Winner of every drama prize available in 1947 except the Pulitzer (the New York Drama Critics Circle, the Donaldson, the Tony), Arthur Miller’s All My Sons comes intact to the big screen in a sturdy, emotionally satisfying enterprise securely if unremarkably directed by Irving Reis.
The Production: 4/5
Playwright Arthur Miller had his first major theatrical success with All My Sons, a tragedy dealing with themes Miller would patent over the next several decades: capitalism rotting humanity from the inside out, the widening gap among the generations, and families torn apart by hidden secrets and lies. The play was the first one ever honored with a Tony Award, and its 1948 film version directed by Irving Reis does a fine job conveying Miller’s themes in concisely pictorial fashion with solid performances but little embellishment from the tone and texture which the play originated.
The Keller manufacturing plant is riding high being run so astutely by Joe Keller (Edward G. Robinson) who works so hard so he can leave it all to his only remaining son Chris (Burt Lancaster). His other son Larry was lost during World War II and now three years later is presumed dead. Chris has fallen in love with Larry’s fiancé Ann (Louisa Horton), and she with him, but Joe doesn’t want them to think about marriage for fear of upsetting his delicate wife Kate (Mady Christians) who continues to hold out hope that Larry is alive. But there is a more serious problem for the Kellers: Ann’s bitter brother George (Howard Duff) believes that his father was railroaded into prison by taking the rap for Joe during the war for manufacturing and shipping out faulty airplane cylinders that resulted in twenty-one dead pilots. Joe insisted during the trial that he had been sick when the okay was given on shipping the defective parts, and a jury had acquitted him since he was home from work sick the day they were shipped. Now, everyone in the family wants answers before they can finally feel relieved of guilt over those dead pilots.
Chester Erskine (who also produced the film) has skillfully adapted Arthur Miller’s play for the screen staying very faithful to the text while opening up the action to a series of varying locales abetted by Irving Reis’ journeyman direction. The generational clashes, however, remain intact and rivet the viewer’s attention as bit by bit the truth comes to the fore. Almost every scene is punctuated by a creeping, inescapable fact whether the family enjoys a lobster dinner with all the trimmings at the local seafood house or Joe bullies and bluffs his way through a friendly poker game with his cronies. The Kellers’ neighbors are all as friendly and obliging as can be, but none of them (particularly blabbermouths Arlene Francis as Sue Bayliss and Harry Morgan as Frank Lubey) can quite keep from letting a word or a phrase slip from their lips that brings up nasty memories which the Kellers are trying mightily to forget. It all comes to a head at a family dinner where the loving Kate has convinced rancorous George to stay for dinner and has plied him with such delicious home-cooked food and drink (grape juice, of course) that his doubts about the family begin to melt away until one tiny slip brings it all up again and drives Chris to finally get to the bottom of the mystery. All of the proceeding scenes afterwards delicately spiral to the story’s inevitable final tragedy.
Joe Keller should have been the role to earn Edward G. Robinson his first Oscar nomination (amazingly, this great character star never earned a single nomination during his entire distinguished career), but it wasn’t to be. He’s tough-minded, ambitious, even bullying, but those surface traits also hide a soul deep in tormented self-denial. Burt Lancaster is earnest and solid as the soulful Chris, dynamic in the most dramatic moments but never going over the top. Mady Christians is rather heart-breaking as the stubborn matriarch who refuses to believe her son is gone, and Louisa Horton gives a straightforward performance as Ann Deever who is torn by her love for two conflicting families. Howard Duff does a terrific job in his one major sequence and likewise Frank Conroy as George and Ann’s broken father delivers a memorable one-scene performance as the railroaded friend and partner.
Video: 3.5/5
3D Rating: NA
The film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 is faithfully rendered in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. While the image is very sharp and often detailed in close-ups, the image seems a tad too dark in the brightest scenes meaning nighttime scenes get swallowed in shadows with some black crushing evident. There are more specks of dust, dirt, and debris than one would like to see in a transfer that’s advertised as a new 2K master, but there is no denying that black levels can be deep and white levels can be bright and crisp. The movie has been divided into 8 chapters.
Audio: 4.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound mix offers solid and notable fidelity. The mounds of dialogue have been beautifully recorded and are always easy to discern. Leith Stevens’ background score never intrudes on the action and speech. There is a bit of hiss on modest occasions, but nothing ever distracting.
Special Features: 1.5/5
Audio Commentary: my two least favorite commentators Kat Ellinger and Lee Gambin chatter away like mad and agree with each other’s assessments completely in this long and forgettable track.
Kino Trailers: The Stranger, The Woman in the Window, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Desert Fury, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Devil’s Disciple.
Overall: 3.5/5
Winner of every drama prize available in 1947 except the Pulitzer (the New York Drama Critics Circle, the Donaldson, the Tony), Arthur Miller’s All My Sons comes intact to the big screen in a sturdy, emotionally satisfying enterprise securely if unremarkably directed by Irving Reis.
All My Sons
32% Off $24.95 $16.99
Matt has been reviewing films and television professionally since 1974 and has been a member of Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2007, his reviews now numbering close to three thousand. During those years, he has also been a junior and senior high school English teacher earning numerous entries into Who’s Who Among America’s Educators and spent many years treading the community theater boards as an actor in everything from Agatha Christie mysteries to Stephen Sondheim musicals.
Post Disclaimer
Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.
Similar threads
- Matt Hough
- Blu-ray and UHD
2