Rent A Face in the Crowd (1957)
4.0 of 5 from 83 ratings
2h 6min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- "A Face in the Crowd" chronicles the rise and fall of Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes (Andy Griffith), a boisterous entertainer discovered in an Arkansas drunk tank by Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal), a local radio producer with ambitions of her own. His charisma and cunning soon shoot him to the heights of television stardom and political demagoguery, forcing Marcia to grapple with the manipulative, reactionary monster she has created.
- Actors:
- Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick, Percy Waram, Paul McGrath, Rod Brasfield, Marshall Neilan, Alexander Kirkland, Charles Irving, Howard Smith, Kay Medford, Big Jeff Bess, Henry Sharp, R.G. Armstrong, Beverly Bentley, John Bliss, Mary Boylan, Walter Cartier
- Directors:
- Elia Kazan
- Producers:
- Elia Kazan
- Writers:
- Budd Schulberg
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Drama, Music & Musicals
- Collections:
- A Brief History of Films About Television: Part 1, Brando: A Centenary Celebration, People of the Pictures, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Award Winners at the London Film Festival, Top 10 Films About Radio: Rock to Rap, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 06/05/2019
- Run Time:
- 126 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- New Interview with Ron Briley, Author of 'The Ambivalent Legacy of Elia Kazan'
- New Interview with Andy Griffith Biographer Evan Dalton Smith
- 'Facing the Past', a 2005 Documentary Featuring Actors Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Anthony Franciosa; Screenwriter Budd Schulberg; and Film Scholars Leo Braudy and Jeff Young
- Trailer
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Reviews (1) of A Face in the Crowd
Not Quite the Masterpiece - A Face in the Crowd review by griggs
Honestly, A Face in the Crowd is a solid but slightly overlong drama that feels uncannily timely. Andy Griffith is shockingly intense here, delivering an unhinged, anxiety-inducing performance that genuinely put me on edge. In fact, his portrayal is so powerful that the film isn’t actually that enjoyable—it’s more stressful than entertaining. What hooked me was how eerily relevant this film is to today’s politics. Lonesome Rhodes is basically a 1950s version of Donald Trump—it’s almost spooky how similar they are. Both men build a “man of the people” image despite being wealthy and well-connected. They manipulate the media (radio/TV then, TV/social media now) to captivate audiences, even mocking their own followers behind closed doors. Their massive egos crave constant attention and only grow more erratic as their influence expands. Worth watching, but not quite the masterpiece, some claim.
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