Mein Bruder, ein Lump

This is exactly why I go to the library and rent movies. See all the movies you know about, watch the dreck that questionably pass for entertainment, and sometimes discover buried gems that nobody has heard of, yet stars people like Warren Beatty and Angela Lansbury.

'All Fall Down' is a tale of a family that are about to be ripped apart at the seams because of their oldest son. Warren Beatty plays Berry-Berry, a drifter if there ever was one. Going from town to town, from job to job, and usually winding up in jail, but this is all unknown to his family, who see him as a hero, mainly because he got away from town mostly. When his younger brother, played so achingly innocently by Brandon DeWilde, visits him in Florida only to wind up bailing him out of jail, he still loves him. Berry-Berry does wind up back home though, where Mom and Dad (played excellently here by Lansbury and Karl Malden) and unsettled house-guest Eva Marie-Saint await him diligently. His relationship with all 4 members of the household are all different, which results in the conclusion, which you're wondering what will happen to the family now.

I'm just amazed at Beatty's performance here, smoldering with machismo, yet unsure of everything else, Beatty easily wows everyone he sees, family included. Although Brandon DeWilde is largely ignored now, he was one of the brightest young stars in Hollywood once, and this is a great vehicle for him.

Find this one if you can!

When you get a writer like William Inge, who is a playwright by nature, to write a screenplay you get a movie like "All Fall Down" that seems like it is an adaptation of a play. The black and white photography and confined spaces provide an air of claustrophobia which is appropriate for this close examination of the Willart family. The father, Ralph (Karl Malden), is an alcoholic real estate broker who is a rather simple but decent soul; Clinton (Brandon De Wilde), the younger son, is a sensitive teenager who likes to write; Berry-Berry (Warren Beatty), the older son, is a handsome wastrel who lives off his good looks; Annabell (Angla Landsbury), is the controlling mother who obsesses over Berry-Berry and has pretty much wrecked the family. Things get off to a rather slow and awkward start, but when you throw Echo (Eva Marie Saint) into the mix, things get rocking when both sons are taken with her.

De Wilde is called upon to carry a good part of this movie. Hardly anyone is better at playing the clean-cut innocent and good natured youth ("Shane, come back!") than De Wilde, and he puts that talent to use here. I was struck by how similar De Wilde's Clinton is to Lonnie, the kid he would play opposite Paul Newman the next year in "Hud." Just as in this movie, in "Hud" he would play a young man who idolizes a more experienced relative, and ultimately comes to be totally disillusioned with him. Overall, the casting for "All Fall Down" is near perfect and the acting excellent.

I was expecting more from the Alex North ("Spartacus", "Goodfellas") score, but it is pretty much early 60s generic. The Sibelius symphony that accompanies the only romantic scene (higly scaled down by modern standards) is a bit over the top.

This movie would appear to be Inge's "Long Day's Journey into Night," but it is not nearly as powerful as the O'Neill play that was made into a brilliant movie in the same year.

I assume there is some significance, lost on me, to the fruit theme and the hyphenated "Berry-Berry." In any case, that name quickly started to bug the hell out of me.

"All Fall Down" combines the best elements of "Come Back Little Sheba" and "Splendor in the Grass"; which should not be a total surprise given that all three come at least in part from the mind of William Inge. It is interesting that while "All Fall Town" is the most ambitious of the three, it is also the least known. Probably because Director John Frankenheimer made something that is more art film than box office blockbuster (or academy darling).

The storytelling technique is much like "Days of Heaven", both told from the point of view of the youngest member of their casts-in this case Clint (Brandon de Wilde-"come back Shane"). The film even goes so far as to cut in shots of Clint watching the other characters through windows and doorways, and then writing down what he has observed in a journal. This is very effective because the story has coming of age elements involving Clint and the viewer is meant to strongly identify with his character. Unfortunately Frankenheimer pulls his punch at the end and limits things to the traditional process of disillusionment found in this film genre. A much more satisfying ending was possible.

