Wikipedia

A Face in the Crowd(film)

A Face in the Crowdis a 1957 Americansatiricaldrama filmdirected byElia Kazanand starringAndy Griffith(in his film debut),Patricia NealandWalter Matthau.The screenplay byBudd Schulbergis based on his short story "Your Arkansas Traveler" from the 1953 collectionSome Faces in the Crowd.

A Face in the Crowd
Theatrical release poster
Directed byElia Kazan
Screenplay byBudd Schulberg
Based on"Your Arkansas Traveler"
by Budd Schulberg
Produced byElia Kazan
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byGene Milford
Music byTom Glazer
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • May 28, 1957(1957-05-28)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The story centers on Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, adrifterwho is discovered by the producer (Neal) of a small-market radio program in rural northeastArkansas,and who rises to great fame and influence on national television. The character was inspired by Schulberg's acquaintance withWill Rogers Jr.The successes ofArthur GodfreyandTennessee Ernie Fordwere also acknowledged in the screenplay.

The film launched Griffith into stardom, but it received mixed reviews on its release. Subsequent reappraisals have been kinder to the film. In 2008, it was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registryby theLibrary of Congressas "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1][2]

Plot

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In late 1950s America, radio journalist Marcia Jeffries encounters drunken drifter Larry Rhodes while recording a segment at a ruralArkansasjail. She invites him to speak to the audience and sing while playing hisguitar,and he becomes instantly popular. Marcia dubs him "Lonesome" Rhodes and fast-tracks him onto his ownradio program.Marcia enlists the support of the show's writer Mel Miller and witnesses the charismatic Rhodes ad-lib his way toMemphis-area popularity, effectively criticizing local politicians along the way.

When Rhodes pokes fun at his sponsor, a mattress company, it initially pulls its ads, but when his adoring audience revolts by burning mattresses in the street, the sponsor discovers that the issue actually increased sales. Rhodes returns to the air with a new awareness of his persuasive power. He begins an affair with Marcia and proposes marriage to her.

Rhodes is offered a deal—put together without his knowledge by Joey, the overambitious assistant to the owner of the mattress company—to star in a new television show in New York; the rising star accepts the offer and signs a contract that allows Joey to manage him. Rhodes also becomes the national spokesman for the energy supplement firm that sponsors his show, and his buoyant charisma tremendously increases their sales. As his fame, influence and ego increase, Rhodes is enlisted to improve the appeal of a presidential hopeful, Senator Worthington Fuller of California, and rebrands Fuller as aneverymanwith the folksy nickname "Curly".

In contrast to his friendly onscreen persona, Rhodes has become an egomaniac who berates his staff. Marcia's hopes of marrying Rhodes are dashed, first when a woman claims to be his legitimate wife, and again when he returns from Mexico married to 17-year-old drum majorette Betty Lou. Rhodes and Marcia enter into a profit-sharing agreement after she reminds him of her role in his success. Mel, who loves Marcia, leaves to write an exposé on Rhodes. Joey has an affair with Rhodes's young wife, and Rhodes sends her back to Arkansas. However, he cannot extricate himself from the business arrangement with Joey, as Joey owns 51% of the company.

Disgusted with Rhodes's behavior, Marcia activates a live microphone during the end credits of Rhodes's television show, which reveals him contemptuously mocking Fuller and the station's "idiot" viewers. His popularity and the show's ratings plummet, and advertisers cancel their sponsorships.

Having waited for Marcia to break free from Rhodes's spell, Mel insists that Marcia tell Rhodes that she exposed his rant. At Rhodes's home, Mel and Marcia find Rhodes speaking to the empty room, with an applause machine replacing the people whose support that he has lost. Marcia tells Rhodes that she was responsible for the open-microphone incident and demands that he never call her again. Rhodes threatens suicide, but Marcia only goads him.

Before they leave, Mel predicts Rhodes's future: his career is not completely over, and he will likely find further TV work soon, but will never again enjoy the same level of popularity and prestige. After leaving the building, Mel and Marcia hear Rhodes screaming from the penthouse for Marcia to return to him, but they ignore him as they depart. Marcia expresses guilt for having elevated Rhodes to power, and Mel replies that a faker such as Rhodes may fool people for a while, but "we get wise to him―that’s our strength".

