It's always interesting to see a performer in their very first role. Especially when that particular role differs so greatly from those that follow. When you hear the name Andy Griffith, you more than likely think of either Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show) or Ben Matlock (Matlock), his most memorable characters. Both of these fellows were easy-going, soft spoken and gentle. It would be hard to imagine either of these characters bellowing out a song at full volume or grabbing up folks by their shirt-fronts, screaming at them "You love me, don'tcha???" over and over. Well, Lonesome Rhodes, the character that Andy Griffith plays in his debut film back in 1957, A Face in the Crowd, will do those things. And more. Andy Griffith is nothing short of extraordinary in this role.
This was also the first film for a very young and quite sexy Lee Remick. It was 2 years later, in 1959, that she would star in Anatomy of a Murder, another outstanding film. Her role here is that of a Baton Twirler and she gets probably the shortest screen time of all of the cast. Even so, the role she plays is a memorable one and that's all I want to say about it, for fear of spoiling one of the elements of the film.
The story begins with a young woman, Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal), who works as a reporter for a Northeast Arkansas radio station that travels around, looking for new musical talent and trying to capture stories for the station. She uses the phrase Face in the Crowd for her segment....thus the name of the film. On one venture she visits a jail, hoping some of the inmates can share a few of their tales.
The warden offers to shorten the sentence from 7 days down to 1 day for one of the inmates if he'll just sing a little for the pretty lady reporter. The inmate, known only as Rhodes at this point, improvises and belts out a beaut. In her enthusiasm, the young reporter refers to him as Lonesome...Lonesome Rhodes. Upon his release the next day, the young fella is offered a regular spot on the radio station, singing and telling tales.
Quickly, his charisma captures the community and his popularity begins to spread. Eventually he finds himself on television, as well as wining and dining political figures and sponsors. Young women begin to throw themselves at his feet wherever he goes. He is asked to act as a Judge at a Baton Twirling competition, where he meets one beautiful teenager that he can't resist.
Lonesome Rhodes' influence grows to such an extent, it can't help but go to his head. And as we all know, what goes up must come down. You may think this film portrays the story of a simple country boy that charms his way up the ladder using just his wit and his songs, but I feel that the film is actually a Social Commentary on the influence of television in its' earliest days. It created a power that ultimately turned to ruin for some.
A Face in the Crowd was directed by the talented Elia Kazan. I'm not even going to attempt to list all of the many awards and credits that he has either won or been nominated for....that could possibly take up more room than this entire review. He knew how to bring out the best in the performers that worked under him. All you have to do is watch Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) to witness this. Or Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass (1961)...one of my all time favorite films. He knew how to create a scene that would stay in your mind for years to come. Sad to say he passed away last fall.
Patricia Neal is remarkable as Marcia Jeffries, the young reporter. Usually when I hear her name, I get a visual of a more mature woman with a rather raspy voice. Here in A Face in the Crowd she has a spark and a vitality that I hadn't seen in her before. She portrays this role perfectly, from the excitement of finding Rhodes, to falling in love with him and finally to the realization of what he had become. And the drastic measure that she takes.
Walter Matthau will not make you laugh or even grin in his role of Mel Miller, a writer for the television show out of a local Memphis station that first offers Rhodes a tv spot. He eventually quits to write a book. His path will cross those of Rhodes and Marcia several times due mostly to the fact that he is in love with Marcia himself. He will be the person to deliver a rather emotional speech to Rhodes in the final moments of the film. I'm not going to tell you what he says....you'll have to watch it for yourself.
Anthony Franciosa plays the role of Lonesome Rhodes' agent, Joey. There was nothing that made this character stand out. And now for just a bit of trivia for any Grand Ole Opry fans out there. For 14 years Rod Brasfield was a regular comedian on the show. Here in A Face in the Crowd he plays Lonesome Rhodes friend, fellow inmate and "groupie". It was one of only 2 movies that he performed in, and the very next year he passed away. If you listened to the Grand Ole Opry in it's earliest days, you'll probably recognize his name and his voice.
A Face in the Crowd runs just a little over 2 hours (125 minutes to be exact) and was filmed in black and white. The only problem that I had while watching it was the need to keep the remote close at hand. The sound quality tends to go from being very difficult to hear at times, to blasting you out of your seat at others. It has not been rated, but I would say that it's for a more mature audience, simply by virtue of the story itself. The is no nudity and no offensive language. It's well worth the watch just to see Andy Griffith in a truly powerful performance.
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