MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 222 this week

A Face in the Crowd (1957)

 -  Drama  -  June 1957 (USA)
8.0
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 8.0/10 from 6,989 users  
Reviews: 118 user | 39 critic

An Arkansas hobo becomes an overnight media sensation. But as he becomes drunk with fame and power, will he ever be exposed as the fraud he has become?

Director:

Writer:

(story)
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 1553 titles created 10 months ago
 
a list of 203 titles created 03 Sep 2011
 
a list of 3595 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 2916 titles created 16 May 2011
 
a list of 10 titles created 07 Jun 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: A Face in the Crowd (1957)

A Face in the Crowd (1957) on IMDb 8/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of A Face in the Crowd.
1 win & 1 nomination. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Baby Doll (1956)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Steamy tale of two Southern rivals and a sensuous 19-year-old virgin.

Director: Elia Kazan
Stars: Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach
Network (1976)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor's ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.

Director: Sidney Lumet
Stars: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch
Shame (1968)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

Ingmar Bergman's psychological study of how humans react in a situation of war. The film takes place on Gotland, where invasion forces arrives.

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Stars: Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, Sigge Fürst
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

An aging doorman, after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious Hotel is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbours and society.

Director: F.W. Murnau
Stars: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller
Late Spring (1949)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

Noriko is 27 years old and still living with her widowed father. Everybody tries to talk her into marrying, but Noriko wants to stay taking care of her father.

Director: Yasujirô Ozu
Stars: Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka
Akahige (1965)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

In 19th century Japan, a rough tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yûzô Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X  

In mediaeval Japan a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

The rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.

Director: Robert Rossen
Stars: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.8/10 X  

Upon admittance to a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients to take on the oppressive head nurse, a woman he views as more dictator than nurse.

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco, Louise Fletcher
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Elmer Gantry is a fast talking, hard drinking traveling salesman who always has a risqué story and a hip flask to entertain cronies and customers alike. He is immediately taken with Sister ... See full summary »

Director: Richard Brooks
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office.

Director: James Foley
Stars: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin
Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
...
...
Joey DePalma
...
Mel Miller
...
Betty Lou Fleckum
Percy Waram ...
Gen. Haynesworth
Paul McGrath ...
Macey
Rod Brasfield ...
Beanie
Marshall Neilan ...
Senator Worthington Fuller
Alexander Kirkland ...
Jim Collier
Charles Irving ...
Mr. Luffler
Howard Smith ...
J.B. Jeffries
Kay Medford ...
First Mrs. Rhodes
Big Jeff Bess ...
Sheriff Big Jeff Bess
Henry Sharp ...
Abe Steiner
Edit

Storyline

"A Face in the Crowd" charts the rise of a raucous hayseed named Lonesome Rhodes from itinerant Ozark guitar picker to local media rabble-rouser to TV superstar and political king-maker. Marcia Jeffries is the innocent Sarah Lawrence girl who discovers the great man in a back-country jail and is the first to fall under his spell. Written by alfiehitchie

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

power | song | fame | personality | television | See more »

Taglines:

POWER! He loved it! He took it raw in big gulpfuls...he liked the taste, the way it mixed with the bourbon and the sin in his blood!

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Budd Schulberg's A Face in the Crowd  »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(RCA Sound System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Lee Remick. See more »

Goofs

Just before Larry goes on air during his first TV appearance, the straw in his mouth disappears between shots. See more »

Quotes

Mel Miller: [of TV] You gotta be a saint to stand all the power that little box can give you.
See more »


Soundtracks

"Vitajex Jingle"
(1957) (uncredited)
Music by Tom Glazer
Lyrics by Budd Schulberg
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

Just Some Historical Perspective....
1 November 2004 | by (Hudson Valley NY) – See all my reviews

A timeless story,as evidenced by all the allegories to recent personalities here ( Howard Stern, Clinton, etc...)...HOWEVER..the film is based (loosely) on a personality of the mid-50s: one Arthur Godfrey..yes, the IL' Redhead himself. Skillfully wrapped in the cliché of 'country boy makes good' story, the Godfrey story was hot news in 1957,and there weren't too many people back then who missed its allusions For those who do not know: Arthur Godfrey was one of THE hottest things in the country in the early to mid 1950's: he literally had about two or three different TV shows on the schedule, plus a radio show that was among the most popular in the day. Godfrey was JUST like this movie in this respect: on the air, he was America's home-spun hero..telling folksy stories....crooning in an off tone baritone, and presenting pure, CLEAN entertainment. OFF the air,however the legend that is Arthur Godfrey to this day is one of THE biggest control freaks in show biz history..to the point of controlling the lives of all of his 'family'..unfortunately that turned out to be downfall...One Julius LaRosa had been a singer that Godfrey had 'discovered' in the US Navy Band...after he was discharged LaRosa became a singer on Godfrey's nighttime TV show "Arthur Godfrey and Friends",where he became an instant star among the bobby sox set. In time, LaRosa started a recording career,and started to have VERY successful records..then suddenly, in 1953, Godfrey suddenly fired LaRosa from his show for the mysterious reason of him having 'no humilty' ...it has been assumed since then that Godfrey was extremely jealous of Larosa's success...Anyways, this exposed the 'real' Godfrey to the public.,and while it didn't happen as quickly or as totally as Lonesome Rhodes' career,Godfrey's career as a superstar was effectively over after that..he eventually was reduced to hosting game shows and such. Writer Schulberg obviously also puts in his 2 cents on fame...politics..the show business...and early television here, but as I said,there wasn't NO ONE in those days who didn't know it was about Godfrey....


124 of 146 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Who was that? alweiss
Patricia Neal...OMG ceherman1
Should be in the AFI 100. All who agree chime in! writermangp
All of you comparing Lonesome Rhodes to politicians... OSelzNick
Andy Griffith...sexy? thedeeperwell
This film has a predecessor.......... hootson21
Discuss A Face in the Crowd (1957) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?