72
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleThis is one of the greatest films of the 1950s, a prophetic film about the dangerous power of modern media.
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineA raw, penetrating, and terrifying portrait of humanity.
- Half a century after Elia Kazan made A Face in the Crowd, the performances–by Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Anthony Franciosa–are still pungent, the dark tale of media manipulation still resonates, and even fans can't quite define its power.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayIt's like an early version of Network, and it's just as overwrought, but Kazan enlivens the material with a mise en scène so vigorous that it could make anyone buy into the auteur theory. Kazan varies his shooting style, alternating between portraiture, expressionism, and docu-realism for a look and rhythm that's about 15 years ahead of its time.
- 63Slant MagazineJeremiah KippSlant MagazineJeremiah KippStrong performances and a fiery aggressive tone keep things moving, but A Face in the Crowd is dated and not particularly deep.
- 63Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrThe script, by Budd Schulberg, is pat and badly proportioned, but the picture has a sharp, dirty appeal.
- 60Time OutTime OutIn the opening scenes of Kazan and writer Budd Schulberg's satire on the dangers of television and advertising, Griffith's virtuoso, likeably irreverent performance makes for genuinely amusing viewing; but once he's mixing with the bigwigs, the film-makers' political messages start flying thick and fast, and the drama soon becomes overheated and unconvincing.
- 60The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley CrowtherMr. Schulberg and Mr. Kazan spawn a monster not unlike the one of Dr. Frankenstein. But so hypnotized are they by his presence that he runs away not only with the show but with intellectual reason and with the potentiality of their theme.
- 50The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelSome exciting scenes in the first half, but the later developments are frenetic, and by the end the film is a loud and discordant mess.