L'Ange de la violence

This film is about a younger brother who cannot stop saying the name of his older brother Berry-Berry. Then everyone else chimes in and says it too. Over and over and over again.

Did I say Berry-Berry? Such a ridiculous name. Oh, and by the way.....Berry-Berry. In case I didn't mention it.... Berry-Berry. And for those who hadn't heard it before.....Berry-Berry. And in conclusion I will sum up with......wait for it........Berry-Berry!

All Fall Down...did not live up to its promise... some dramatic scenes are , at times , laughable.. But you keep watching, and waiting. nothing much happens but a good study of a dysfunctional family in early 60's... The cast is probably the reason why we cant stop watching this beautifully photogaphed black &white film.. Angela Lansbury just about steals every scene .. not her best work but always good ! Karl Malden is also very good a Ralph the father... both were much younger than the roles they were playing.. Eva Marie Saint maybe miscast but she played the part very well.. young hunk Warren Beatty plays his confusing role well, and never looked better..what an early 60's masculine masterpiece was he...Barbara Baxley almost steals the show as the schoolteacher lusting after and later beaten and beratted by Beatty (Berry-Berry)..I would meet Ms. Baxley at an NYC bar years later (mid 1980s) and told her how much I admired her work...she replied in a euphoric stupor, & a puff of her cigarette..."I'm glaad someone remembers me darling "... true story.... But most of all .. Brandon De Wilde...growing up in the 1950's he was my teen idol I wanted to be Brandon de Wilde... blonde, beautiful talented making movies with A.Ladd etc.. what a screen talent.. what a loss.. long live Brandon de Wilde !!!

I saw this one when it was first released, responding to some justly deserved positive reviews. Recently Turner Classic Movies showed it and my memories were confirmed: terrific cast beautifully responding to John Frankenheimer's astute direction; impeccable black-and-white cinematography by Lionel Lindon, especially that opening on-location sequence in Key West, Florida; one of Alex North's most apposite scores, not at all too florid (Was any Hollywood composer better at enhancing a story filled with neuroses in full bloom?); and a story whose downward spiral seems inevitable, despite some slight excesses on the part of the scriptwriter.

Minor reservations: Karl Malden's being required to vociferously refer to his son, Berry-Berry, as "The Big Rhinoceros" and as other assorted wildlife creatures (Why? Never really explained and seemingly inappropriate, given Warren Beatty's rather sleek appearance); the given names of the characters played by both Warren Beatty (Berry-Berry) and Eva Marie Saint (Echo O'Brien) - pure flights of fancy on the part of the writer(s), when compared to the more down-to-earth names given the other Midwesterners in the story; the frustration of seeing the doomed character, Echo, often expressing her affection for the younger brother, Clinton, while pathetically succumbing to the brutish abuse of his older brother, Berry-Berry.

But the interplay of all the cast (including some excellent supporting players) makes this somewhat forgotten gem a real must-see. It's one time when Angela Lansbury, running on all cylinders, is easily and compatibly matched by her fellow actors. This one's a keeper!

Many of the earlier posts on this film mirror my overall impressions as well. I caught this on TCM a few weeks ago and I was compelled to keep watching despite some flaws and very awkward scenes. This film has that distinctive early 60's feel to it and also is lacking certain elements of specificity in its storytelling and character development. The Willart family is dysfunctional but we are not able to put our finger on the dynamics of exactly why. We know the father, Karl Malden, is an alcoholic, yet a noticeably genial and upbeat one. We know the mother, Angela Lansbury, seems perpetually stressed and perhaps emotionally isolated, but the dialogue between the two never gets to the heart of their unhappiness. The late Brandon de Wilde (who died in 1972 in an auto accident) is the younger of two brothers through whose perspective the story is told. He is an aspiring writer who spies and eavesdrops on his parents' conversations and records what he hears in a journal. I thought his overall performance was very effective and believable. A young Warren Beatty in one of his first major roles plays the older son, the wayward Berry-Berry. (His name is puzzling and one wonders why nobody thinks to call him Berry for short.) Eva Marie Saint plays a somewhat mysterious woman, Echo, who provides the basis of the storyline through her involvement with both brothers. I found it to be a flaw of the film, though a minor one, that we never know much about Echo....what her background is, how she came to be close friends with Mrs. Willart, what she does for a living, and why she is driving such an unusual car. An absorbing story once you get drawn into it, with several awkward scenes balanced out by several touching and poignant moments.

This is exactly why I go to the library and rent movies. See all the movies you know about, watch the dreck that questionably pass for entertainment, and sometimes discover buried gems that nobody has heard of, yet stars people like Warren Beatty and Angela Lansbury.

'All Fall Down' is a tale of a family that are about to be ripped apart at the seams because of their oldest son. Warren Beatty plays Berry-Berry, a drifter if there ever was one. Going from town to town, from job to job, and usually winding up in jail, but this is all unknown to his family, who see him as a hero, mainly because he got away from town mostly. When his younger brother, played so achingly innocently by Brandon DeWilde, visits him in Florida only to wind up bailing him out of jail, he still loves him. Berry-Berry does wind up back home though, where Mom and Dad (played excellently here by Lansbury and Karl Malden) and unsettled house-guest Eva Marie-Saint await him diligently. His relationship with all 4 members of the household are all different, which results in the conclusion, which you're wondering what will happen to the family now.

I'm just amazed at Beatty's performance here, smoldering with machismo, yet unsure of everything else, Beatty easily wows everyone he sees, family included. Although Brandon DeWilde is largely ignored now, he was one of the brightest young stars in Hollywood once, and this is a great vehicle for him.

Find this one if you can!