Review of A Face in the Crowd (1957) by Chris K — 30 Nov 2007

I must confess that I was not in love with this picture. Its director, the enormously-gifted Elia Kazan, created a situation where his giants of films--most notably "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "On the Waterfront"--overshadow his other works.

"A Face in the Crowd" is therefore one of those films that is not quite as genuinely awspiring. But there is one element I wish to write about, and that is Andy Griffith. No matter which generation you are a member of--the Greatest Generation, the Baby Boomers, the Generation Xers or the current one--you have at one point known to love Sheriff Andy and his lovable television show, "The Andy Griffith Show.

" You admire his warmth, his calm and kind demeanor, his integrity, his humanity and his character. It was the image Griffith had impacted on American audiences throughout the rest of his career, whether it was as a talented lawyer in "Matlock" or the newer film "Waitress.

" Griffith is everything one would ask for in an American icon and role model. In this film, however, he is quite the oppostie. I do not mean slightly or a little bit, but completely contridicting his swell persona.

While recognizable in the first frame, he immediately is something completely different: a thug, a menace, a lowlife, climaxing into a scene where many would say he is overracting, but they misunderstand that his character is supposed to be that way--a psychopath.

Everything about him in this movie, his stance, his voice and terrible laugh, and his actions will completely take its new audience members by suprise. It is said that if the film had been popular when it was released, American audiences would never have bought Griffith in "The Andy Griffith Show.

" While not a perfect film, watch it instead for its overlooked and wonderful performance.