A Face in the Crowd - 1957

Dear Elia Kazan,

Your over the top depiction of the sinister and abnormal marriage between the entertainment industry and the common man is not just prophetic, but influential due to its use of over the top dialogs and imagery. You conjured up a beautiful and loud warning about American culture filled with close ups of Andy Griffith's reptilian smile, hysterical noisy crowds, the sweaty bimbos who flock towards him and the creepy tasteless capitalists who use his celebrity. The noirish imagery is used rather discreetly. There were extremely beautiful women in many of the frames - usually in submissive roles of a secretary or assistants holding banners in a TV show or as objects for entertaining men.

Three scenes in the film stood out for me. The first scene was a pretty sober one in a corridor where Patricia Neal seduces Griffith when he is about to leave the business and hit the road. The corridor is beautifully lit and the the background score is melancholic. The only times in the film when Griffith is true to himself is when he interacts with Neal's character whose sober and cold self is like a perfect foil for the film's over the top tone. The second one is the advertisement for the Vitajex tablets with Griffith selling his soul to the advertisement industry. Not only is it vulgar and tasteless, but the scene marks a transformation in Griffith's character from a spirited country singer to a power hungry TV host. The third scene is a beauty contest. In an amazing show of depravity, the female contestants literally launch themselves onto Griffith, almost like an orgy out in the open. It is an extremely entertaining scene with Lee Remick's sweet, beautiful and idiotic sweaty country face ogling at the lecherous Griffith while dull and hypnotized crowds look on at performing women in skimpy clothing.

Griffith's must be one of the greatest "over-the-top" performances of all time. He lights up the screen with that smile and body language. But the goodness and dignity in Patricia Neal is also spellbinding. She holds her own even though Griffith has all the best scenes.

The excess, greed and debauchery in A Face in the Crowd almost certainly inspired filmmakers like Scorsese (Wolf of Wall Street) and Brian De Palma (Scarface).

Best Regards, Pimpin.