A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945 film)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1945 American drama film that marked the debut of Elia Kazan as a dramatic film director. Adapted by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis from the 1943 novel by Betty Smith, the film focuses on an impoverished but aspirational, second-generation Irish-American family living in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in the early 20th century. Peggy Ann Garner received the Academy Juvenile Award for her performance as Francie Nolan, the adolescent girl at the center of the coming-of-age story. Other stars are Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, Lloyd Nolan, Ted Donaldson, and James Dunn, who received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Francie's father.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1943 novel
by Betty Smith
- February 28, 1945
128 minutes
United States
English
$3 million[1]
The screenplay was adapted for radio in 1949, for a musical play in 1951, and for a television film in 1974. In 2010, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
The film rights to Betty Smith's novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn were the focus of a studio bidding war even before the book's publication in 1943. 20th Century Fox acquired the rights for $55,000.[2] The screenplay was written by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis, a married couple who often worked together.[2] The film marked the Hollywood drama film debut of Elia Kazan, who had previously achieved renown as a stage director. It was also the first Hollywood film for Nicholas Ray, who was credited as a dialogue coach.[2]
The Production Code Administration initially refused to grant approval to the screenplay due to "the bigamous characterization of Sissy", who appears to be remarrying men even before her previous husbands have died. The screenplay was finally approved in May 1944, although Production Code officials issued "further warnings that Sissy's 'false philosophy' regarding the nature of love and marriage should be toned down".[2] The studio did soften Sissy's characterization due to a libel suit filed by Smith's cousin, Sadie Grandner, who claimed that the character had been based on her and that she had suffered "scorn and ridicule" as a result. 20th Century Fox settled out of court with Grandner for the sum of $1,500.[2]
Critical reception[edit]
The film was widely praised by critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it "a vastly affecting film" and praised the "generally excellent cast", singling out Garner, who "with her plain face and lank hair, is Miss Smith's Francie Nolan to the life", and Dunn, who portrays her father with a "deep and sympathetic tenderness". Crowther added: "In the radiant performance by these two actors of a dreamy adoration between father and child is achieved a pictorial demonstration of emotion that is sublimely eloquent". He also praised the "easy naturalness" with which Kazan directs.[8] A Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph review called Garner's performance "astonishingly superb" and said Dunn's portrayal "has the mark of greatness about it".[9] The Star Tribune acknowledged McGuire for lending "intelligence and depth to a role which, in the hands of a less capable player, might have been shallow and lifeless".[10][5] This review also complimented the studio for successfully transferring the novel to the screen, managing to trim the novel's scope without distorting the story or message.[5] Variety praised Kazan's direction for handling the potentially tragic story of the overcrowded and poverty-stricken Brooklyn tenements capably and not letting the film become "maudlin".[11] A modern review by Leonard Maltin calls the film "perfect in every detail".[12]
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was recognized as one of the ten best films of the year by the National Board of Review, Time, and The New York Times, among others.[2]
Adaptations[edit]
James Dunn and Connie Marshall starred in a CBS Radio adaptation of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that aired on April 28, 1949, on Hallmark Playhouse.[2][15] A musical play of the novel co-written by Betty Smith and George Abbott debuted on April 19, 1951, in New York. Joan Blondell reprised her role as Sissy in the road company version of this play, which opened on October 9, 1952.[2]
The screenplay was adapted for a 1974 NBC television film directed by Joseph Hardy and starring Cliff Robertson, Diane Baker, Pamelyn Ferdin, and James Olson.[2][16]