IMDb RATING
7.1/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
An ex-soldier faces ethical questions as he tries to earn enough to support his wife and children well.An ex-soldier faces ethical questions as he tries to earn enough to support his wife and children well.An ex-soldier faces ethical questions as he tries to earn enough to support his wife and children well.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Nunnally Johnson(screenplay)
- Sloan Wilson(novel)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Nunnally Johnson(screenplay)
- Sloan Wilson(novel)
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations
Videos1
Tristram Coffin
- Byron Holgateas Byron Holgate
- (scenes deleted)
William 'Bill' Phillips
- Antonio Bulagaas Antonio Bulaga
- (scenes deleted)
- Director
- Writers
- Nunnally Johnson(screenplay)
- Sloan Wilson(novel)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Tom Rath lives in Connecticut and commutes to work every day in Manhattan. He's happily married and has a loving wife and three children. Money is a bit tight and when the opportunity arises, he applies for a public relations job with a major television network. During his long commute to work everyday, Tom reminisces about the war. Although 10 years have gone by, he is still haunted by the violence and the men he killed. He also thinks of Maria, an Italian girl with whom he had an affair while stationed in Rome. At his new job, the head of the network Ralph Hopkins takes an immediate liking to him. Tom soon realizes that he will have to choose between becoming a wholly dedicated company man or maintaining a healthy work-life balance. When he learns that Maria gave birth to his son after he left Italy, he decides to let his wife know and ensure that the boy is cared for. —garykmcd
- Taglines
- The year's most dramatic book...the year's most distinguished picture!
- Genres
- Certificate
- Approved
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaOne of Gregory Peck's movie children was played by Portland Mason, who was the daughter of actor James Mason, and an Italian delivery boy was played by Johnny Crawford a few years before he would achieve fame on the popular TV Western, The Rifleman (1958).
- GoofsThe opening shot of a New Haven Railroad train supposedly shows Tom's train home, leaving New York in the evening. However, the sunlight should be on its left side (as it is in the interior shot following).
- Quotes
Tom Rath: I don't know anything about public relations.
Bill Hawthorne: Who does? You've got a clean shirt and you bathe every day. That's all there is to it.
- Crazy creditsOnce it fades in, the 20th Century Fox logo (set to the film's dramatic opening credits music, rather than the traditional Fox fanfare) appears in a slightly smaller CinemaScope windowbox, slowly panning to normal size (correctly fitting the CinemaScope screen) before fadeout.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Fifties (1997)
- Soundtracks(I'm a) Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech
(1908) (uncredited)
Lyrics by Billy Walthall
Music by Frank Roman and Mike Greenblatt
based on "Son of a Gambolier"
Music by Charles Ives (1895)
Played on the ukulele by Gregory Peck
Top review
Workplace values under scrutiny
This movie from the 1950's goes beyond the conflict in balancing home and work commitments because it also deals with the loss of idealism by young people who become caught up with the need to provide and the competition to succeed. Life seems to have gotten worse in the 60 years since this movie was made. In fact, some people, both men and women, have given up on the idea of family life in favour of success in the business world. One can only guess at the level of social dysfunction from our addictive and artificial work environments. In this movie, a cast of exceptional acting talent provides great entertainment as well as an insight into the shallow lives that many people began to lead in the 1950's. Jennifer Jones signals her dissatisfaction with her husband's work ethic. This at first struck me as a yearning for a lost youth, wanting her husband Gregory Peck to provide for his family while keeping his knight in shining armour image. But Jones is no status seeker; she senses the boring conventional work world that her husband inhabits is not healthy for him or the family. Fredric March, that icon of American integrity, is the company Chairman. On the surface, he pays lip service to family values but struggles with his own estrangement from his wife and a daughter's elopement. Peck learns from March as a mentor but also in his failings as a man. Lee J. Cobb has a supporting role as judge and family friend. Towards the end of the movie, after some setbacks, Peck and Jones take a courageous step together that shows their own integrity and their maturity as a couple. The movie is a another landmark for the World War II generation who came back to civilian life and encountered a new world. It is one worth watching!
helpful•130
- barryrd
- Sep 23, 2013
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,670,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 33 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1
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By what name was The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) officially released in India in English?
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