Review of A Face in the Crowd (1957) by Manny C — 28 Jul 2010

Dark, cynical, and painful; but very impressive. An insightful look at success and the poison it may, and too often does, inject into the lives it touches. Also, beyond the plot itself, one is struck by Andy Griffith's nuanced performance in this, his first major film -- offering a character who begins as merely brash and coarse, then evolves into ambitious, arrogrant, manipulative, and even in some measure savvy.

It is interesting to consider the far more varied potential Griffith's acting career might have realized had he not become stereotyped by the Andy Taylor image.