Cast

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Production

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Andy GriffithwithPatricia Neal(right) andLee Remick(left) on the set ofA Face in the Crowd

Development

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The film was produced under the working title ofThe Arkansas Traveler,[3]which was the name ofBudd Schulberg's source short story from his 1953 collectionSome Faces in the Crowd.[4]Schulberg had stated that a conversation with friendWill Rogers Jr.,son ofWill Rogers—who was known for earthy anecdotes and folksy style—had inspired him to create the Lonesome Rhodes story. The younger Rogers stated that his "father was so full of shit, because he pretends he's just one of the people, just one of the guys".[5]

Director Elia Kazan and Schulberg based the character of Lonesome Rhodes onArthur Godfrey,as well as onBilly GrahamandHuey Long.[3]

Casting

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In April 1956, columnistWalter Winchellwrote that Andy Griffith was due to leave the cast of his Broadway showNo Time for Sergeantsat the end of July, vacation for a month and begin shooting the film. Kazan and Schulberg spent much of July and August in Memphis and in Arkansas.[6]Patricia Neal's involvement was announced by early August.

Griffith, Lee Remick, Charles Irving, Charles Nelson Reilly and uncredited actorsLois NettletonandRip Tornall made their film debuts inA Face in the Crowd.[7]

On the set, Griffith faced difficulty generating the intensity of the stage and asked to have discarded chairs available to destroy in order to instigate his rage before filming.[8]

Big Jeff Bess, who portrayed the sheriff under his own name, was a country singer and bandleader in Nashville who led Big Jeff and his Radio Playboys. Cameo appearances in the film include those byWalter WinchellandMike Wallace.[3]

Filming

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Patricia NealandAndy Griffith

Location shooting occurred in Memphis,Piggott, ArkansasandPoplar Bluff, Missouri,where the fair and baton-twirling competition scenes were filmed. The Poplar Bluff scenes involved 5,000 extras paid $1 per hour, 380 dogs[9]andbaton twirlersand musicians from six high school bands from Arkansas and Missouri.[10]Remick spent two weeks in Piggott with a teenage baton twirler to improve her twirling skill and local accent, although adoublewas utilized for several baton-twirling scenes.[11]

Shooting in New York included 61 sets atBiograph Studiosinthe Bronx,as well as some exteriors.[12]The scene of the network headquarters switchboard wasNBCat30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Schulberg remained involved throughout filming. He said, "I went on a trip in 1955 to scout a location in Arkansas, and I've been on the set every day since shooting started in August [1956]."[13]

Reception

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In a contemporary review forThe New York Times,criticBosley CrowthercalledA Face in the Crowda "sizzling and cynical exposure" and wrote:

Lonesome Rhodes, the two-faced hero, is pretty much the whole show, and what he symbolizes in society is barely hinted—or discreetly overlooked.... Everyone condescends to him—in the script of Mr. Schulberg, that is—instead of taking positive positions that would better represent reality.... [A]ll play their roles capably, but they're forced to behave as awed observers, not as flexible factors in the scheme of things. As a consequence, the dominance of the hero and his monstrous momentum, driven home by a vast accumulation of TV detail and Mr. Kazan's staccato style, eventually become a bit monotonous when they are not truly opposed. Reality is proved by inadvertence. We finally get bored with Lonesome Rhodes. Thus the dubious device of having his girl friend switch him on the air when he thinks he is finished with his program (and is scorning his public) is inane. This type would either have become a harmless habit or the public would have been finished with him![14]

Harrison's Reportswrote: "On a whole, however, it is a fascinating picture, superbly directed and finely acted. Much credit for the film's impact is due [to] Andy Griffith, a newcomer to the screen, for his exceptional performance in the principal role. It is not a sympathetic part, but he plays it with explosive vigor and makes the characterization entirely believable. Worthy of special mention, too, is Patricia Neal for her fine portrayal" as Marcia Jeffries.[15]

Hy HollingerofVarietypraised the film as "provocative and hard-hitting", summarizing that "Kazan once again demonstrates his ability as a director and why major studios are willing to give him carte blanche in selecting his own story material and working under his own conditions".[16]

Edwin Schallert of theLos Angeles Timeswrote, "Far and away outstanding in their stellar performances are Griffith, Miss Neal and Matthau, with Franciosa also very capable. They are nearly all at their peaks in their interpretations, even though the actual reading of lines is not too easy to understand at times. Schulberg has, however, written a splendid screenplay, and the picture is by far one of Kazan's most penetrating and incidentally ironic."[17]