I've never shared the view that "All Fall Down" lacks sympathetic characters. Clint is certainly likable as is family friend Echo (Eva Marie Saint), and even father Ralph (Karl Malden) to a certain degree. Mother Annabell (Angela Lansbury) is not but her purpose is to provide some explanation for this dysfunctional family.

Older brother Berry-Berry (Warren Beatty) is not likable but is certainly interesting. Smothered by his mother he has a phobia about ending up like his parents. Which has sent him on the road where he lives by his wits and good looks. Beatty really doesn't seem to know how to play Berry-Berry and his performance is mostly a repeat of his "Splendor in the Grass" character. But the uncertainty in his performance ultimately works to his advantage, as Berry-Berry is a conflicted mess of mixed motivation. His behavior is compulsive and contradictory, a sociopath with a conscience. And he is concerned with the welfare of his little brother, who idolizes him (as do his parents).

Starting out in Key West, where Clint meets his brother's ex-girlfriend (played by Frankenheimer's real life wife Evans Evans) in a strip club. In a great scene she tries to get the underage Clint to buy her a drink-but her debilitated coughing spoils any superficial sex appeal.

The action soon shifts to an older middle class neighborhood in Cleveland. Beatty appears briefly in the beginning and is mostly unseen until after the midpoint of the film. De Wille has far more screen time and introduces us to the remaining three characters.

Saint's character is a spinsterish free spirit of 31 (another contradiction) who Clint falls in love with until his older brother claims her. Saint was always difficult to cast. Not earthy enough for the Julie Harris-Elizabeth Hartman type of roles and not sexy enough for the standard starlet stuff she was limited to icy librarians or dowdy girlfriend stuff until Hitchcock drew her out in "North by Northwest". She is physically perfect for the Echo O'Brien role, someone confident and playful, yet very fragile; pretty enough to make Berry-Berry's attraction credible.

This is a slick little film but only if you like productions that could easily transfer to the stage.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

One forgets what a sensational actress Angela Lansbury was, is and always will be. Her success as Jessica Fletcher in TV's "Murder She Wrote" have distracted audience's attention from the real Lansbury. To see "All Fall Down" in 2009 is quite an experience. All the clues about Warren Beatty's complex character are discovered in Angela Lansbury's extraordinary cinematic face. We discover everything visually without any exposition. I don't want to spoil it for you so I'm not going to pinpoint the moments I mean because part of the pleasure is to discover them by ourselves. Brandon De Wilde is another shattering presence on the screen. He died at 30 years of age and I can't help wondering what he could have become. He was the young kid from "Shane" remember? But, let's got back to Lansbury, she plays Warren Beatty's mother, although in real life they are only a few years apart, she is fearless and enthralling as she was in another collaboration with John Frankenheimer: "The Manchurian Candidate" I keep thinking that Tilda Swinton won an Oscar for her performance in °Michael Clayton" and Angela Lansbury was not even nominated for this. I confess to you that I saw "All Fall Down" twice in a row. I was overwhelmed by Lansbury's performance and her strange and compelling chemistry with Karl Malden, her husband, Warren Beatty, her eldest son and Brandon De Wilde, her youngest son. I highly recommend it.

Although this film is meant to be Beatty's showpiece, De Wilde actually carries the film. Lansbury & Malden chew the scenery more often than not, but their performances do eventually fall into place. Eve Marie Saint is wonderful, as are the actresses cast in several minor supporting roles - Evans Evans, Barbara Baxley and Constance Ford. While Beatty is at the height of his youthful beauty, his interpretation of "Berry-Berry" feels undeveloped.

The opening twenty minutes, filmed in Key West, establish a unique atmosphere that is quickly lost, when the film moves to "Ohio" scenes filmed on a studio back lot.

Contrary to a previous posting, Lansbury is thirteen years older than Beatty, who plays her son. Actor Brandon De Wilde died at age thirty, and one wonders what direction his acting career might have taken. His name has been forgotten by most, but his talent is obvious in this film.