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IMDbPro

Death of a Salesman

  • 19511951
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Kevin McCarthy, Mildred Dunnock, Fredric March, Cameron Mitchell, and Howard Smith in Death of a Salesman (1951)
Drama
An over-the-hill salesman faces a personal turning point when he loses his job and attempts to make peace with his family.An over-the-hill salesman faces a personal turning point when he loses his job and attempts to make peace with his family.An over-the-hill salesman faces a personal turning point when he loses his job and attempts to make peace with his family.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
    • Laslo Benedek
    • Arthur Miller(play)
    • Stanley Roberts
  • Stars
    • Fredric March
    • Mildred Dunnock
    • Kevin McCarthy
    • Laslo Benedek
    • Arthur Miller(play)
    • Stanley Roberts
  • Stars
    • Fredric March
    • Mildred Dunnock
    • Kevin McCarthy
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 20User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 5 Oscars

    Photos17

    Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (1951)
    Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (1951)
    Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (1951)
    DON KEEFER reprising his Broadway role as Bernard in film version of DEATH OF A SALESMAN, with Fredric March as Willy Loman.
    DON KEEFER as Bernard in film adaptation of DEATH OF A SALESMAN
    Death of a Salesman (1951)
    Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (1951)
    Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (1951)
    Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (1951)
    Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (1951)
    Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (1951)
    Fredric March in Death of a Salesman (1951)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Fredric March
    Fredric March
    • Willy Loman
    Mildred Dunnock
    Mildred Dunnock
    • Linda Loman
    Kevin McCarthy
    Kevin McCarthy
    • Biff Loman
    Cameron Mitchell
    Cameron Mitchell
    • Happy Loman
    Howard Smith
    Howard Smith
    • Charley
    Royal Beal
    Royal Beal
    • Ben
    Don Keefer
    Don Keefer
    • Bernard
    Jesse White
    Jesse White
    • Stanley
    Claire Carleton
    Claire Carleton
    • Miss Francis
    David Alpert
    • Howard Wagner
    Beverly Aadland
    • Girl
    • (uncredited)
    Jeanne Bates
    Jeanne Bates
    • Mother
    • (uncredited)
    Gail Bonney
    Gail Bonney
    • Mother
    • (uncredited)
    Roger Broaddus
    • Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Bryar
    Paul Bryar
    • Subway Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Patricia Edwards
    • Letta
    • (uncredited)
    Elisabeth Fraser
    Elisabeth Fraser
    • Miss Forsythe
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Morton
    Charles Morton
    • Subway Passenger
    • (uncredited)
      • Laslo Benedek
      • Arthur Miller(play)
      • Stanley Roberts
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      According to Arthur Miller, in a 2000 essay entitled, "Are You Now Or Were You Ever?" Columbia asked Miller to sign an anti-Communist declaration to ward off the threat of picket lines by the American Legion at theaters showing "Death of a Salesman". He refused. Instead, Columbia made another movie, a short film entitled "Life of a Salesman" to be shown with it. The short consisted of business professors from City College praising sales as a profession, and denouncing the character of Willy Loman. Miller wrote: "Never in show-business history has a studio spent so much good money to prove that its feature film was pointless."
    • Quotes

      Charley: A salesman is somebody way up there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine...

    • Connections
      Featured in The Light Bulb Conspiracy (2010)

    User reviews20

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Miller seems to have been pleased
    In his autobiography, "Timebends," playwright Arthur Miller says he was pleased with this version of "Salesman" and felt that Fredric March was effective as Willy. I would love to make that determination for myself. I have always been a big fan of March, and the rest of the cast all seem ideal choices for their roles. I don't believe it is in TCM's library. I think it deserves a DVD release, as does the 1966 (German?) version of "The Crucible."

    I check on the DVD availability of this version of "Salesman" every now and then, as well as the 1949 version of "The Great Gatsby" with Alan Ladd, along with some other films that are (surprisingly) not on DVD, such as "Last Year At Marienbad" and "Sundays and Cybele." Good things come to those who wait.

    Indeed, even if you have to wait seven years. The Fredric March version of "Salesman" made its way to YouTube in October, 2014. The print is not very good, but the movie is fine. March is wonderful, even if he does start out the movie at something of a fevered pitch rather than working up to it, as another reviewer says. The two sons, Biff and Happy, are such ne'er do wells and so dishonest that they are thoroughly unsympathetic. Kevin McCarthy and Cameron Mitchell play them to perfection. Mildred Dunnock's Linda may be the best performance in the movie. She mediates, observes, cajoles, admonishes, plays on sympathies, comforts and encourages. It's amazing how many dimensions there really are to this character, and Dunnock finds and plays them all beautifully. "Death of a Salesman" is so stagebound that it's hard to find ways to open it up for the screen, so why bother? The story and performers draw audiences in to "Salesman," and because the subject matter is so unremittingly bleak and despairing, the acting has to be of a very high caliber to sustain interest. This is a feat the 1951 movie version pulls off handsomely.
    helpful•10
    4
    • ecjones1951
    • Aug 17, 2007

    Details

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    • Release date
      • May 9, 1952 (Finland)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Production company
      • Stanley Kramer Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 55 minutes
      • Black and White

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    Kevin McCarthy, Mildred Dunnock, Fredric March, Cameron Mitchell, and Howard Smith in Death of a Salesman (1951)
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