''All My Sons'' is a 1948

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

directed by

Irving Reis Irving Reis (May 7, 1906 in New York City – July 3, 1953 in Woodland Hills, California) was a radio program producer and director, and a film director. Biography Irving Reis was born into a Jewish family. Reis began his career as a motion pi ...

and starring Edward G. Robinson and

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

. The supporting cast features

Louisa Horton Louisa Fleetwood Horton (September 20, 1920 – January 25, 2008) was an American film, television and stage actress, who used her given name, Louisa Horton, professionally. She was the former wife of the late ''The Sting'' director, George Ro ...

, Mady Christians,

Howard Duff Howard Green Duff (November 24, 1913July 8, 1990) was an American actor. He started in radio during World War II before appearing in many Hollywood features and television programs from 1947 to 1990. He also directed for television. His career ...

Arlene Francis Arlene Francis (born Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001) was an American game show panelist, actress, radio and television talk show host. She is best known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game ...

, and

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both '' December Bride'' (1954–1959) and '' Pet ...

. The film is based on

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's 1946 play of the same name. It was produced and distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

Plot

Joe Keller is sorry to hear son Chris plans to wed Ann Deever and move to Chicago, for he hoped Chris would someday take over the manufacturing business Joe built from the ground up. Ann's father Herb was Joe’s business partner, but when both men were charged with shipping defective airplane parts that resulted in wartime crashes and deaths, only Herb was convicted and sent to prison. Another son of the Kellers' is in the Army air corps, missing in action and presumed dead. Ann used to be engaged to him and her engagement to his brother upsets Kate Keller, who hasn't yet accepted that son Larry is gone for good. Ann's attorney brother George strongly discourages her from marrying a Keller, and many in town still whisper that Joe was responsible for the death of twenty-one pilots. A war widow even calls Joe a murderer to his face in a restaurant. On a visit to Ann's father in prison, Chris hears how Joe called in sick on the one day the Army came to pick up the airplane parts. Joe admits to Chris that he knew they were defective, but repairs would have been costly and could have bankrupted the business. Chris strikes his father in anger at hearing this. A letter from Larry reveals that he knew of his father's guilt and intended to go on a suicide mission in a plane, no longer wanting to live with the family's shame. This is the final disgrace for Joe, who shoots himself. Chris and Ann leave together with Kate's blessing to their future.

Cast

* Edward G. Robinson as Joe Keller *

as Chris Keller *

as Ann Deever * Mady Christians as Kate Keller * Frank Conroy as Herb Deever *

as George Deever *

Lloyd Gough Lloyd Gough (born Michael Gough; September 21, 1907 – July 23, 1984) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Life and career Born Michael Gough in New York City, he was a noted character actor. Married to actress-turned-activi ...

as Jim Bayliss *

as Sue Bayliss *

as Frank Lubey * Elisabeth Fraser as Lydia Lubey * Jerry Hausner as Halliday * William Ruhl as Ed *

Herbert Heywood Herbert Heywood may refer to: * Herbert Heywood (footballer) * Herbert Heywood (actor) {{hndis, Heywood, Herbert ...

as McGraw * Herb Vigran as Wertheimer * Charles Meredith as Ellsworth * Walter Soderling as Charles * Pat Flaherty as Bartender * Harry Harvey as Judge

Production

Reportedly

postponed his own first production, '' Kiss the Blood Off My Hands'' in order to take the role of Chris, an ex-GI who initially idolizes his father, not knowing what he has done.

Reception

Box Office

The film made a relatively small loss for Universal.

Critical response

In his film review, critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

contrasted Arthur Miller's play to the screenplay. While stating that the screenplay was more restrained, he praised the acting. He wrote, "In the role of this rugged individualist, Mr. Robinson does a superior job of showing the shades of personality in a little tough guy who has a softer side. Arrogant, ruthless, and dynamic in those moments when his 'business' is at stake, he is also tender and considerate in the presence of those he loves ... As the right-thinking son of this corrupt man, Burt Lancaster is surprisingly good and, although he appears a bit dim-witted at times, that is not implausible. Louisa Horton is natural as his sweetheart and Mady Christians plays the mother intensely. Irving Reis' direction is slightly stilted in some scenes but generally matches the tempo of a fluid script". Critic and writer

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. His autob ...

writing in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' in 1948 characterized it as "A feast for the self-righteous; Ibsen for beginners; for the morally curious a sad bore. By the standards of the Screen Writers' Guild this sort of thing is the white hope of Hollywood. Entirely well-intended and sincerely acted; but not an interesting play, and certainly not a movie."

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...

wrote: "Arthur Miller conceived this idea-ridden melodrama... Surprisingly, it does work up some energy, but by then you have to be a little saintly to care."

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

gave it three of four stars: "Post-WW2 drama is well acted, but verbose and preachy."

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

gave it one of four stars: "Heady family melodrama from a taut and topical stage play. The film is well-meaning but artificial and unconvincing."

Accolades

Nominations *

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

: Best Written American Drama - Chester Erskine; The Robert Meltzer Award (Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene) - Chester Erskine; 1949.

References

Bibliography

* Fetrow, Alan G. ''Feature Films, 1940-1949: a United States Filmography''. McFarland, 1994.

External links

* * * * *

Streaming audio

''All My Sons''
on ''

Screen Directors Playhouse ''Screen Directors Playhouse'' (sometimes written as ''Screen Directors' Playhouse'') is an American radio and television anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949. The radio program broadca ...

'': December 2, 1949 {{Irving Reis 1940s American films 1948 drama films 1948 films American black-and-white films American drama films American films based on plays Films directed by Irving Reis Films scored by Leith Stevens Universal Pictures films 1940s English-language films Film noir English-language drama films