A Face in the Crowd

A Face in the Crowd (1957)

  • 91% of critics liked it
    (22 reviews)

  • 93% of users liked it
    (4,371 ratings)

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… More

Unrated, 2 hr. 6 min.
Directed By
Elia Kazan
Written By
Budd Schulberg
Genres
Drama, Classics
In Theaters
May 28, 1957 Wide
On DVD
May 10, 2005

Critic Reviews

  • J. Hoberman, Village Voice

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

  • Bosley Crowther, New York Times

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

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    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.

  • Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

    Another fruitful collaboartion between Kazan and Budd Schulberg (On the Waterfront), a poignant film about celebrity, the mass media, and the political process.

  • Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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

Read all 13 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Randy T


    This one is disturbing for all the right reasons. Watching Andy Griffith play a money-grubbing, amoral, unlikeable bastard is like watching Mister Rogers play Hannibal Lector. After all, this is the same Andy that kept the streets of Mayberry safe for all those years and the same… More

  • Ken S


    Holy central performance Andy Griffith! This movie is full on fantastic. Elia Kazan has brought to life a story that is years ahead of it's time. A must see.

  • Michael G


    I never thought I'd ever use the word amazing to describe any performance by Andy Griffith but I've got to hand it to the man -- he was amazing. He played a folksy and infinitely lovable hick and a power-drunk bastard with equal magnificence. Director Elia Kazan's… More

  • Cindy I


    WOW. Who knew he had it in him?!! Andy Griffith -- yes, THAT Andy Griffith -- gives a blistering performance in his first film role as Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, a drunk, belligerent drifter "discovered" by Arkansas radio personality Patricia Neal. He starts off… More

  • Stella D


    this is a terrific film and i think the flixster synopsis is spot on. it's interesting to speculate where andy's film career might have gone if he hadn't become a tv icon in the 60's

Read all 10 featured audience ratings

Cast

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