Too much of everything

Excellent, a Must See

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Elia Kazan's reverberating if under-celebrated debut feature, adapted from Betty Smith's 1943 eponymous novel, A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN takes a closer look on a second generation Irish-American family in the year of 1912, dwelling in their cramped tenement apartment in Brooklyn, struggling with immiseration and bereavement. If the synopsis sounds depressing, conversely, the film is nothing if not life-affirming, Kazan attests to be a top-drawer storyteller with his unobtrusive camerawork, snaking dexterously within a two-by-four space, the narrative is unfolded from the POV of Francie (Garner), a sensitive, studious and impressionable 13-year-old girl, who develops a quasi-Electra complex towards her buoyant father Johnny Nolan (Dunn), at the expense of a small chasm between her and the more matter-of-fact, diligent housewife mother Katie (McGuire). The Nolans is a happy family, Francie also has a younger brother Neeley (Donaldson), except for their hand-to-mouth existence, because Johnny is anything but an adequate breadwinner, his forte is to bring contagious elation to those around him, with his chirpy singing and devil-may-care spirit, a pipe dreamer afflicted by intemperance, he is more contented in dreaming up what he will do when his ship comes in, than actually actuating it, alas, Johnny's American dream never actualizes, but this doesn't make him a lesser human being, on the contrary, he is a generous giver, lading out merriment whenever, wherever, spontaneously, only the sad truth is that he is not up to raise a big family, which flags up why contraception is more an imperative than an immoral contraption for humans. James Dunn wins an Oscar (beggar belief this is the film's sole Oscar nomination!) for his brimful, simpatico earnestness beautifully corroded by a telling patina of pathos.Katie, on the other hand, is the hinge of the household, husbanding every cent (but regularly ponies up their weekly premium nonetheless), and her disenchantment of a rosier future starts to gnaw at her when it clocks to her that it might never occur, yet, it is the thought that she loves Johnny for who he is, conciliates her and puts her on her mettle, in the end of the day, it is the bonhomie the family basks in really matters, Dorothy McGuire wholeheartedly avails herself of Katie's plain demeanor and modest rig, and pours out her ambivalent emotion with unrivaled assurance and veracity, the final reconciliation between her and Francie strikes such a profound chord that it is an oceanic remiss her low-key brilliance is stiffed by the Academy here, among many an awards-worthy achievement of this refined gem. Serendipitously, child actress Peggy Ann Garner is conferred with a special Oscar for her central performance, in fact, the whole movie is her Bildungsroman and Garner makes good in both those emotion-charging demands and those plumbing into Francie's more infantile dispositions, as in completing for parental attention from Neeley, Ted Donaldson also shines with a naturally cavalier mien that largely countervails Garner's more precocious headspace. Last but not the least is aunt Sissy, Katie's elder sister, played by Joan Blondell with snazzy verve and pizzazz, thrice married and naming all her hubbies Bill, she is by any rate, a different kettle of fish from Katie, yet the exemplar of a kid's favorite aunt, a happy-go-lucky counterpart of Johnny, but free of livelihood worries, a bonus to be a woman of its time, isn't it?A humane, unassuming drama inculcating precious wisdom of growing up, of calibrating one's life aspect and of finding hope and sunshine in one's darkest moments, if one claims A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN is Kazan's best work, most likely, it is not an overstatement.

Spoilers. Observations. Opinions.Excellent. Always wondered what this film was all about. It is about a poverty-stricken tenement family, counting pennies against disaster.The father is James Dunn, whom I remember as being filmic father of Shirley Temple. He could dance, and was a pilot in one of the Shirley films. He sings, here.The daughter starts off with some rather smart alecky conversation. I am thinking: what a brat. At same time period in real life, M. O'Brien, another child actress, is made a great deal of; yet, in this film, is a young actress I never heard of. The daughter grows to be more sympathetic, though selfish in places.The son is also a brat, but fairly nice, deep down. Mom, I'm hungry. Make it yourself, you dolt. Boys need to learn to cook and prepare meals, too. Er, that was later to happen in American society. In turn of twentieth century America, poor, backward families were stereotypically waited on hand-and-foot by the mother.The mother is self-sacrificing. She scrubs floors, at the expense of her personal health. How does she become expecting-with-child from her alcoholic, distant husband? It's offscreen, however. Maybe the police officer paid her an early visit. Remember, he wants to adopt the new baby. Hubba-hubba.There's a lot of Irish music played in this film, with offscreen choir singing Christmas carols. Christianity reigns, but the real turn of twentieth century America was made up of several other religions.This family is recently immigrant, and fairly illiterate, to boot. The father is uneducated, neer-do-well drunk. He sings for nickels and dimes at events few and far between, and he is never good enough to get a regular singer's job.Big graduation? Age 12 or so? End of education for second-third generation immigrants? Sheesh. What a life. Children working in a bar? Maybe child labor laws had not kicked in yet.The grandmother obviously had no education. She wanted the children to aspire to the freedom found in America. She wanted them to keep learning.Joan Blondell. I was hoping she and James Dunn would go into a vaudeville-type song and dance routine. It didn't happen.Food and Drug Act early twentieth century. Muckrakers. Journalistic investigators of filthy practices, especially in the meat packing industry (rats, anyone?) I saw the kid in this movie handling meat in the tavern/bar, with his bare hands. He even helped himself to some of the meats. No one thought anything of it. He wasn't shown washing his dirty mitts.Critiques: extremely poor family, but expensive clothes at the funeral. Expensive carriage with horses. Funerals are expensive. Children had beautiful clothes for graduation day, and the mother looked spectacular that day. The mother didn't die of fever or in childbirth, and all of a sudden she no longer looks poverty-stricken.I am a degreed historian, film critic and movie reviewer. I enjoy studying about the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, which was a time period in America from about 1880s until before World War One. Immigration was huge, many were poverty-stricken and uneducated, and crowded into New York area tenements as shown in this film.

Even if you're not into older movies I suggest everyone to view it at least once and by yourself. Probably the movie to brings me to tears every time I watch it all the way through. The struggles that the family go through are heart felt and emotional. It can be overly sentimental at times but it just adds to the charm. -Spoilers- When the dad plays "lori" on the piano you can see in his eyes the anguish of his soul, they just don't act like that anymore. And when he dies, the situations they face as a family are very real. It's a shame, almost a crime that this never had a proper DVD release, and yet we see "the avengers" and "harry potter" getting more recognition.

Francie (Peggy Ann Garner) is a plucky streetwise teen living in the tough Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn with her brother Neeley, her hard working mom Katie Nolan (Dorothy McGuire) and her alcoholic lovable loser father Johnny Nolan (James Dunn). Katie's sister Sissy (Joan Blondell) is a sassy modern woman who is causing scandal with her third marriage and Katie cuts off contact with her. New beat cop Officer McShane is infatuated with Sissy. The landlord is cutting back a tree in the courtyard. Francie wants to go to a better school and her father needs to find a better paying job.Peggy Ann Garner is a compelling child actress. She's really great in this. And Dorothy McGuire is a terrific lead. It's a touching sentimental melodrama and a good tear jerker. It's the first directorial feature of Elia Kazan. The writers took possibly unwieldy material and adapted it perfectly onto the big screen.