In his review forCahiers du cinéma,criticFrançois Truffautcalled it "a great and beautiful work whose importance transcends the dimensions of a cinema review".[18]

Karel Reisz,reviewing the film inSight & Sound,critiqued more harshly, writing, "If we are to accept its attack on the jungle values of American sponsored television then we must be able to sense a more decent, rational tone in the film which is attacking them. And this becomes more and more difficult as the film goes on. When it comes to the test Kazan and Schulberg seem to have little more respect for their audience than the [t]elevision showmen. Dramatic scenes are all played at full blast, while the more intimate scenes are slurred over."[19]

In a 2015 interview, filmmakerSpike Leecredited the film with inspiring hisBamboozled(2000).[20]Writing inThe Washington Postin 2020,Ann Hornadayranked it at number 14 of her list of the best political movies.[21]

Musical

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Main article:A Face in the Crowd(musical)

A stage musical version ofA Face in the Crowddirected byKwame Kwei-Armahbegan a run at theYoung Vicin London on September 10, 2024. Its music is composed byElvis Costelloand the script is an adaptation of Budd Schulberg's book bySarah Ruhl.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Cinematic Classics, Legendary Stars, Comedic Legends and Novice Filmmakers Showcase the 2008 Film Registry".Library of Congress.Retrieved2020-09-30.
  2. ^"Complete National Film Registry Listing".Library of Congress.Retrieved2020-09-30.
  3. ^abc"A Face in the Crowd (1957)".AFI Catalog of Feature Films.American Film Institute.2019.RetrievedJanuary 12,2021.
  4. ^Schulberg, Budd(1953)."The Arkansas Traveler".Some Faces in the Crowd.New York:Random House.pp. 3–44.LCCN53-5011.Retrieved2016-09-30– viaInternet Archive Book Reader.
  5. ^Tapper, Jake(November 2020)."Why Americans Fall for Grifters - A warning from a 1957 film".The Atlantic.Retrieved2020-10-09.
  6. ^"Arkansas Movie Sets Production for Near Future", Kingsport, TN:Kingsport Times,July 9, 1956.
  7. ^Georges Sadoul(1972).Dictionary of Films.Translated, edited, and updated by Peter Morris. University of California Press. p.108.ISBN978-0-520-02152-5.
  8. ^Hal Boyle,"He Fights Furniture Before Acting as If in a Rage",Lumberton, NC:The Robesonian,November 16, 1956.
  9. ^"Dogs in Demand", Aiken, SC:Aiken Standard and Review,August 20, 1956.
  10. ^"Want to be in Movies? Extras Needed in Piggott", Blytheville, AR:Blytheville Courier News,August 8, 1956.
  11. ^Erskine Johnson, "Hollywood", Ardmore, OK:Daily Ardmoreite,April 21, 1957.
  12. ^Scott McGee; Jeff Stafford."A Face in the Crowd (1957)".Turner Classic Movies.RetrievedMarch 8,2015.
  13. ^Rob Burton (AP), "Novelist Stays for 'Face' Film",Amarillo Globe-Times,December 31, 1956.
  14. ^Crowther, Bosley (May 29, 1957)."Screen: The Rise and Fall of a TV 'Personality'".The New York Times.p. 33.
  15. ^"'A Face in the Crowd' with Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal and Anthony Franciosa ".Harrison's Reports.p. 88.RetrievedJune 21,2022– via Internet Archive.
  16. ^Hollinger, Hy(May 29, 1957)."Film Reviews: A Face in the Crowd".Variety.p. 6.RetrievedJuly 21,2022– via Internet Archive.
  17. ^Schallert, Edwin (May 30, 1957)."Power, Irony Hit in 'A Face in Crowd'".Los Angeles Times.Part IV, p. 6.RetrievedJuly 21,2022– viaNewspapers.
  18. ^Truffaut, François(2009).The Films In My Life.Da Capo Press. pp. 113–115.ISBN978-0-7867-4972-0.
  19. ^Reisz, Karel(Autumn 1957)."Film Reviews: A Face in the Crowd".Sight & Sound.p. 89 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^Spike Lee on the legacy of Bamboozled.2015-10-30.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-13.RetrievedMay 30,2021– viaYouTube.
  21. ^Hornaday, Ann(January 23, 2020)."The 34 best political movies ever made".The Washington Post.Retrieved2020-01-24.
  22. ^"A Face in the Crowd".Young Vic website.2024-09-10.Retrieved2024-07-24.
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