Receiving an issue of film magazine Retro Cinema from a family friend,I took a look at movie reviewer Raymond Benson's best of 1958 films list,and was taken by a title that he said continued to be politically relevant today. A few days later I saw former IMDber MikeF list it as one of his best viewings of the month,which along with Benson's list led to me looking to the crowd.View on the film:Meeting future President LBJ a number of times for research into his speaking style and mannerisms, Budd Schulberg reunites with director Elia Kazan for a jet-black satire of populism in the TV age. Pulling Larry 'Lonesome' Rhodes out of the blue-collar grass-roots of On The Waterfront, Schulberg warns of the instant fame TV can give by dicing Lonesome from a good olde Southern boy just happy to hear his tune on the radio, to his bigly gain in popularity from starring in trash TV shows powering Lonesome towards politics and becoming a demagogue who is top of the world ma!Whilst the way he is caught out rings as a false,rushed move in the tale, Schulberg follows the puppet-strings of Lonesome that go up to the dry wit of politicians trying to get Lonesome's populism to rub off on them, and Lonesome's romance with Marcia Jeffries's crumbles as he becomes surrounded by power. Continuing his trademark theme of "social issues" films, director Elia Kazan brings a giddy excitement to Lonesome's early days with flashing TV studio lights and signs, that starkly dim to a black screen transmitting the empty space now at the core of Lonesome. Joined by the fellow debut of Lee Remick as the high-kicking Betty Lou Fleckum, Andy Griffith gives a magnetic debut performance as Lonesome, whose laid-back style Griffith uses to charm the crowds and the viewers, that Griffith sours into a cold sweat,as Lonesome looks out and sees no faces in the crowd.

There are films that are both a product of the time they are created in and yet timeless. They are films that remain prescient in the years and decades after their initial release. They may linger in the background but they are films that stand the test of time. A Face In The Crowd, released in 1957 and marking the breakthrough role for an up and coming Andy Griffith, is exactly that kind of movie. As a sit here writing this review in 2016, the film seems like a warning from decades ago and a warning prescient for the time we live in now.The heart of the film is Andy Griffith as Lonesome Rhodes, a drifter who through his talents and folksy charm manages to rise not just to celebrity status but to the cusp of potential political power. For those who only know Griffith from his roles as Sheriff Andy Taylor and the lawyer Matlock, this role is a revelation. All of that charm is there but it's just the tip of the iceberg that is the Rhodes character. Griffith's as Rhodes is a volcano, a man of extreme energy and talent who can be loving and charming one minute but hateful, spiteful, and downright unlikable the next. The depth and range that Griffith shows is simply startling and whenever he's on- screen (which is much of the film) you can not take your eyes off of him as he goes through the great American story of a man's rise and fall. That Griffith wasn't nominated for any kind of award for his performance is as startling as his performance as it is a performance of a lifetime and one that stays with the viewer long after the film is over.Right beside Griffith is Patricia Neal as Marcia Jeffries, the Arkansas radio producer who first discover Rhodes and gives him his new name and who goes with him on his journey through the film. Neal's performance is just as stunning as Griffith, a woman who goes on the incredible journey with the man she falls in love with despite the man's faults and eventually finds herself sacrificing herself almost heart and soul in the process. Neal throws herself into the role, being utterly believable throughout as she becomes increasingly conflicted about her role in Rhodes life. Her performance is a fascinating study of what it's like to be the power behind the throne and the price one pays for being so. The film's supporting cast is strong as well. Walter Matthau is particularly memorable as Mel Miller, a writer who finds himself brought in Rhodes orbit from Memphis to New York and ultimately gets to deliver a particularly effective dramatic punch line in the film's closing minutes while also acting as something of a voice of conscience for Neal's Jeffries as well. Anthony Franciosa plays Joey DePalma, an opportunist who becomes Rhodes' agent on his incredible rise to power. Bringing Rhodes into a political orbit is Percy Waram as the multi-millionaire General Haynesworth who puts into Rhodes the idea of gaining political power, drawing in presidential candidate Senator Fuller (played by Marshall Neilan) who are both well suited to their roles. With appearances from Howard Smith and a young Lee Remick plus cameos from Mike Wallace and Walter Winchell, the film's cast is superb.Beyond the cast, the film is a superb piece of work in its own right. The film makes excellent use of locations as well as sets, giving it a strong sense of verisimilitude that's especially evident today. The stark black and white cinematography brings the film's various locations to life from the back roads of Arkansas to New York City and the television studios around the country. All brought together under the direction of Elia Kazan, who brings the film to life with a great sense of both drama and irony that's especially present in the film's closing minutes. The overall result is a film that feels like a portrait of a time and place in American history never to be glimpsed again but that stands as a document for future generations.That being said, A Face In The Crowd isn't that dated at all. If Griffity is the film's heart, then the screenplay by Budd Schulberg is its soul. The film is a classic American story, played out again and again in our history. It's the tale of a man who comes from nothing yet, through his talents and lucky encounters, rises to become not just a celebrity but wield immense power before his ego and inability to keep himself in check leads him to self- destruction. It's a story that we've seen played out again and again in our history and it's something that gives the film even more power. Not only does the film tell that classic story, it also explores issues that we're still dealing with today: celebrity culture, the role of popular media in politics, the question of where entertainment and politics intersect and its effect on American society. Watching Griffith's Rhodes also feels like a nearly six decade old pre-echo of personalities currently dominating in politics and popular discussions of it, something that gives the film a power and message that few films of its age can claim to have.A Face In The Crowd, for all of these reasons, is something of an overlooked classic. Made in the 1950s about the rise of television, its script and the questions it raises are ones we're still coping with today. More than that, it's a finely crafted film featuring an incredible performance from Andy Griffith who is backed by strong performances and a finely crafted film. It's remains watchable and prescient, a film that begs to be seen even now. So see it and see it soon. You may be wondering why you haven't before.

