A Face In The Crowd Andy Griffith as Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes

1957 · KONCATIII

A Face in the Crowd is a 1957 American satirical drama film directed by Elia Kazan and starring Andy Griffith (in his film debut), Patricia Neal , and Walter Matthau . The screenplay by Budd Schulberg is based on his short story "Your Arkansas Traveler" from the 1953 collection Some Faces in the Crowd . The story centers on Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, a drifter who is discovered by the producer (Neal) of a small-market radio program in rural northeast Arkansas , and who rises to great fame and influence on national television. The character was inspired by Schulberg's acquaintance with Will Rogers Jr. The successes of Arthur Godfrey and Tennessee Ernie Ford were also acknowledged in the screenplay. The film launched Griffith into stardom, but it received mixed reviews on its release. Subsequent reappraisals have been kinder to the film. In 2008, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Plot In late 1950s America, radio journalist Marcia Jeffries encounters drunken drifter Larry Rhodes while recording a segment at a rural Arkansas jail. She invites him to speak to the audience and sing while playing his guitar , and he becomes instantly popular. Marcia dubs him "Lonesome" Rhodes and fast-tracks him onto his own local radio program . Marcia enlists the support of the show's writer Mel Miller and witnesses the charismatic Rhodes ad-lib his way to Memphis -area television popularity, effectively criticizing local politicians along the way. When Rhodes pokes fun at his sponsor, a mattress company, it initially pulls its ads, but when his adoring audience revolts by burning mattresses in the street, the sponsor discovers that the issue actually increased sales. Rhodes returns to the air with a new awareness of his persuasive power. He begins an affair with Marcia and proposes marriage to her. Rhodes is offered a deal—put together without his knowledge by Joey, the overambitious assistant to the owner of the mattress company—to star in a new television show in New York; the rising star accepts the offer and signs a contract that allows Joey to manage him. Rhodes also becomes the national spokesman for the energy supplement firm that sponsors his show, selling Vitajex as a faux male enhancement product, and his buoyant charisma tremendously increases their sales. As his fame, influence and ego increase, Rhodes is enlisted to improve the appeal of a presidential hopeful, Senator Worthington Fuller of California, and rebrands Fuller as an everyman with the folksy nickname "Curly". In contrast to his friendly onscreen persona, Rhodes has become an egomaniac who berates his staff. Marcia's hopes of marrying Rhodes are dashed, first when a woman claims to be his legitimate wife, and again when he returns from Mexico married to 17-year-old drum majorette Betty Lou. Rhodes and Marcia enter into a profit-sharing agreement after she reminds him of her role in his success. Mel, who loves Marcia, leaves to write an exposé on Rhodes. Joey has an affair with Rhodes's young wife, and Rhodes sends her back to Arkansas. However, he cannot extricate himself from the business arrangement with Joey, as Joey owns 51% of the company. Rhodes goes to Marcia's home, where he tells her about his political ambitions and admits that she helped him become who he is. While he falls asleep, Marcia gets dressed and leaves. Disgusted with Rhodes's behavior, Marcia activates a live microphone during the end credits of Rhodes's television show, which reveals him contemptuously mocking Fuller and the station's "idiot" viewers. His popularity and the show's ratings plummet, advertisers cancel their sponsorships, and the audience and public turn against him. When Rhodes reaches his penthouse home, he finds nobody there, except for his friend Beanie and a handful of African American servants, whom he dismisses when they do not respond to his demands. Rhodes threatens suicide by jumping from the penthouse roof, causing Marcia to goad him, telling him to get out of everyone's lives, especially hers. Having waited for Marcia to break free from Rhodes's spell, Mel insists that Marcia tell Rhodes that she exposed his rant. At Rhodes's home, Mel and Marcia find Rhodes speaking to the empty room, with an applause machine replacing the people whose support that he has lost. Marcia tells Rhodes that she was responsible for the open-microphone incident and demands that he never call her again. Before they leave, Mel predicts Rhodes's future: his career is not completely over, and he will likely find further TV work soon, but will never again enjoy the same level of popularity and prestige. After leaving the building, Mel and Marcia hear Rhodes screaming from the penthouse for Marcia to return to him, but they ignore him as they depart. Marcia expresses guilt for having elevated Rhodes to power, and Mel replies that a faker like Rho