I saw this film upon its release in 1951, and although only 12 at the time and surely unable to grasp some of the finer psychological points of the drama, I was a pretty 'old' 12 and was already an absolute devotee of fine acting on the screen, having gone to the movies in that pre-TV era 7 days a week from the age of 8 (my favorite actor was Claude Rains). I was mesmerized by Fredric March's performance then, and I still am now, even after seeing Lee J. Cobb, Brian Dennehy, Dustin Hoffman and a few others as Willy Loman. Every other version of the play I have seen seems to fall short in one way or another when compared to this one. There are some errors in other reviews that should be noted in passing: Two of them make reference to this as a TV movie, but it was a regular theatrical release and played the usual movie house circuit of the time. Another states that the film was picketed by the American Legion due to Miller's testimony before HUAC. I can't speak to the picketing, but I certainly don't recall any such thing, and Miller's problems with HUAC came several years after the film played the circuits. Lastly, to this day I do believe that March, Dunnock and McCarthy should have won Academy Awards for their performances. March was beaten out by Humphrey Bogart in "The African Queen", a worthy contender to be sure but one I clearly recall being given more on the basis of the unusual character (for him) played by Bogart. But it was the Year of "Streetcar Named Desire", and if Bogart had not won it, surely it would have gone to Marlon Brando. March had already won two of them and, outside Walter Brennan, no one had won three AAs up to 1951. Dunnock and McCarthy were certainly more impressive than the excellent Kim Hunter and Karl Malden in their respective films and supporting roles. As I said, this was the Year of "Streetcar Named Desire". March was one of the greatest American actors of the 20th century, and incredibly versatile, and of all the true 'star' Hollywood actors of his time, he and Paul Muni had by far the most illustrious stage careers concurrent with their film successes, something that meant a lot more then than it does now. Anyway, this is THE film version of this play, much in the same way that no other version of "Of Mice and Men" really holds up to the Meredith-Chaney version, no matter how hard subsequent versions try!
Review of Death of a Salesman