Dear Elia Kazan, Your over the top depiction of the sinister and abnormal marriage between the entertainment industry and the common man is not just prophetic, but influential due to its use of over the top dialogs and imagery. You conjured up a beautiful and loud warning about American culture filled with close ups of Andy Griffith's reptilian smile, hysterical noisy crowds, the sweaty bimbos who flock towards him and the creepy tasteless capitalists who use his celebrity. The noirish imagery is used rather discreetly. There were extremely beautiful women in many of the frames - usually in submissive roles of a secretary or assistants holding banners in a TV show or as objects for entertaining men.Three scenes in the film stood out for me. The first scene was a pretty sober one in a corridor where Patricia Neal seduces Griffith when he is about to leave the business and hit the road. The corridor is beautifully lit and the the background score is melancholic. The only times in the film when Griffith is true to himself is when he interacts with Neal's character whose sober and cold self is like a perfect foil for the film's over the top tone. The second one is the advertisement for the Vitajex tablets with Griffith selling his soul to the advertisement industry. Not only is it vulgar and tasteless, but the scene marks a transformation in Griffith's character from a spirited country singer to a power hungry TV host. The third scene is a beauty contest. In an amazing show of depravity, the female contestants literally launch themselves onto Griffith, almost like an orgy out in the open. It is an extremely entertaining scene with Lee Remick's sweet, beautiful and idiotic sweaty country face ogling at the lecherous Griffith while dull and hypnotized crowds look on at performing women in skimpy clothing. Griffith's must be one of the greatest "over-the-top" performances of all time. He lights up the screen with that smile and body language. But the goodness and dignity in Patricia Neal is also spellbinding. She holds her own even though Griffith has all the best scenes. The excess, greed and debauchery in A Face in the Crowd almost certainly inspired filmmakers like Scorsese (Wolf of Wall Street) and Brian De Palma (Scarface). Best Regards, Pimpin. (9/10)

An early warning about the power and peril of mass media, "A Face In The Crowd" introduces us to Lonesome Larry Rhodes (Andy Griffith), a drifter who becomes a demagogue. It's a fine, funny movie with powerhouse performances, if undercut by a moralizing tone.Rhodes, you see, is beloved by millions for his folksy ways, but we know better right away when we are introduced to him in an Arkansas jailhouse where Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal) is trying to round up participants for her "Face In The Crowd" radio feature. "Better watch him, he's mean," someone tells her, an ironic comment since watching him will turn out to be a big part of the problem.To say Griffith plays his role big is an understatement, yet he's doing what Budd Schulberg's script requires of him. He's a man who recognizes no limits in life. "I put my whole self into everything I do," he tells Marcia, which is the truth. The big laugh, the sudden bursts of anger and just-as-sudden swings into apparent (if, we suspect, insincere) regret all find in Griffith a magnificent vessel for our attention for two engaging hours.As the snowball rolls on, "A Face In The Crowd" becomes a fascinating satire on big media in earlier days, Rhodes hawking a lame vitamin bill ("It won't kill you," is the best a doctor can say about it) which he transforms into proto-Viagra. "Vitajex gives a fellow that get-up that sets him up solid with the ladies," Rhodes purrs. We are soon treated to a montage of clever, corny TV ads of pigs transformed into wolves and sexy ladies singing the wonders of Vitajex while Rhodes smiles at the extent of his hoodwinking.Less engaging, though still involving and brilliantly acted, especially by Neal (whose luminosity leaves a deep impression) is the relationship between Rhodes and Marcia. She knows he's a con but loves him anyway, in part because she made him what he is. But when Rhodes starts craving a different kind of power as enabler for an arch-conservative senator, Marcia wonders what she has unleashed."A Face In The Crowd" is often described as a political movie, which it is to a point. It's almost entirely non-ideological, though. We get that Marcia, and her pipe-smoking mild-mannered would-be beau Mel Miller (Walter Matthau), disapprove of this right-wing thing Rhodes gets into, but it's not the point of the film. Director Elia Kazan keeps the focus on Rhodes as crass opportunist, plotting to use his talents to hurt those who get in his way."I'm not just an entertainer, I'm an influence, a wielder of opinion," Rhodes exclaims at the height of his power.There are moments where "A Face In The Crowd" seems ready to become even more interesting than it is, when we see glimpses of Rhodes as confused by what he is become, and reaching for Marcia with feral determination that doesn't seem put on. "Mighty tall grass," he mutters, fondling dying flowers in his Manhattan penthouse. "We're getting in deep, Marcia."But the film falls back into disliking Rhodes for what he has become, and turning Miller into the voice of cool Eastern reason telling Marcia (and eventually Rhodes) just what's right. I love Matthau more than any other actor in this film, but he's the film's weak link because, like Griffith, he's playing the part as written and this time it's not much of a part.The more the film tells me how awful Rhodes really is, the more I find myself wanting to know more about him, like why a guy who exudes such warmth can be so selfish and vituperative at heart. The ending is rather conventional, using the legend of Uncle Don's famous on-air faux-pas (which Simpsons fans will recognize as happening to the Great Gabbo) as an excuse to end things on a tidy and smug note. Having Mel give the final "what-it-all-means" speech is a sign Kazan, for all his command of cinema, didn't always trust his audience to get the message the first time.Still, the great moments in the film are great indeed, and make for lasting commentary on the dumbed-down state of media then and now. The technology has changed, but the laughs endure. Griffith gives a performance for the ages, and assisted by Neal as well brilliant editing and cinematography, offers a milestone moment for reckoning with the power of big media.