A Face in the Crowd (1957) - "Dark Night of the Soul" scene

A radio / TV host drunk with power aspires to sway and control the masses for a Senator running for the President of the US. His long time producer / girl friend finally sees the problem with the personality she has created.

Written 52 years ago by Budd Schulberg as a cautionary tale about the abuse of power available via radio and television. Prophetic.

• Category

  News & Politics

[mrbubbles4q]

Rahm Emanuel

[UsefulClips]

Huh? Since when was Rahm Emanuel a radio or tv show host? You've completely missed the entire point of the clip. It's about the abuse of power by those in the media backed by political figures and working to promote those political figures for their own gain. Some have ascribed this behavior to Glenn Beck and it's an apt analogy. It also applies to others. However, it doesn't in any way apply to Rahm Emanuel. That's just off the mark completely.

[MsGeek703]

Glenn Freakin' Beck. 

[pirateking193]

he essentially told them to go to hell. In short, I saw Lonesome Rhodes as an uncouth, rude, but not necissarily heartless individual at the beginning. A Jerkass at worst who neverheless had some humanity

[pirateking193]

I cited the helping the black family because in the deep south in that time such a move could have concievably ended his career before it even began.; sociopaths aren't that reckless, so that seemed to imply that there was at least some degree of altruism (more specifically, I saw him as being uncouth, but not a monster. There was probably some degree of good in there.) Also, one of his influences Arthur Godfrey was genuinely progressive (when racists complained at his shows integration

[Gregg H]

I haven't seen it in many years. But I remember it was made clear from very near the beginning that there was a dark manipulative side to his personality.

[marcellis robinson]

Why the need to remake it? Where are you gonna find actors today who can turn in better performances than Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal? Where are you gonna find a director better than Elia Kazan? If you say this movie is gold, then enjoy it the way it is. Hollywood has changed so much since 1957, that if they remade the movie now they'd only louse it up.

[pirateking193]

you also to see him fall from genuine idealist to cynical dirtbag (he may have genuinely wanted to help people at first, given that he helped a black family when it was taboo) only to get drunk with power

[arhdtb]

This movie need to be REMADE. This is gold !

[AlvinEinschwein]

Yep, this character is where Rush Limbaugh learned how to be a media bully!

[Venckman]

I'd say more like the vast majority of network and cable and newspaper reporters and editors who first manufactured and then loyally carried water for Obama. One need only look at the glazed over eyes of the zombies that follow him to see how well they succeeded. 

[Billy Lake]

Andy Griffifth the power hungry senator with a beautiful actress from Knoxville Tennessee Patricia Neal.

[RogerCG1]

One of the most under-rated acting performances of all time. Griffith is brilliant in this. Anybody who loves his restrained, lovable Sheriff Andy Taylor, will see his polar opposite here. It's a magnificent acting achievement ---a must for young actors, especially, to watch and admire.