All My Sons (1948)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Irving Reis

Writers:

Chester Erskine (writer)
Arthur Miller (play)

Release Date:

May 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

All My Sons tells the story of Joe Keller, a successful, middle-aged, self-made man who has done a terrible and tragic thing: during World War II...

Plot Keywords:

Tony Award Source | Based On Play

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Edward G. Robinson	...	Joe Keller
Burt Lancaster	...	Chris Keller
Mady Christians	...	Kate Keller
Louisa Horton	...	Ann Deever
Howard Duff	...	George Deever
Frank Conroy	...	Herbert Deever
Lloyd Gough	...	Jim Bayliss
Arlene Francis	...	Sue Bayliss
Harry Morgan	...	Frank Lubey (as Henry Morgan)
Elisabeth Fraser	...	Lydia Lubey

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:A (1948) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Santa Rosa, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "All My Sons" opened at the Coronet Theater in New York on January 29, 1947, ran for 328 performances and won the 1947 Tony Award (New York City) for the Best Play for the author Arthur Miller. His original script was used as the basis for the screen play for the movie version.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Joe comes out of the house upon Annie's arrival, he comes down the front steps and walks into the yard with his arms raised. In the next instant, he's back at the steps and his arms are down.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Facing the Past (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Ten Thousand Miles Away

Finally, a classic not suffering from overexposure

This is a better film than some of those dressed in the musty threads of old politics seem likely to concede any time soon. Sweeping aside the calculus of smugness and old-left/ old-right factionalism for a second, one would in honesty have to admit All My Sons is as tightly wound as the better films of the day. --As intense as Notorious or Out of the Past, as absorbing as Sorry Wrong Number or The Spiral Staircase, this film can hold its head high in pretty fast company. If I was to recommend 2 Edward G. Robinson performances, I would probably nominate his work in this film, and Scarlet Street. Likewise, this film and Come Back Little Sheba contain some of Burt Lancaster's best work. See it. Ten stars.