A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

Johnny (James Dunn) and Katie Nolan (Dorothy McGuire) are trying to raise a family in the Brooklyn tenements and barely surviving. The story is told through the eyes of their daughter Francie (Peggy Ann Garner) who is coming of age and trying to make sense of her parents as individuals, their relationship and what kind of person she wants to be as she gets older.

Peggy Ann Garner, Dorothy McGuire and Ted Donaldson

I read this book many years ago and again in the past few years. The book is very detailed and covers much more of the minor characters and intricacies of sub-plots. The book is definitely worth reading at least once, if you have a chance. The movie was a good addendum to the book because I had a hard time imagining what true Irish-American tenement life would be like in the early 1900s. The movie fills that in nicely and helps paint the picture of a family truly struggling to survive.

I find the adult characters of this story incredibly compelling. First of all, you have the patriarch, Johnny Nolan. He is an alcoholic and doesn't do a good job of providing for the materials his family needs, but does that make him an all bad father? As they say in the film, he gives of himself generously. He inspires his daughter, he listens to her, he helps her with her problems, he is kind and makes her proud he is her father.

At the opposite end you have Katie Nolan. Katie and Johnny love each other, but the stresses of family life puts a definite strain on them. Katie comes off as a woman that has grown hard and questions that in the film. If she is, she has gotten that way because she had to care for her family, work to make money and provide the necessities. While Johnny could be loving because he had the time without work, she felt she never had enough time to sit and give of herself in that way. She grows resentful of her role and also of the love Francie lavishes on her father.

The reason I find these characters so compelling is because I keep asking myself, would I want to be more like Katie Nolan who is the rock of her family (both in good and bad ways) or more like Johnny Nolan who is the life of his family (both in good and bad ways). I can't answer it for myself yet, so I will be pondering this for a while. Obviously a combo of the two is the best answer, but these characters were purposefully made polar opposites for illustrative purposes, I am sure. Betty Smith knew what she was doing when she wrote the novel. :-)

I think the difference is best described with their views about the Gathers family. Flossy Gathers is a young girl who is very sick and probably going to die. Her family makes the decision to stop spending money on funeral insurance for her and instead spend the money on pretty dresses for her to wear. Johnny's feelings are expressed when he sees Flossy in one of her new dresses.

Johnny: "Well, will you look at our beautiful princess tonight in a brand new gown."
Flossy:"It is made out of silk."
Johnny: "Silk? Oh, don't you tell me that. This dress is made out of flower petals and birds wings and a little old piece of cloud. Anybody can tell that."

Flossy beams because of the exchange. Later, when Flossy dies, Katie and Johnny have a fight. Katie thinks it isn't right that her parents were irresponsible by not keeping up the funeral insurance. Flossy will now be buried in Potter's Field since they couldn't pay for a proper burial. Johnny says that at least she enjoyed the pretty dresses while she was alive because he doesn't think she cares where she is buried now.

I think the point of all this is that there isn't a right or wrong answer, but I have to say that it really makes me think about my values in life. I won't give any crucial plot points away, but the end of the film does have Francie and Neely reflecting on how much fun they had "as kids". I didn't have much money as a child either, but I never realized it and I had fun too. Sometimes, money isn't the most important thing in life and this story felt like a good reminder of that.

I want to add in here that I think one of the early unsung heroes of the movie is Joan Blondell as Sissy Edwards. I think people look over the importance of Sissy in the story. She lightens things up and tries to help keep the peace. When she sees the people she loves struggling, she tries to set them on the right path. Joan Blondell plays this part wonderfully with all the warmth and vivaciousness you would expect. I can't help and wonder if she is not a large piece of the tape holding this family together since she can help both Johnny and Katie see the other's point of view. This also illustrates how important other relationships are outside the main family unit and how keeping those relationships alive is beneficial. Again, what is important to us?

I thought this movie was wonderful. The acting is top-notch and Elia Kazan as a director is perfect for this. The story is heart-breaking, yet inspiring at the same time. If you haven't seen this, put it on your list to watch when things are looking bleak. It will help you feel like things really aren't so bad.

A Face in the Crowd (1957)

It is rare that I am completely blown away by a film, but this one might as well have been dynamite in my living room. Wow.

Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal) is a small town radio personality who highlights average people through her show called "A Face in the Crowd". She visits the local jail looking for someone to do something interesting for her show and gets more than she bargained for with 'Lonesome' Rhodes (Andy Griffith). He is a drifter with a short fuse and a big appetite for alcohol which is what landed him in jail. He does a few snippets of songs which are good, but is so engaging and charismatic when he talks on the show that she asks him to start doing his own show on their station. His "folksy" charm (they compare him to Will Rogers more than once) leads to a TV show in Memphis which then leads to a national show in New York, with Marcia by his side helping him along the way. Unfortunately, his head expands as much as his audience size and before long Marcia is trying to figure out how to deal with the monster she unwittingly created.

