SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Micitype Pretty Good

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

lasttimeisaw 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.

evanston_dad This film broke my heart.I've not read the novel on which Elia Kazan's screen adaptation is based, but as a stand-alone film, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is wonderful. Made in a decade when movie conventions of the time can seem overly sentimental and corny now, this film feels like a product of a later era in all the right ways. It tells the story of a young girl navigating the transition into adolescence while dealing with a strict, somewhat cold mother and an alcoholic father, all the while dreaming of a richer, fuller life away from the cramped apartments and stifled atmosphere of working class Brooklyn. The screenplay actually feels like a novel in its detailed characterizations, and the acting is uniformly marvelous. James Dunn won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the family patriarch, a complicated one that requires him to convey both a love of life and a dogged sense of failure at the same time. But the standouts for me were Dorothy McGuire and Joan Blondell as the emotionally closed off mom and her blowsy sister, respectively. I've always associated McGuire with prim and proper society lady roles, and I never would have thought of her for a role like this. But she's amazing, and never more so than in the scene when she's giving birth and she lets her guard down in front of her daughter, letting forth with a stream of consciousness assembly of thoughts and worries. And Blondell is vivacious as ever, but she plays her character as much more than a stereotype, giving a rich inner life to this woman other people have labeled a floozy.The husband and wife team of Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis received a nomination for their screenplay, while Peggy Ann Garner, the linchpin of the whole film, received a special juvenile Oscar for her performance, one of only half a dozen or so the Academy handed out over its first couple of decades.Grade: A+

calgal33 One of my all-time favorites and one of Joan Blondell's best ever. Very "adult" for the time and something that doesn't age badly. As a matter of fact, I just saw it a couple of days ago (bought a gorgeous DVD from Vermont movie store dot com) and STILL LOVE IT. It aged really well. I remember Lloyd Nolan mostly from TV in the 60s (Julia and 77 Sunset Strip, etc., etc.) and was never really impressed, but here he is at his every best. The characters (compliments to Kazan) are wonderfully realized. I may give in a couple of months, but I know I will be watching it again soon. Very soon.

TxMike It was the early 1900s in Brooklyn. Many families crowded together in tenement buildings, poor families that barely made ends meet, but always paid the monthly ten cents to the man who sold funeral insurance. Life expectancy wasn't real long. An extra penny here and there meant something.This movie has special appeal to me, it came out in 1945, the year I was born. Shot in glorious black and white, the cinematography is excellent. The title is a reference to a tree growing in a courtyard, seemingly out of the concrete. The young daughter laments that it is being cut down, but dad says it won't die, it will grow back. It is also a metaphor for life, for getting back up after you have been knocked down.Beautiful Dorothy McGuire, in her 20s here, is the mom, Katie Nolan. She is a severe mom, hardly ever smiling, because she knows how difficult it is to keep the family in home and fed. Joan Blondell is her sister, the good, fun-loving aunt, Sissy, who is at one point banned from the family, but later returns to help the healing.Winning an Academy Award for supporting actor was James Dunn as the father, Johnny Nolan, who calls himself a singing waiter but often drinks too much, and never seems to deliver the goods for the family. He is a "pipe dreamer", always talking about what is going to happen, without a plan to make it happen.The real star is young (12) Peggy Ann Garner as the daughter, Francie. She is smart, reads a lot, and works hard to help the family. She adores her dad, it is clear that he has the greatest influence on her.This is a really good movie, about family, how things become trials, and how they are able to overcome them.