- Death of a Salesman (1951 film)
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Death of a Salesman 
Theatrical release posterDirected by László Benedek Produced by Stanley Kramer Screenplay by Stanley Roberts Story by Arthur Miller (playwright) Starring Fredric March
Mildred Dunnock
Kevin McCarthy
Cameron MitchellMusic by Alex North Cinematography Franz Planer Studio Columbia Pictures[1] Release date(s) December 20, 1951 Running time 115 minutes[2] Country United States Language English Death of a Salesman is a 1951 film adapted from the play of the same name by Arthur Miller. It was directed by László Benedek and written for the screen by Stanley Roberts. It received numerous nominations for awards, and won several of them, including four Golden Globe Awards and the Volpi Cup. Alex North, the man who had written the music for the Broadway version of the play, composed the score for the film, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his music.[3]
Contents
Plot
Willy Loman has led a life consisting of sixty years of failure. Loman's wife supports him, but he soon begins to lose his grip on reality and slips between the past and the present, frantically trying to find where he went wrong.[2]
Cast
The cast consisted mainly of the Broadway cast, with the addition of Kevin McCarthy from the original London Cast. However, Fredric March replaced Broadway actor Lee J. Cobb after concerns with Cobb's alleged past left-wing political associations arose.[2]
Actor/Actress Role Fredric March Willy Loman Mildred Dunnock Linda Loman Kevin McCarthy Biff Loman Cameron Mitchell Happy Loman Howard Smith Charley Royal Beal Ben Don Keefer Bernard Jesse White Stanley Claire Carleton Miss Francis David Alpert Howard Wagner Career of a Salesman
Just before the film was about to come out, Arthur Miller threatened to sue Columbia Studios over the short which was to appear before Death of a Salesman.[4] This short film, Career of a Salesman, showed what the producers believed was a more typical American salesman, and was an attempt to defuse possible accusations that the Death of a Salesman was an anti-American film.[4] Eventually, Columbia agreed to remove the ten minute intro from the main film's beginning.[4]
Miller saw Career of a Salesman as an attack upon his work, proclaiming "Why the hell did you make the picture if you're so ashamed of it? Why should anybody not get up and walk out of the theatre if Death of a Salesman is so outmoded and pointless?"[4] He argued against the portrayal of the salesman profession as "a wonderful profession, that people thrived on it, and there were no problems at all".[5] Eventually, the very attitude that led Columbia to commission the intro led to the failure of Death of a Salesman: people and businessmen in a 1950s political climate tried to distance themselves from a film depicting American failure in the 1950s.[2][4]
Production
Benedek took great care in making the film a close transcription of the play.[1] In many places, the film uses Miller's lines verbatim, sometimes leaving out only small lines of dialogue.[1] However, the playwright claimed the movie was ruined by the truncation of key scenes.[6] In fact, the playwright had no involvement with or control over the movie.[5] Benedek also stressed the dreary, middle class setting of the film, using small rooms and gray shots.[1] The movie was filmed primarily in Brooklyn.[1]
Reception
Though the film won over many film critics and received nominations for many awards, it was a box office failure. The subject matter, the failure of the American dream, did not appeal to many of the era's moviegoers.[2] Miller himself denounced the adaptation of his play, claiming the actors all sounded like "Willy Loman with a diploma, fat with their success".[4] He also claimed that, though he wrote the play cinematically, Benedek managed to "chop off almost every climax of the play as though with a lawnmower" and portray Loman as a lunatic, rather than a victim.[4][5]
As of September 2011, the film has never been commercially released in any home-viewing format.
Awards and nominations
Awards
1952 Golden Globe Awards
- Best Cinematography - Black and White
- Best Director - László Benedek
- Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama - Fredric March
- New Star of the Year - Actor - Kevin McCarthy
1952 Venice Film Festival
New York Times Critics' Pick
- Top 1,000
Nominations
1952 Academy Awards
- Best Actor in a Leading Role - Fredric March
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Kevin McCarthy
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Mildred Dunnock
- Best Cinematography - Black and White - Franz Planer
- Best Score - Adaptation or Treatment - Alex North
1952 Directors Guild of America Awards
- Award for Outstanding Directing - Feature Film
1952 British Academy Film Awards
- BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Film
- Best Foreign Actor - Fredric March
1952 Venice Film Festival
1952 Writers Guild of America Award
- Best Written American Drama
- Robert Meltzer Award
References
- ^ a b c d e Crowther, Bosley (21 December 1951). "The Angel with the Trumpet (1950): THE SCREEN: FOUR NEW MOVIES OPEN; 'Death of a Salesman,' With Fredric March and Mildred Dunnock, at Victoria". New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9403E1DA1E3DEF3BBC4951DFB467838A649EDE. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Eder, Bruce. "Death of a Salesman". AllMovie. http://www.allmovie.com/work/death-of-a-salesman-89008. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
- ^ "Alex North, a Film Composer, 80; Had 40-Year Hollywood Career". New York Times. 11 September 2001. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DB1F3DF932A2575AC0A967958260. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kerrane, Kevin (1 September 2004). "Arthur Miller vs. Columbia Pictures: the strange case of Career of a Salesman". Journal of American Culture. Blackwell Publishing. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-13301698_ITM. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
- ^ a b c Solman, Paul (1999). "AN AMERICAN CLASSIC (Interview with Arthur Miller)". PBS. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june99/miller_2-10.html. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
- ^ Shewwy, Don (15 September 2008). "TV'S CUSTOM-TAILORED 'SALESMAN'". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E2DE133BF936A2575AC0A963948260&sec=&spon=. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
External links
Films directed by László Benedek Song of Russia · The Kissing Bandit · Port of New York · Death of a Salesman · The Wild One · Bengal Brigade · Children, Mother, and the General · Affair in Havana · Recours en grâce · Moment of Danger · Namu, the Killer Whale · Daring Game · The Night Visitor · Assault on AgathonCategories:- 1951 films
- American films
- English-language films
- 1950s drama films
- Films directed by László Benedek
- Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe
- Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance
- Films based on plays
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