I once asked Jay Leno—as he was ranting about the lack of timely political movies—if he’d ever seen A Face In The Crowd. “It’s my favorite movie ever!” he exclaimed.
The 1957 picture, written by Budd Schulberg and directed by Elia Kazan, starred Andy Griffith as Lonesome Rhodes, a phony, but increasingly powerful, man of the people, and Patricia Neal as the woman who discovers him, loves him and then…well, reveals the true him. (Thank you, hot mic.) It also featured Walter Matthau as the sole man of conscience, and was the first time we saw Lee Remick, who played the majorette who briefly won Lonesome’s heart.
All these years later, it is now in theatrical form. The script is by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl, with original songs by Elvis Costello. It opened in mid-September at London’s Young Vic, and is already creating buzz.
