One of the films I enjoyed for Mr. March's August birthday celebration is the film which garnered him his fifth Academy Award nomination. That film, which I caught for the very first time and which is one of my 5-star film discoveries of the year, is 1951's Death of a Salesman. Based on the Arthur Miller play of the same name, Death of a Salesman is a powerful, moving, emotionally-charged drama also starring Midred Dunnock, Kevin McCarthy, and Cameron Mitchell.
The salesman in Death of a Salesman is 60+ year-old Willy Loman (Fredric March), who after 36 years with his company, has just been removed from salary and put on straight commission. Although Willy resides in New York, he is in charge of a New England route and is, thus, on the road every week. His wife, Linda (Mildred Dunnock), worried because Willy's mind wanders and he has nearly had a car crash, suggests that he approach his boss about working out of the New York office instead.
Discontent with how his life has turned out, Willy spends much of his time reminiscing about former "good" days and thinking about his brother's success in Alaska. Beyond that, as Linda confides to their sons, Willy has been borrowing $50 a week from a neighbor and pretending it is his pay. He also has been trying to kill himself.
Willy and Linda's two adult sons, Hap (Cameron Mitchell) and Biff (Kevin McCarthy), return home for a visit, and immediately, there is strife between Biff and his father. Though he showed promise as an athlete when in high school, Biff has been irresponsible and unmotivated since then, and he has never amounted to anything in Willy's eyes. Willy has no idea that it was he, himself, who set Biff on the path of restlessness.
The situation soon reaches a crisis point---Willy asks about being given a local position...Biff meets with an old employer, hoping he will invest in a business venture...Hap abandons his father at a restaurant after picking up girls...Biff declares his father a fake...and Linda laces into her sons for their disrespect of their father. And overriding it all is the fact that Willy cannot accept that he is just an ordinary man with ordinary sons. How it all plays out is the balance of the film.
Death of a Salesman has enjoyed decades of success both on the screen and on the stage. I have never seen any of the other versions and, in fact, had no knowledge even of the story until my viewing of this film. Therefore, I am unable to compare one version to another---my review is based solely on what I saw in this film. And what I saw here was completely sensational. This is a powerful "message" movie, as it takes on some very deep, profound subjects...such as what constitutes success, acceptance of one's children for who they are, the yearning for parental approval, and the plight of aging workers.
While the acting of everyone in this film is fantastic, Fredric March and Kevin McCarthy moved me in an especially powerful way. I could relate to Mr. McCarthy's character and, thus, was deeply touched by him. I thought Mr. McCarthy's portrayal was heartfelt and completely real. As for Mr. March...his portrayal of Willy Loman blew me away. I already thought he was a sensational actor, but he was completely brilliant here. This was the year which Humphrey Bogart won the Academy Award (for The African Queen), and I have long-said that I thought Mr. Bogart ought to have won for other films (namely Casablanca and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, for which he wasn't even nominated), but that Montgomery Clift ought to have won in 1951 (for A Place in the Sun). Then, I saw Detective Story, and I thought Kirk Douglas was fantastic. Though he didn't even garner a nomination, he could have given Mr. Clift a run for his money. Now that I have seen Death of a Salesman, I definitely believe it ought not to have been Mr. Bogart's year. Hands-down, I think Fredric March's portrayal of Willy Loman was the performance of the year. (Even beating out my beloved Monty in my all-time favorite movie.)
This film is not out on DVD, and I don't believe TCM airs it very often. At least, I don't recall seeing it on their schedule, and since I generally record most Fredric March films, I'm usually pretty observant of his name in a cast. For those reasons, this has been a difficult film to track down, but I finally found it on YouTube (in parts). Click HERE for part 1. Definitely try to see this amazing and powerful film.
Happy viewing!!
