Andy Griffith's "A Face In The Crowd" Airs Thursday Night on TCM

[Bolo Boffin]

By a sad coincidence, TCM had already scheduled this Griffith masterpiece. It's at 1:45 am Eastern, but set your DVR and catch this "my god, that's Sheriff Taylor???" performance. It's part of guest programmer Spike Lee's fuck-da-system line-up that night, which you can find out more about here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1030634

When Keith Olbermann was calling Glenn Beck "Lonesome Rhodes," it's Griffith's character in this movie he was talking about. RIP, Mr. Griffith.

[Graybeard]

1. Oscar-worthy in every category.

Director: Elia Kazan, Screenplay: Budd Schulberg, and the
cast of Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Tony Franciosa, Walter
Matthau and Lee Remick all deserved Oscars. The film did not
get a single nomination.

[TeamPooka]

2. one of the best films ever

period

[BrendaBrick]

3. I'm a little late responding

as only last night I watched 'A Face in the Crowd.'

I was vaguely familiar with the director, Elia Kazan...but now am a full-fledged fan and want to learn more about him and his movies.

It's amazing to me that this film was not even nominated for an Oscar...in any category as the poster up thread stated.

Here's a wonderfully powerful and honest interview with Martin Scorsese talking about Kazan:

[Bolo Boffin]

4. Kazan has a checkered history because he informed for Joe McCarthy.

There's no denying his talent as a filmmaker and director, but he's not looked upon kindly by all.

[BrendaBrick]

5. Oh, I did not know that...

Hmmm. Thanks for that information.

[CBHagman]

6. Because Kazan had named names...

...the decision to recognize his life's work at the 1999 Academy Awards ceremony drew some very angry reactions. As I recall, Amy Madigan and Ed Harris were among the contemporary actors who refused to applaud or rise to their feet when the director took the stage alongside Martin Scorsese, who was giving the tribute.

Here's an interesting page from PBS's American Masters series website. PBS has dealt with the blacklist on a number of occasions (with Trumbo a couple of years back, for instance). Their profile of Elia Kazan deals with that episode as well.

[url]http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/elia-kazan/about-elia-kazan/642/[/url]

Now eighty-nine years old, Kazan’s impressive body of work includes such late 1940s and early 50s films as ON THE WATERFRONT, EAST OF EDEN, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT, and A FACE IN THE CROWD. On the surface, the controversy is straightforward. In 1952, Kazan appeared before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and named eight of his old friends from the Group Theater who in the 1930s, along with him, had been members of the American Communist Party.

Many in Hollywood are still outraged about that time in U.S. history when people who were blacklisted by the studios-writers, directors, and actors-never worked again, fled the country, worked under aliases, or even, in one extreme case, committed suicide.

Five hundred protesters gather outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with placards that read “Elia Kazan: Nominated for Benedict Arnold Award,” “Don’t Whitewash the Blacklist,” and “Kazan-the Linda Tripp of the 50s.”