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Movies / On DVD / A Face in the Crowd
A Face in the Crowd

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A Face in the Crowd (1957)

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Reviews Counted:21

Fresh:19

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.8/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: A savagely funny look at the way sudden notoriety and power corrupt. A small-town windbag (Griffith in his film debut) becomes an overnight success when the TV show created for him by network and... A savagely funny look at the way sudden notoriety and power corrupt. A small-town windbag (Griffith in his film debut) becomes an overnight success when the TV show created for him by network and advertising execs hits the top of the ratings. But behind the scenes he turns out to be a vindictive monster, and the reporter who brought him out of the woods determines to expose him. Based on the short story "The Arkansas Traveler" by Schulburg, who also wrote the script. [More]

Starring: Andy Griffith, Lee Remick, Walter Matthau, Patricia Neal

Starring: Andy Griffith, Lee Remick, Walter Matthau, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Percy Waram, Rod Brasfield, Paul McGrath, Kay Medford

Director: Elia Kazan

Director: Elia Kazan
Producer: Elia Kazan
Screenwriter: Budd Schulberg

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 10, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Discovered by Marcia Jeffries, Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes is a homespun hobo who's about to become famous. But, as usual, more fame leads to more power and more power leads to more corruption. The film also features many celebrities appearing as themselves (Burl Ives, Mike Wallace, Betty Furness, Bennett Cerf, Faye Emerson, Walter Winchell, and others).
  • Source: Warner Home Video
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for A Face in the Crowd

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    11/06/08
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A Face in the Crowd has never ceased to be relevant.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    02/27/08
    J. Hoberman
    J. Hoberman
    Village Voice
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's a biting 'rise and fall' satire, sending out a warning to watch out for legends created on the boob tube.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    11/29/07
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    A raw, penetrating, and terrifying portrait of humanity.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    11/01/07
    TV Guide's Movie Guide
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    12/12/06
    Cole Smithey
    Cole Smithey
    ColeSmithey.com

    What starts out as a seemingly liberal tract rapidly becomes a smug, cynical exercise in misanthropy.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    01/26/06
    Geoff Andrew
    Geoff Andrew
    Time Out

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    06/29/05
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    ...an important cautionary tale for all of us not take everything we see and hear at face value.

    Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
    05/15/05
    John J. Puccio
    John J. Puccio
    DVDTown.com

    Next time you feel like you're getting fooled again by a demagogue, rent this movie and get centered

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    05/13/05
    David Bezanson
    David Bezanson
    Filmcritic.com

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    04/28/05
    Thomas Delapa
    Thomas Delapa
    Boulder Weekly

    Didactic but highly effective little black comedy from the folks who gave you 'On the Waterfront.' Andy Griffith is downright scary.

    comment Comment
    12/31/04
    Dan Lybarger
    Dan Lybarger
    Nitrate Online

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    01/30/04
    Daniel M. Kimmel
    Daniel M. Kimmel
    Worcester Telegram & Gazette

    The remarkable thing about A Face in the Crowd is the way in which this 50-year-old film only seems to become only more relevant with the passing of time.

    Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
    11/20/03
    Ken Hanke
    Ken Hanke
    Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    10/31/03
    Carol Cling
    Carol Cling
    Las Vegas Review-Journal

    The first half of A Face in the Crowd is genuinely intriguing and competently handled by Kazan, but it quickly degenerates into moralizing diatribe.

    Full Review Source: Film4 | comment Comment
    05/24/03
    Film4
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    This sizzling and cynical exposure... also presents Andy Griffith as the key figure in his first screen role.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    05/20/03
    Bosley Crowther
    Bosley Crowther
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    12/31/02
    Robert Roten
    Robert Roten
    Laramie Movie Scope

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    12/19/02
    Josh Gilchrist
    Josh Gilchrist
    Billings Outpost (Montana)

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    10/15/02
    Philip Martin
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

    A little overdone, but Neal and Remick are brilliant.

    comment Comment
    08/01/02
    Nell Minow
    Nell Minow
    Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
     
     
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