A Face in the Crowd
A Face in the Crowd movie poster
Directed by	Elia Kazan
Produced by	Elia Kazan
Written by	Budd Schulberg also story The Arkansas Traveler
Starring	Andy Griffith Patricia Neal Anthony Franciosa Walter Matthau Lee Remick
Music by	Tom Glazer
Cinematography	Gayne Rescher Harry Stradling Sr.
Release date(s)	May 28, 1957
Running time	125 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

A Face in the Crowd (1957) is an epic motion picture starring Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Walter Matthau, directed by Elia Kazan. The screenplay was written by Budd Schulberg, based on his own short story "The Arkansas Traveler". The story centers on a "country" comedian, a common thug named Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes (Griffith, in a role starkly different from the amiable "Sheriff Andy Taylor" persona), who is discovered by the producer (Neal) of a small-market radio program in Piggott, Arkansas. Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Elia Kazan, (Greek Ηλίας Καζάν), (September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was a Greek-American film and theatre director and producer. ... Elia Kazan, (Greek Ηλίας Καζάν), (September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was a Greek-American film and theatre director and producer. ... Picture of writer Budd Schulberg (born March 27, 1914 in New York City, New York) is an American screenwriter and novelist. ... Andy Samuel Griffith (born June 1, 1926) is an American actor, Grammy Award winning singer[1], writer and producer from Mount Airy, North Carolina. ... Patricia Neal (born January 20, 1926, Packard, Kentucky) is an Academy Award winning American actress. ... Anthony Franciosa, born Anthony George Papaleo, Jr. ... Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an Academy Award winning American comedy actor. ... Lee Remick Lee Remick (December 14, 1935 - July 2, 1991), was an American actress admired for her versality and her great beauty. ... Thomas Zachariah Glazer (September 2, 1914 - February 21, 2003) was a folk singer/songwriter. ... Harry Stradling Sr. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Andy Samuel Griffith (born June 1, 1926) is an American actor, Grammy Award winning singer[1], writer and producer from Mount Airy, North Carolina. ... Patricia Neal (born January 20, 1926, Packard, Kentucky) is an Academy Award winning American actress. ... Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an Academy Award winning American comedy actor. ... Elia Kazan, (Greek Ηλίας Καζάν), (September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was a Greek-American film and theatre director and producer. ... Picture of writer Budd Schulberg (born March 27, 1914 in New York City, New York) is an American screenwriter and novelist. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... The Andy Griffith Show was an American television series that aired from 1960 to 1968. ... Piggott is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, one of that countys two seats (Corning is the other), and the northern terminus of the Arkansas segment of Crowleys Ridge Parkway. ...

Plot

The setting for the film is late 1950s America, a time during which television was rapidly replacing radio as the most popular entertainment medium. Although Rhodes is coarse and abusive, he possesses a colloquial, on-air charm that quickly endears him to the hearts and minds of rural listeners after Marcia Jeffries (Neal), a small-town radio personality, discovers him in the Piggott, Arkansas jail and lands him a radio show there. A talent scout invites him to appear on television in Memphis, Tennessee where Rhodes is introduced to Mel Miller (Matthau), a bookish Vanderbilt graduate who writes his scripts. However, Rhodes makes a name for himself by insulting his sponsor — to the delight of his adoring audience. Rhodes's sponsor, the fictional "Luffler Mattress" company, is offended but forced to relent in canceling the show when they discover Rhodes's antics are actually increasing their sales (and that the wife of owner Luffler is a Lonesome Rhodes fan). // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Piggott is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, one of that countys two seats (Corning is the other), and the northern terminus of the Arkansas segment of Crowleys Ridge Parkway. ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... Vanderbilt University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

An opportunistic "office boy" (portrayed by Anthony Franciosa) lands Rhodes a contract in New York City, where he becomes the national TV spokesman for Vitajex, an innocuous dietary supplement. A frenetic montage of Rhode's hyperbolic ads for Vitajex is one of the film's most memorable sequences, revealing the gullibility of the American public to a persuasive con-artist. In the tradition of classical tragedy, Rhodes is undone by his thirst for power and by Jeffries who, despite building his stardom, becomes so fed up that she allows him to expose his contempt for his fans on the air. Anthony Franciosa, born Anthony George Papaleo, Jr. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC, City That Never Sleeps, The Concrete Jungle, The City So Nice They Named It Twice Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1676 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area... A prescribed dietary supplement is intended to supply nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fatty acids or amino acids) that are missing or not consumed in sufficient quantity in a persons diet. ... MONTAGE MONTAGE [1] American pop group (1991-current) consisting of singer/songwriter Chris Jones, drummer/songwriter Andrew Doss and various guitarists. ...

