While Andy Griffith is best known as the charming sheriff of Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show, he first found success in the film industry playing a much darker, more complicated character. Following a career as a stage actor, Griffith’s first movie role was in Elia Kazan’s 1957 film, A Face in the Crowd. Griffith portrays a man named Larry Rhodes who is discovered by a radio journalist, Marcia (Patricia Neal), in an Arkansas jail. Marcia records him performing a song and finds that Rhodes becomes an instant hit with the listeners.
Taking him to the station, Rhodes was given his own radio program, which quickly skyrocketed in popularity. Now dubbed “Lonesome” Rhodes, Griffith’s character struggled to manage his newfound fame with humility or grace. The film is a biting satire of celebrity influence and the corruption of wealth and power. Griffith, playing a character who undergoes a transformation from a charming drifter to a raging, arrogant performer, gives a powerful performance that sits in stark contrast to his lovable sitcom persona.
Whatever Griffith’s concerns might have been about making the transition from stage to screen, it is clear that he was able to work through them in his own way to deliver this stellar performance. Lonesome Rhodes is perhaps the most dynamic, powerful role of his career. Although it is not the work he is most closely defined by, that honor definitely goes to the iconic sitcom which bears his own name, this film should always be a part of the conversation about Griffith’s talents. You will never see Sheriff Andy Taylor the same once you see A Face in the Crowd.
As Lonesome Rhodes’ fame continued to increase, his influence over his audience grew. Rhodes began making deals to promote products on his program, to great success. This leads to him being approached in an effort to shift the public opinion of a conservative political candidate. Rhodes rebrands the politician in the same manner that he plays with his own persona, convincing audiences that he is a humble everyman when he is in reality a stiff, unlikable member of the ruling class.
