A Face in the Crowd
Warner Bros. | Release Date: June 1, 1957 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
This is one of the greatest films of the 1950s, a prophetic film about the dangerous power of modern media. Read full review
100
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
A raw, penetrating, and terrifying portrait of humanity. Read full review
90
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Elia Kazan and Budd Schulberg, who teamed to bring forth On the Waterfront, have another provocative and hardhitting entry, based on Schulberg's short story The Arkansas Traveler. It's a devastating commentary on hero-worship and success cults in America. Read full review
90
Vanity FairJames Walcott
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. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
It'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. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineJeremiah Kipp
Strong performances and a fiery aggressive tone keep things moving, but A Face in the Crowd is dated and not particularly deep. Read full review
63
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
The script, by Budd Schulberg, is pat and badly proportioned, but the picture has a sharp, dirty appeal. Read full review
60
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
In 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. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBosley Crowther
Mr. 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. Read full review
50
The New YorkerPauline Kael
Some exciting scenes in the first half, but the later developments are frenetic, and by the end the film is a loud and discordant mess.
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