A Face in the Crowd

The fictional story of a vagabond who is discovered and becomes a mega entertainment star who not only aquires fame and fortune but also political power. I came away from this film with the thinking that in 1957 when the picture came out in a strange way it must have terrified viewers. The film was clearly ahead of its time. By todays standards the egotistical, cynical and power hungry Lonesome Rhodes actually is quite tame but in 57 he must have been viewed as a cross between Hitler and Arthur Godfrey. Andy Griffith is nothing less than brilliant as Rhodes. Superb support from Patricia Neal, Walter Matthau, Anthony Franciosa and Lee Remick in her first motion picture. The movie never lags as it grips the viewer from the opening right to the final scene.

Elia Kazan will always be remembered as one of the most important directors of his era. With great movies like A Streetcar Named Desire and On The Waterfront, he forever established his position in cinema history. A Face in the Crowd is one of his lesser known movies that flopped at the box office when it was initially released, and was completely ignored by the Academy. It only got some following much later, when it was released on DVD, which is a shame since A Face in the Crowd doesn't greatly differ from Kazan's more popular movies. To correct this historical injustice, I decided to review this movie and spread the word about it as much as I can.

The movie opens with a young woman, named Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal), visiting the prison in her small town. She is doing a radio show called 'A Face in the Crowd' during which she talks with everyday people, transmitting their stories. In the prison she meets a man who calls himself 'Lonesome' Rhodes (Andy Griffith) – a hobo arrested for drunk and disorderly behavior. She tapes him for her show and the episode becomes a huge hit. Marcia and her uncle, who is the owner of the local radio station on which 'A Face in the Crowd' airs, offer 'Lonesome' a job on the radio station. He accepts and soon becomes a sensation with the local populace – and eventually, with the whole country.

A Face in the crowd is what you may call a movie ahead of its time, and that's maybe why it wasn't recognized when it was initially released. It deals with topics like the media, celebrities, propaganda and politics. And in this day and age, when we are surrounded by the internet and the mass media, A Face in the Crowd may seem more actual than ever. A Face in the Crowd is essentially about a corrupted man who has a gift for public relations, and uses this gift as means to an end – the end being his own benefit. I think every last one of us knows at least one politician, public personality or celebrity who is just like that. A Face in the Crowd is a dark, frighteningly realistic movie which is brilliantly directed and masterfully paced. It runs for over 2 hours but never feels dull or boring.

In a character study movie like this one, the actor portraying the character plays a very important part in the quality of the movie. 'Lonesome' Rhodes is portrayed by Andy Griffith in his first movie performance ever. He did an astonishingly great job and, like I said before, it's a shame that the Academy overlooked this movie, especially his performance. Andy Griffith later went to start in the very popular sitcom 'The Andy Griffith Show', and since his character in the sitcom was much different from his 'Lonesome' Rhodes character, he managed to show his amazing acting range – which makes makes his performance in A Face in the Crowd even more astonishing. Patricia Neal also did a very good job in portraying the character of Marcia Jeffries. Overall, A Face in the Crowd is an amazing movie, made by talented people, which doesn't deserve to be just another face in the crowd – it deserves to be more popular.

Rating: 8/10 Read more at http://passpopcorn.com/

A timeless story,as evidenced by all the allegories to recent personalities here ( Howard Stern, Clinton, etc...)...HOWEVER..the film is based (loosely) on a personality of the mid-50s: one Arthur Godfrey..yes, the IL' Redhead himself. Skillfully wrapped in the cliché of 'country boy makes good' story, the Godfrey story was hot news in 1957,and there weren't too many people back then who missed its allusions For those who do not know: Arthur Godfrey was one of THE hottest things in the country in the early to mid 1950's: he literally had about two or three different TV shows on the schedule, plus a radio show that was among the most popular in the day. Godfrey was JUST like this movie in this respect: on the air, he was America's home-spun hero..telling folksy stories....crooning in an off tone baritone, and presenting pure, CLEAN entertainment. OFF the air,however the legend that is Arthur Godfrey to this day is one of THE biggest control freaks in show biz history..to the point of controlling the lives of all of his 'family'..unfortunately that turned out to be downfall...One Julius LaRosa had been a singer that Godfrey had 'discovered' in the US Navy Band...after he was discharged LaRosa became a singer on Godfrey's nighttime TV show "Arthur Godfrey and Friends",where he became an instant star among the bobby sox set. In time, LaRosa started a recording career,and started to have VERY successful records..then suddenly, in 1953, Godfrey suddenly fired LaRosa from his show for the mysterious reason of him having 'no humilty' ...it has been assumed since then that Godfrey was extremely jealous of Larosa's success...Anyways, this exposed the 'real' Godfrey to the public.,and while it didn't happen as quickly or as totally as Lonesome Rhodes' career,Godfrey's career as a superstar was effectively over after that..he eventually was reduced to hosting game shows and such. Writer Schulberg obviously also puts in his 2 cents on fame...politics..the show business...and early television here, but as I said,there wasn't NO ONE in those days who didn't know it was about Godfrey....

hymn Most people will think this movie is about Andy Griffith as Lonsome Rhodes, hick entertainer storyteller megalomaniac. What this film REALLY is is a condemnation of mass media and how the media builds up people to images they can't possibly fulfill. Take Griffith, small town drunk, in jail, with a story to tell and a woman to record it. His story goes over with the public and the woman decides to make Rhodes a media darling. On the other side of the screen is the smoke filled room political machine out to publicize a washed up yokel as politician that they put up for election. Sound familiar? See the film NETWORK and compare Rhodes to the Peter Finch character, Howard Beale.

This film is a scathing indictment of misuse of media, pseudo stardom and all that goes with it. It is allegory to be sure, but then everything old is new again. Take a look at the so called "celebrities" of today and how they got that way and what makes them tick... then watch "A Face In The Crowd!!!!!

Like a lot of people who've commented on this film, I didn't get around to seeing it until late in life, and it seems as relevant today as ever, maybe even more so. I find it interesting that different people, depending on their own viewpoint, project different contemporary personalities into the mold of the film's detestable hero, Lonesome Rhodes. The list of various people Rhodes is compared to includes Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Moore, or George W. Bush, suggesting that there's enough BS from all sides to go around. I did a double-take on watching this film when the reactionary right-wing presidential candidate that Rhodes promotes begins to pontificate about how un-American the notion of social security is, and how it's high time it was dismantled. That was 1957, and that cause is being worked harder than ever today. I was not aware, until reading some of the other comments here, how central a target Arthur Godfrey was in this story. In fact, I believe Godfrey is actually mentioned by name in the film when Rhodes says something like "Have Arthur Godfrey fill in for me, and tell him I'll return the favor some time."

Anyway, while this film hardly needs yet another accolade, I'll add mine to the list and say that it's one of the great under-appreciated films of its time, and only grows with stature as the years go on. And hallelujah – there's now a well-made DVD of this film that includes an interesting documentary in which we hear from Schulberg, Griffeth, Neal, Franciosa, and some film scholars. About time, too.