Theatrical Release: 1957-06-01 DVD Release: 2005-05-10 Torrent Release: 21-11-2012 by user
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Movie Genre:
Drama, Music
Runtime:
126 min.
Parental Rating:
Not Rated
Awards:
1 win & 1 nomination.
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DESCRIPTION
The writer-director team of the earlier Marlon Brando classic "On The Waterfront" collaborated on this melodrama of a bum from the South who gets on the radio and becomes what is now known as a media celebrity in the early days of television. Andy Griffith, of all people, turns in one of the most galvanizing performances you'll ever see. Turn off the lights, watch it all at once and be stunned.
Andy Griffith makes a spectacular film debut in this searing drama as Lonesome Rhodes, a philosophical country-western singer discovered in a tanktown jail by radio talent scout Patricia Neal and her assistant Walter Matthau. They decide that Rhodes is worthy of a radio spot, but the unforeseen result is that the gangly, aw-shucks entertainer becomes an overnight sensation not simply on radio but, thereafter, on television. As he ascends to stardom, Rhodes attracts fans, sponsors and endorsements by the carload, and soon he is the most powerful and influential entertainer on the airwaves. Beloved by his audience, Rhodes reveals himself to his intimates as a scheming, power-hungry manipulator, with Machiavellian political aspirations. He uses everyone around him, coldly discarding anyone who might impede his climb to the top (one such victim is sexy baton-twirler Lee Remick, likewise making her film debut). Just when it seems that there's no stopping Rhodes' megalomania, his mentor and ex-lover Neal exposes this Idol of Millions as the rat that he is. She arranges to switch on the audio during the closing credits of Rhodes' TV program, allowing the whole nation to hear the grinning, waving Rhodes characterize them as "suckers" and "stupid idiots." Instantly, Rhodes' popularity rating plummets to zero. As he drunkenly wanders around his penthouse apartment, still not fully comprehending what has happened to him, Rhodes is deserted by the very associates who, hours earlier, were willing to ask "how high?" when he yelled "jump". Written by Budd Schulberg, Face in the Crowd was not a success, possibly because it hit so close to home with idol-worshipping TV fans. Its reputation has grown in the intervening years, not only because of its value as a film but because of the novelty of seeing the traditionally easygoing Andy Griffith as so vicious and manipulative a character as Lonesome Rhodes.
It's a biting 'rise and fall' satire, sending out a warning to watch out for legends created on the boob tube.
Next time you feel like you're getting fooled again by a demagogue, rent this movie and get centered
This is a FAKE DVD cover,interesting one.<