Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

kijii Without a doubt, the late Arthur Miller is best known for his play, Death of a Salesman. Yet, he did write some other notable plays and screen plays, and All My Sons is a little gem, very well presented as a movie here. I have seen this movie twice on TCM in the last month and the more I see it the more I love it.This drama is about a self-made man, Joe Keller (Edward G. Robinson), who owns a machine plant that produces airplane parts during World War II. He and his partner, Herbert Deever (Frank Conroy), had profited heavily from military contracts during the war. But, when it was discovered that they had sent out defective parts to keep their army contract--and that these defective parts had cost several army airmen their lives--it had put the plant under a cloud. When the scandal hit the plant, Joe was able to sidestep the scandal while his partner, Deever, was sent to jail.As the drama opens, Joe is trying to convince his son, Chris (Brut Lancaser) to join him in the business. Chris is dating Deever's daughter, Ann (Louisa Horton), who had previously been in love with Chris' older brother before he was killed in the war. Although the relationship between the Kellers and the Deevers had been strained by the plant scandal, the two Deever children, Ann and her brother Geroge (Howard Duff), remained fairly close to the Kellers. The Deever children had known Joe as their father's partner, since childhood. And, Chris, Ann, and George were practically raised together as brothers and sisters.Joe is able to put the scandal behind him and remain a proud pillar of the community. He is well liked by his neighbors, mainly for the way he had cleverly survived the scandal. In fact, he seems so untouched by the scandal that even his son, Chris, is unaware of any role that his father may have had in it. The truth about Joe's involvement in the scandal is uncovered in a sudden turn of events--events that would change everyone forever. This movie may seem dated to some. Yet, to me, it seems as topical today as it was then. All one need do is to think about the many screw-ups in Bush's War to realize that we haven't come that far in the last 60 years.I can't imagine a better performance of this play than the one presented here. This was Burt Lancaster's fifth screen appearance, and his role is more sensitive than moviegoers had seen until this point. Still, he seems up to the challenge and I'm sure this role helped to prove his versatility. Most of the women in the movie were—and are-- fairly unknown. Yet, Mady Christians was notable as Joe's wife, Kate.However, the movie is just dominated by Edward G. Robinson in his role as Joe. Joe is as important to this play as Willy Loman is to Death of a Salesman. Though I am used to seeing great performances out of Robinson, I think this is one of his very best. In fact, I think it was worthy of an Oscar in the 1949. But, alas, Robinson wasn't even nominated.

dbdumonteil The play has undergone some changes :first of all, Herbert ,Ann's and George's father,appears in a scene in jail where Chris meets him:it adds strength to the screenplay,and Frank Conroy's tired disillusioned face conveys all the character's plight, a victim of his friend 's greed and cowardice.The scene in the restaurant is also a good plus: in the play,they hinted at people who "talked" about the shrewd Joe who got away :but in a movie,this despondent woman who lost her husband in the war shouting "murderer!" is more convincing.Some things were ruled out: no "apple tree whose upper trunk and branches lie toppled beside the slump";in the play ,it seems to me that mother was more obsessed by her missing in action son's return ,a death she never got over;although the horoscope's kept and there's this wardrobe full of his clothes with these polished shoes;in the movie,although she does not want Chris to marry his brother's fiancée ,she 's more concerned about her husband's family skeleton ;anyway ,the ending was sweetened :same final word ("live") but we do not see Chris and Ann leaving the house and thus living happily ever after. Sue 's role is less important:she "resents living next door to the Holy Family" in Miller's lines,she hates Chris' idealism ,which urges her husband to do medical research which "pays 25 dollars a week" ;in the movie ,she's a simply gossipy neighbor.Directing is not very inventive (just compare with what Kazan and Mankiewicz did with Tennessee Williams ),but the two principals are very efficient:EG Robinson portrays a double-faced self-made man brilliantly:he appears first as a good man,who,although uneducated ,made the grade and gave his family all that money could buy;but doubt creeps into our mind ,and after the scene in the plant - another sequence not from Miller's play- where "when you don't know,ask Joe" ,we realize he is a despicable coward,who shuns responsibility and is not afraid to send a man to jail.It explains the wife's attitude too: does she care for her son ,or for all "his " sons ?after all she did know that her husband's flu was an excuse .Lancaster is deeply moving in his portrayal of a son who discovers her father is not the one he has admired all his life .

Lee Eisenberg Irving Reis's "All My Sons" is based on one of Arthur Miller's lesser known plays, but I would call it just as important as "Death of a Salesman" or "The Crucible". Edward G. Robinson's businessman is the embodiment of evil. It's easy to see this as a one-time story, but it has repeatedly happened. From insufficiently armored Humvees in Iraq to peanut butter tainted with listeria (when the CEO knew that it was), these stories are a rebuttal to all who rail against regulations. Regulations exist to keep society safe: building codes, speed limits, etc. The idea that the market will solve everything results in the sale of dangerous products and the refusal to maintain infrastructure, leading to bridges collapsing. Does the relative of a celebrity have to get killed in a collapsing bridge before we fix our infrastructure?Anyway, this is a good movie. Everyone should see it. No surprise that many of the performers faced HUAC.

whpratt1 Enjoyed this Edward G. Robinson, where he plays the role of Joe Keller, a self made man who was poor and built up a very profitable business. Joe has a nice family he is very proud of and works hard to give them all the comforts he never had when he was a child growing up. During World War II Joe started bidding for government contracts and he was making good money until American pilots started having problems with their aircraft and many pilots were killed because of faulty parts. There is a big scandal and Joe Keller faces some very serious problems. Burt Lancaster, (Chris Keller) plays the role of one of Joe Keller's son's and he gives an outstanding supporting role in this film. After this airplane scandal, many people started saying, "Ask Joe Keller" what really happened. Edward G. put his heart and soul in his role and clearly showed his great professional acting abilities. This is a rather sad story, but true to life.