A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945 film)
Adapted by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis from the 1943 novel by Betty Smith, the film focuses on an impoverished but aspirational, second-generation Irish-American family living in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in the early 20th century.Peggy Ann Garner received the Academy Juvenile Award for her performance as Francie Nolan, the adolescent girl at the center of the coming-of-age story.Other stars are Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, Lloyd Nolan, Ted Donaldson, and James Dunn, who received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Francie's father.In 2010, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".Katie Nolan is a hard-working housewife who scrubs the floors of her tenement building and collects rags for sale to a scrap fabric dealer in order to provide for her family.The families celebrate a happy, poignant Christmas together, with the children bringing home a discarded tree, and later that night, Katie tells Johnny she is pregnant.[2] The Production Code Administration initially refused to grant approval to the screenplay due to "the bigamous characterization of Sissy", who appears to be remarrying men even before her previous husbands have died.[2] The studio did soften Sissy's characterization due to a libel suit filed by Smith's cousin, Sadie Grandner, who claimed that the character had been based on her and that she had suffered "scorn and ridicule" as a result.[2] The studio originally considered casting an older actress in the role of Francie, since the part was so demanding, but director Elia Kazan insisted on a child performer and Peggy Ann Garner was signed.Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it "a vastly affecting film" and praised the "generally excellent cast", singling out Garner, who "with her plain face and lank hair, is Miss Smith's Francie Nolan to the life", and Dunn, who portrays her father with a "deep and sympathetic tenderness".[5] Variety praised Kazan's direction for handling the potentially tragic story of the overcrowded and poverty-stricken Brooklyn tenements capably and not letting the film become "maudlin".[13][14] James Dunn and Connie Marshall starred in a CBS Radio adaptation of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that aired on April 28, 1949, on Hallmark Playhouse.[2] The screenplay was adapted for a 1974 NBC television film directed by Joseph Hardy and starring Cliff Robertson, Diane Baker, Pamelyn Ferdin, and James Olson.[2][16] A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was released on Region 1 DVD as part of the 20th Century Fox Home Video box set, The Elia Kazan Collection (2010).
Elia KazanTess SlesingerA Tree Grows in BrooklynBetty SmithLouis D. LightonDorothy McGuireJoan BlondellJames DunnLloyd NolanPeggy Ann GarnerTed DonaldsonJames GleasonRuth NelsonJohn AlexanderB.S. PullyLeon ShamroyDorothy SpencerAlfred Newman20th Century Foxdrama film1943 novelWilliamsburgBrooklynNew YorkAcademy Juvenile AwardAcademy AwardBest Supporting ActorNational Film RegistryLibrary of CongressIrish Americantenement buildingTree of HeavenpneumoniaFerike BorosCharles HaltonNicholas RayProduction Code AdministrationAlice FayeGene TierneyPhil ReganThe Hollywood Reportertenement houseailanthus glandulosaKlieg lightsStan HoughManilaBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesPittsburgh Sun-TelegraphStar TribuneVarietyLeonard MaltinNational Board of Review18th Academy AwardsWriting, Adapted ScreenplayCBS RadioHallmark PlayhouseJoseph HardyCliff RobertsonDiane BakerPamelyn FerdinJames OlsonAmerican Film InstituteThe San Bernardino SunNewspapers.comTurner Classic MoviesBFI Film & TV DatabaseBritish Film InstituteKehr, DaveAFI Catalog of Feature FilmsRotten TomatoesTCM Movie DatabaseThe Sea of GrassBoomerang!Gentleman's AgreementPanic in the StreetsA Streetcar Named DesireViva Zapata!Man on a TightropeOn the WaterfrontEast of EdenBaby DollA Face in the CrowdWild RiverSplendor in the GrassAmerica AmericaThe ArrangementThe VisitorsThe Last TycoonA Letter to EliaActors Studio