A Face in the Crowd (1957)

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writer:

Budd Schulberg (story)

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

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!

Plot:

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?

Plot Keywords:

Power | Song | Fame | Personality | Television

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Andy Griffith	...	Larry 'Lonesome' Rhodes
Patricia Neal	...	Marcia Jeffries
Anthony Franciosa	...	Joey DePalma
Walter Matthau	...	Mel Miller
Lee Remick	...	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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
R.G. Armstrong	...	TV Prompter Operator (uncredited)
John Bliss	...	Barefoot Baritone (uncredited)
Walter Cartier	...	(uncredited)
Larry Casazza	...	Second Printer (uncredited)
Bennett Cerf	...	Himself (uncredited)
Lois Chandler	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Carolyn Craig	...	Redheaded Filly (uncredited)
John Stuart Dudley	...	(uncredited)
Faye Emerson	...	Herself (uncredited)
Willie Feibel	...	First Printer (uncredited)
Nicholas Frangakis	...	Western Union Messenger (uncredited)
Betty Furness	...	Herself (uncredited)
Virginia Graham	...	Herself (uncredited)
Burl Ives	...	Himself (uncredited)
Harold Jinks	...	(uncredited)
Sam Levenson	...	Himself (uncredited)
Brownie McGhee	...	Servant with Limp (uncredited)
Lois Nettleton	...	Mr. Mason's Nurse (uncredited)
Logan Ramsey	...	TV Director (uncredited)
Charles Nelson Reilly	...	(uncredited)
Diana Sands	...	(uncredited)
Granny Sense	...	(uncredited)
P. Jay Sidney	...	Llewellyn (uncredited)
Fred Stewart	...	(uncredited)
John Cameron Swayze	...	Himself (uncredited)
Rip Torn	...	Barry Mills (uncredited)
Eva Vaughan	...	Mrs. Cooley (uncredited)
Mike Wallace	...	Himself (uncredited)
Vera Walton	...	(uncredited)
Earl Wilson	...	Earl Wilson (uncredited)
Walter Winchell	...	Walter Winchell (uncredited)

Directed by
Elia Kazan

Writing credits
Budd Schulberg		(story and screenplay)

Produced by
Elia Kazan	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Tom Glazer		(score composed by)

Cinematography by
Gayne Rescher		(director of photography)
Harry Stradling Sr.		(director of photography) (as Harry Stradling)

Film Editing by
Gene Milford		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Paul Sylbert
Richard Sylbert

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone

Makeup Department
Willis Hanchett	....	hairdresser
Robert Jiras	....	makeup (as Robert E. Jiras)

Production Management
George Justin	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles H. Maguire	....	assistant director
William C. Gerrity	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Don Kranze	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Don Olson	....	sound editor
Ernest Zatorsky	....	sound
Edward J. Johnstone	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Fitzsimons	....	assistant cameraman
Saul Midwall	....	operating cameraman

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Flo Transfield	....	wardrobe (as Florence Transfield)
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Tom Glazer	....	songs by
Budd Schulberg	....	songs by
Ed White	....	music director: majorette sequence (uncredited)

Other crew
Roberta Hodes	....	script & continuity
Charles Irving	....	special assistant

Production Companies

• Newtown Productions (An Elia Kazan Production)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (presents)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Budd Schulberg's A Face in the Crowd" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

126 min | West Germany:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #18502) | West Germany:16 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Biograph Studios, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Newtown Productions

Trivia:

Film debut of Andy Griffith.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): This is not an error. The music used is, indeed, from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.

Quotes:

Marcia Jeffries:You always drink like that?
Lonesome Rhodes:Not always. Back in Riddle they was pretty strict. Didn't allow us to touch hard liquor till we was 10 or 11.
Marcia Jeffries:Now is there really a town called Riddle?
Lonesome Rhodes:Well, tell you the flat truth, it's just a sort of a whatchacallit, a...
Marcia Jeffries:...Composite?
Lonesome Rhodes:Compost heap's more like it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 83rd Annual Academy Awards (2011) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Just Plain Folks

One of the best!

Not only is this film great but the performance that "our loveable ole boy Andy Griffith" gave was one to remember! His portrayal of "Lonesome Rhodes" was non-pareil in that he was the essence of evil. Griffith was even frightening in this role. Kazan did a superb job of directing. Casting real including Patricia Neal and Walter Matthau, et al. Just one dynamite film!