A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins
Synopsis: The story centers on young Francis Nolan, whose father's sudden death leaves the family to somehow survive in a harsh, desperate time. Like the tree in the back of their house, uncared for and forgotten, their struggle to survive is a valiant one. Based on Betty Smith's 1943 novel. Academy... The story centers on young Francis Nolan, whose father's sudden death leaves the family to somehow survive in a harsh, desperate time. Like the tree in the back of their house, uncared for and forgotten, their struggle to survive is a valiant one. Based on Betty Smith's 1943 novel. Academy Award Nominations: 2, including Best Screenplay. Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor--James Dunn. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn, Lloyd Nolan, Peggy Ann Garner
Producer: Louis D. Lighton
Screenwriter: Tess Slesinger
Story: Betty Smith
Composer: Alfred Newman
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Reviews
Where Tree is frequently slow, it is offset by the story's significance and pointed up notably by the direction of Elia Kazan.
This episodic, charmingly sentimental movie is a trifle lengthy but never tedious.
Kazan's film has a sharp eye for social detail, but avoids giving occulted status to the peeling paper, damp walls and austere kitchen table.
Elia Kazan has directed this picture, his first, with an easy naturalness that has brought out all the tone of real experience in a vastly affecting film.
This family has a great deal of love but a lot of difficulty showing it.
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by: HAMMEROGOD 5/20/04


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