This movie, without question, should be in the AFI's top 100 films. Andy Griffith's performance is nothing short of spectacular, and this film has become so real today.
If you agree, put a post here. Let's see if we can start a petition or something; replace Titanic with this!
i stumbled upon this movie out of nowhere. it was fantastic...what a hidden gem! it's not on any "top lists" anywhere, which is why it took me so long to see it for the first time. this movie is severely underrated, and better than many so-called classics. definitely a top 100 candidate!
share100% I still can't believe Titanic made AFI's 100!!!
shareThis and Ace in the hole deserve more to be in the top 100 than the third of the movies that are. Come on, if we get Titanic and Toy Story off, we have enough space!
"You're not a real actor in this business until you've played a bitch. Or a psychopath killer."
I agree, just watched it tonight and it's brilliant.
I am stunned that there were no Oscar nominations. Is that true?
am stunned that there were no Oscar nominations. Is that true?I wish someone would comment who is truly in the know. Did this have anything to do with Elia Kazan's role in the House Un-American Activities Committee Hearings?
Yes, it should be in the AFI 100. I could think of a few films that could be easily removed to make room for it.
Though I wasn't alive in 1957, it would seem your theory would be correct. There's no real way to prove this, of course. A significant breakthrough didn't come until 1960, when Dalton Trumbo was given screen credit for writing "Spartacus".
interesting
shareI agree. This film is a masterpiece. Griffiths explosive ending is in the same boat with Daniel Day Lewis' explosive acting at the end of TWBB.
share*chimes*
shareThank you, Mom!! My mother just recommended this film to me following a discussion of the upcoming presidential election. Like everybody else posting here, I'm coming to the party pretty late as regards this film. Nothing short of a masterpiece, and certainly an inspiration for both "Network" and "The Candidate". Moreover, the Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960 are anticipated here three years before 1960 (read Theodore White's "The Making of the President"
for a more detailed explanation of just how important the relatively new medium of television was to Kennedy's election).
Have to attribute the utter lack of any Oscar nods for this film to the fact that it was just way ahead of its time. The DVD interviews with Patricia Neal, Budd Shulberg and Tony Franciosa are worth watching to get an overview of the state of a nation just a couple of years removed from the McCarthy era, and how that informs the film.