As a "Cracker Barrel" broadcast ends, Rhodes is shown, with sound off and an announcer doing a voiceover, smiling and waving to the camera as he speaks contemptuously of his audience. In the control room, Jeffries and the technical staff hear him continue to mock his viewers as "idiots," "morons," "guinea pigs." Fed up with Rhodes' betrayal, aware she helped create the monster, Jeffries pushes slide switches that throw Rhodes's comments on the air. In minutes, furious, betrayed fans who heard the remarks are calling the network. In a symbolic moment, an unaware Rhodes's popularity is shown plummeting as he rides an elevator down following the show. The film ends with a meltdown at Rhodes's penthouse apartment, as Jeffries admits she betrayed him and Matthau predicts his future, that he'll return to the air but it won't be quite as fancy. An uncredited Rip Torn is shown at one point as "Barry Mills," a young Lonesome Rhodes waiting in the wings. Rip Torn as Chief Zed in the film Men in Black. ...

Interviewed for the DVD release in 2006 and the documentary accompanying the film, Griffith, Neal and Franciosa all express pride in their work in the film, and Schulberg explains the film's origins.

Real-life inspirations

It is possible that Schulberg built the musical side of the Rhodes character on that of Tennessee Ernie Ford who, in the wake of his hit record "Sixteen Tons," had a popular weekly half-hour program on NBC called "The Ford Show." The down-home facade of Rhodes has some roots in Ford's "Pea Picker" persona though Ford himself was nothing like the manipulative, megalomanaical Rhodes. Certain aspects of the Rhodes personality presented in the film, were clearly inspired by 1950s CBS radio-TV star Arthur Godfrey. The scene where Rhodes, on TV in Memphis, spoofs his sponsor precisely echoes Godfrey's reputation for kidding his sponsors. Godfrey claimed he would not advertise products he did not believe in, and while he never mocked the product, he often ridiculed the stodgy ad copy the sponsor gave him as well as company executives. As their sales increased, some sponsors began giving Godfrey badly done ad copy knowing he would ridicule it or even rip it up before launching into a heartfelt, sincere and effective extemporized sales pitch. Godfrey's popularity, of course, underwent a slower drop from fame following his 1953 on-air firing of singer Julius LaRosa, which similarly exposed his less lovable side. Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 -October 17, 1991), better known by the stage name Tennessee Ernie Ford, was a pioneering U.S. recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country & western, pop, and gospel musical genres. ... NBC (an abbreviation for National Broadcasting Company, its former corporate name) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. ... Julius La Rosa (born January 2, 1930) was a pop singer, specializing in traditional pop music. ...

The film marked the debut of actress Lee Remick, who plays a teenage baton-twirling champion from Arkansas, one of Rhodes' love interests whom he marries instead of Marcia Jeffries. To underscore the sway of television media in America, Kazan cleverly incorporated several cameos by popular "talking heads," including: Sam Levenson, John Cameron Swayze, Mike Wallace, Earl Wilson, and Walter Winchell. Lee Remick Lee Remick (December 14, 1935 - July 2, 1991), was an American actress admired for her versality and her great beauty. ... Official language(s) English Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Area  Ranked 29th  - Total 53,179 sq mi (137,002 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 261 miles (420 km)  - % water 2. ... Sam Levenson (December 28, 1911-August 27, 1980), American humorist, writer, and journalist. ... John Cameron Swayze (April 4, 1906-August 15, 1995), was a popular news commentator and game show panelist in the United States, during the 1950s. ... Mike Wallace (born Myron Leon Wallace on May 9, 1918) is a former American game show host, television personality, and journalist. ... Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972), an American newspaper and radio commentator, invented the gossip column at the New York Evening Graphic. ...

Some have suggested that the Rhodes character may have been inspired in part by John Henry Faulk, a country comedian who was long blacklisted as a result of the "Red Scare". Schulberg, however, has admitted basing a significant part of the character's facade on that of Will Rogers, adding a distinctively un-Rogers like level of amorality and cruelty. John Henry Faulk (August 21, 1913–April 9, 1990) from Austin, Texas was a storyteller and former radio broadcaster. ... A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, or mobility. ... Some factual claims in this article need to be verified. ... Will Rogers. ...

Schulberg, in Richard Schickel's 2006 biography of director Elia Kazan, explained that he'd met Will Rogers, Jr., who was running for Congress. The younger Rogers told Schulberg how his father socialized with the very establishment types he mocked in his public pronouncements, adding his father was actually a political reactionary in private life. Richard Warren Schickel (b. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Elia Kazan, (Greek Ηλίας Καζάν), (September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was a Greek-American film and theatre director and producer. ... William Vann Rogers, generally known as Will Rogers, Jr. ...

Since Godfrey was involved in similar controversies based around the press seeing the difference between his amiable on-air personality and his cold, controlling offstage ferocity, many parallels were drawn between the two.

External Links

• A Face in the Crowd at the Internet Movie Database
• A Face in the Crowd at the TCM Movie Database