when the opportunity arises. The exterior scenes for Suddenly were filmed in Saugus, California, which is now part of the city of Santa Clarita. Saugus Railway Station, which features prominently, still exists, though not in its original location. At the time of filming Saugus was served by a spur line that branched off from the main Southern Pacific coast line, terminating at Ventura. The spur line operated for almost a century but was decommissioned and torn up during the