All Fall Down

The Early Sixties was an Awkward Period for Movies. The Hays Code was Flirted with in the Fifties, but No One Seriously Challenged the Watchdog Behemoth. But when the next Decade Flipped Over things seemed Different and the Movie Industry started to take some Real Chances.

The Result was at first Subtle Inclusions but also some Daring Attempts to be Bold. You can find some of that here in the John Frankenheimer Directed and William Inge Penned Melodrama about a Dysfunctional Family.

The Strong Cast of Angela Lansbury, Warren Beatty, Karl Malden, Brandon De Wilde, and Eva Marie Saint are Actors Actors and Frankenheim lets Them Act, and boy do They. The Director Plays around with the Setups and the Camera and Cinematically makes this a Movie when by all that is Witnessed in the Story, it is Essentially a Play.

Heavy on Dialog and Emoting, Dramatics, and Personality the Film Plays Out on the Surface as a Domineering Mother, a Socialist Father, and an Innocent Teen Brother, all Worship the "Lady Killer" in the Family, a Cad and Narcissistic Hunk named Berry-Berry (you know, like a disease), and He Infects Anyone in Close Proximity.

Not Top Frankenheimer, but Worth a Watch for the Cast and the sometimes Uncomfortable Look-See at the Realities of Real Middle-Class Life, where the People are Beaten Down, Scarred, and Myopic. It's not a Fun Thing to Watch, it's all Nervous Tension and Gut-Wrenching, and this Type was Not Available to Watch on TV Screens at the Time.