Absolutely the worst movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The reviews below are excellent. the only thing I would add is that this excellent movie is even MORE relevant today. What happens when a fragile ego gets too much power by hoodwinking the masses into thinking he is something he is not? And what is the fall like when they find out?One big difference, though: Lonesome was talented.

Great. Really great. Deserves wider recognition, because as a study of power and populism it's up there with "Citizen Kane".No, Elia Kazan didn't have Orson Welles' dazzling technical brilliance (though there's a wonderful natural feel of being onstage with the performers throughout), but he was very much an actor's director and brings some spectacular performances to the screen here.I'm a child of the early '60s, so I grew up with The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry RFD, and Matlock. I'd experienced many, many stories on TV with Andy Griffith, and he was a comfortable, familiar presence. Maybe the best compliment I can pay this film and his performance in it was that I quickly forgot he was Andy Griffith at all.Griffith's character of "Lonesome" Rhodes is honestly a performance for the ages. He's by turns charming, pitiful, and terrifying as he quickly ascends from an Arkansas county drunk tank to become a powerful media presence. The story is plotted conveniently but Griffith is utterly believable through the entire climb.Though Rhodes is the focus of the story, there's a great surrounding ensemble, too. The great Walter Mattheau has a strong supporting role as one of Rhodes' writers who eventually becomes disillusioned, and Patricia Neal is fantastic as the reporter who brings attention to Rhodes to begin with and tries to follow him all the way up. The performances are all amazing.Some personal speculation: I understand that Kazan was very demanding on Griffith during shooting, and that Griffith's experience on set was dark and difficult. His subsequent, more prosaic television career may well have been shaped by a desire to atone for his performance here.Kazan did this movie following his classic "On the Waterfront", and perhaps it's overshadowed unfairly. It's a great story of power, populism and corruption and deserves to be known more widely.

A Face in the Crowd is about the rise of television personality called Lonesome Rhodes played by Andy Griffiths. We first meet him in jail. He is discovered by a producer played by Patricia Neal, who sets him on the road to stardom.His appeal is that he is "authentic", a real man of the people. He talks like them, he knows what they like and what they don't like. He soon rises in popularity and even more sinister, his influence grows. Politicians soon appear on his TV show, eager to be seen with him. The power and the fame goes to his head.Apart from Griffiths, who is amazing in this, look out for a young Lee Remick, Anthony Franciosa and Walter Matthau. Patricia Neal is great as the woman who realises that she has created a monster.She is the first to spot what lurks beneath the easy going facade.Bear in mind that this film was released before reality TV and you will be amazed at how prophetic it is. The film also touches on the dangers of populism and how a demagogue can poison political debate via the medium of television. It also demonstrates how fleeting TV fame can be. Please watch this film. It may be a black and white movie from the 1950s , but it has so much to say about our culture in the 21st century.

Following up director Elia Kazan and writer Budd Schulberg sensational Best Picture winning On The Waterfront, the Academy really missed the mark by snubbing the equally worthy A Face In The Crowd. That said, they missed it again in a similar case with Sidney Lumet's Network, albeit a film that won its fair share of awards. Satires about media storms and how popularity is power regardless of virtues feel like valuable relics to look back on and go 'huh, nothing's really changed.' We're in a cycle of rise and falls. A Face In The Crowd is one of the most dynamic examples, pulling Andy Griffith from the streets and letting his charisma hypnotize the world. Indeed, life imitates art as this is Griffith's debut and he would later star in his own popular TV show. The screenplay is quite procedural detailing Lonesome's rise and fall, but every scene knocks it up a notch to the point where he has influence over the next presidential election. It's a film that rivals Waterfront in how captivating it is. Half the credit goes to the astonishing performances from Griffith and co- star Patricia Neal. This film remains a sharp potent eye on the bleak state of the media and society's tendency for hero worship.9/10