A Face in the Crowd

Elia Kazan
1957

It's hard for me to dig on Elia Kazan what with his cowardly betrayal during the blacklist hearings, but historically he remains an undeniable cinematic heavyweight. "On the Waterfront" (1954) is an uncontested masterpiece, and "East of Eden" (1955) is nothing to sneeze at either, but this time around I found the heavy satire cloying, and the rise-and-fall narrative generally unsympathetic. Andy Griffith's braying media sensation 'Lonesome' Rhodes has the throaty roar of a busted engine, and his perpetual crowing quickly becomes fingernails-on-chalkboard shrill. This hard-drinking loose hipped country boy is more of a con-man than a folk-hero to begin with, just asking for his inevitable "Citizen Kletus" downfall. Patricia Neal provides the most interest with her square-jawed Southern sensibility at odds with her irrational (and self-desturctive) devotion to the Frankenstein's monster she's created. A pre-jowles Walter Matthau makes for the most interesting supporting character with his jaded television writer hopelessly pining after Neal. I've got to admit some surprise at not recognizing the majority of the supporting actors in this picture. Despite my ingrained distaste for Kazan on principle I've always been impressed by his treatment of character actors in smaller roles.