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Movies / On DVD / A Face in the Crowd
A Face in the Crowd

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A Face in the Crowd (1957)

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Reviews Counted:21

Fresh:19

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.8/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: A savagely funny look at the way sudden notoriety and power corrupt. A small-town windbag (Griffith in his film debut) becomes an overnight success when the TV show created for him by network and... A savagely funny look at the way sudden notoriety and power corrupt. A small-town windbag (Griffith in his film debut) becomes an overnight success when the TV show created for him by network and advertising execs hits the top of the ratings. But behind the scenes he turns out to be a vindictive monster, and the reporter who brought him out of the woods determines to expose him. Based on the short story "The Arkansas Traveler" by Schulburg, who also wrote the script. [More]

Starring: Andy Griffith, Lee Remick, Walter Matthau, Patricia Neal

Starring: Andy Griffith, Lee Remick, Walter Matthau, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Percy Waram, Rod Brasfield, Paul McGrath, Kay Medford

Director: Elia Kazan

Director: Elia Kazan
Producer: Elia Kazan
Screenwriter: Budd Schulberg

[See More Credits]

Reviews for A Face in the Crowd

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The first half of A Face in the Crowd is genuinely intriguing and competently handled by Kazan, but it quickly degenerates into moralizing diatribe.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What starts out as a seemingly liberal tract rapidly becomes a smug, cynical exercise in misanthropy.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A raw, penetrating, and terrifying portrait of humanity.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
11/01/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This sizzling and cynical exposure... also presents Andy Griffith as the key figure in his first screen role.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
10/31/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
12/12/06
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Didactic but highly effective little black comedy from the folks who gave you 'On the Waterfront.' Andy Griffith is downright scary.

comment Comment
12/31/04
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
Nitrate Online

No review available.

comment Comment
01/30/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Andy Griffith, as a hick radio star modeled on Arthur Godfrey, delivers an astonishing, sinister performance in Elia Kazan's 1957 essay on media demagoguery.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

Next time you feel like you're getting fooled again by a demagogue, rent this movie and get centered

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/13/05
David Bezanson
David Bezanson
Filmcritic.com

It's a biting 'rise and fall' satire, sending out a warning to watch out for legends created on the boob tube.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/29/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
06/29/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A Face in the Crowd has never ceased to be relevant.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
02/27/08
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

...an important cautionary tale for all of us not take everything we see and hear at face value.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
05/15/05
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

No review available.

comment Comment
12/19/02
Josh Gilchrist
Josh Gilchrist
Billings Outpost (Montana)

The remarkable thing about A Face in the Crowd is the way in which this 50-year-old film only seems to become only more relevant with the passing of time.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
11/20/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A little overdone, but Neal and Remick are brilliant.

comment Comment
08/01/02
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
10/15/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
12/31/02
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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