Marcia and her Monster

This film is a scathing commentary about the use and abuse of fame as well as the intermingling of entertainment and politics. I can't say enough how amazing it is to me that this film was made in 1957, before the Kennedy/Nixon debate ... before they really had a firm grasp on just how true this would become. This movie was completely overlooked when it was released because I don't think the audience honestly thought the American people would be that gullible, but we have proven time and time again that we really are gullible when it comes to celebrities and their power over us. Lonesome probably says it best when he tells Marcia "They're (his huge national audience) mine. I own them. They think like I do. Only they're even more stupid than I am, so I gotta think for them. I'll be the power behind the president. And you'll be the power behind me." It is so chilling to hear those words because he actually believes it and at that moment in time, it is sadly true.

So let's get to the stunning performances.

This is Andy Griffith's film debut and by far his best performance. He plays a megalomaniac who is one of the most dangerous "wolf in sheep's clothing" type characters I have ever seen portrayed. Here is this charming man whom everyone is instantly drawn to because he is like them. However, in private, he really isn't like them. He is a hooch drinking, woman chasing, selfish man who can't see anything past his ratings and his own self. He takes everything he can from everyone and gives nothing in return. To see sweet old Andy Griffith in such a despicable role is quite the shock and boy, does good ol' Andy give it to the audience for all it is worth. In one of my favorite scenes, he is judging a baton twirling competition. Beautiful Lee Remick catches his eye as she twirls in her little skirt and his wolf-like stare is so intensely sexual that I think even I blushed for Remick. Someone sees him staring at her and says, "She is only 17." His response, with what I imagined as invisible drool on his chin was, "She looks like a very sweet child." The leer doesn't go away, only intensifies. Oof. Remember, this is Andy Griffith!!

I think Andy has gotten most of the acting kudos for this movie in recent history because of how we perceive him based off his wholesome image. However, it would be a shame to not give kudos to Patricia Neal for her performance. I was amazed at the difference of her character in the beginning versus the end. In the beginning, she looks so young and vibrant - maybe even a little sassy. She lights up the screen. By the end, she looks drawn, shrunken and exhausted. The light has totally gone out. It would be a mistake to think this movie is all about Lonesome Rhodes because I think this movie is as much about her as well. It is about Marcia being charmed by Lonesome, same as everyone else, but slowly realizing what a cold and uncaring man he really is. It is about her decision to stay with him because she can't untangle herself from his web and also because she feels a burden to try to clean up the trail of destruction he leaves in his wake. It is about how it chips away at her soul to stay there with him and help him continue to grow and flourish even though she knows she is only making her monster more powerful by doing so. Her role is crucial because it is her love for him that keeps us, as the movie audience, from turning on Lonesome as he does so many terrible things throughout the movie. As long as she continues to stay with him, then we think there must be something redeeming so we stay with Lonesome too. If you watch this movie twice, and really pay attention to Patricia Neal both times, I think you will agree with me that her performance is stunning.

I will add in a quick paragraph about Walter Matthau in this too. I like that he gives the movie some much needed balance. He is Mel Miller, a writer on the Lonesome Rhodes show, and catches on to Lonesome quicker than anyone else. It is his writer's sarcasm and subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) jabs that gives voice to what the audience is thinking. For instance, Mel says "I'll say one thing for him, he's got the courage of his ignorance." Mel also happens to be in love with Marcia. In one of the sweetest scenes where he is describing himself he says, "Didn't you know? All mild men are vicious. They hate themselves for being mild, and they hate the windy extroverts whose violence seems to have a strange attraction for nice girls. You should know better." They continue talking and he so tenderly touches her jawline with his finger. It was such a sweet gesture that spoke volumes of how deep his love was for her. Such an incredibly intimate moment, all with just a simple touch.

Everything about this film is top-notch. Budd Schulberg wrote an amazing script and Elia Kazan, the director, took several first-time movie actors and guided them through performances of a lifetime. If you rent the DVD, there is a great documentary about this film where they interview Andy Griffith about what it was like to debut in this film. Kazan wanted his actors to feel the scene, not try to act the scene. Kazan told him, "If you think it and feel it hard enough, it will come out through your eyes, and the camera will see it." As an example, he tells us exactly what Kazan's direction was to him for the baton twirling competition, and I almost choked on my dinner when I heard that tidbit. The documentary is a must see.

I have raved and raved enough about this movie. If you haven't seen this - PROMISE ME - you will go out and watch it immediately. You will NOT be sorry. After you watch it, please report back here and tell me how brilliant I am for making you watch it. :-)