Moon Minis - A Face in the Crowd

A Face in the Crowd

The audio review:

 

Andy Griffith steals the show in this 1957 adaptation of Budd Schulberg's short story "Your Arkansas Traveler." Elia Kazan directs, a controversial filmmaker known for his snitching in the HUAC testimonies of the '50s. But this review is not here to reflect any political beliefs of the crew involved; instead, let's delve into the life of Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, Griffith's prominent character in A Face in the Crowd.

Griffith portrays Rhodes as a deeply afflicted character; at first, Rhodes seems likable enough, and though slightly bipolar and a bit strange, the audience becomes pretty taken with him. As Rhodes becomes a television celebrity, he takes on a more strained personality, becoming detached from the reality that got him to his position in the first place. It is here where Griffith shines - he's able to make a transformation from an absurd character to an imposing and threatening one.

Kazan is also doing some great stuff with direction. Visual metaphors abound, and he's really striving to drive Schulberg's point home about celebrity corruption. The pacing varies on and off; Kazan has a tendency to include less-than-important scenes, or ones that seem to carry on a bit too long. Take, for instance, a baton-twirling contest that Rhodes attends; it's semi-important, as Rhodes finds his wife there, but it strays far from the path of what has become an interesting character study of Rhodes' deteriorating psyche.

Yet the film's worth the watch to revel in Griffith's performance, and Patricia Neal provides a moving finale as she grieves over her lost relationship and the chaos she has inflicted by finding Rhodes.

A Face in the Crowd on Rotten Tomatoes