Quand le masque tombe

Jose Ferrer stars and directs in this film that follows a Citizen Kane path in search of the man behind the famous public figure. Sans Welles' towering command of film language it is benefited by its stripped down expeditious telling as Ferrer peels back the past of the "great" man.

Popular radio reporter Herb Fuller is killed in an automobile accident sending execs at ABC (Amalgamated Broadcast Company) into a panic. Joe Harris (Ferrer) a candidate to replace Fuller is assigned to do a show on the life and career of the beloved on air personality. As he interviews fans and especially intimates, the true nature of the man is far from flattering.

The Great Man wisely keeps the subject of the film from appearing anywhere in it. He is fleshed out through people in his past and when Harris is faced with giving a puff piece or delivering the truth it drags his integrity into the fray which may threaten his rosy looking future with the company.

Banal visually the film is comprised of a series of mostly apartment interiors where Harris and his cumbersome portable tape recorder collect the ugly truth. As Harris, Ferrer remains mostly poker faced throughout fighting his own internal struggle as well as crossing the line as a reporter with his interviewees. Ed Wynn as a small station owner offers up a touching and wonderfully dignified performance while his son Keenan playing Harris' cynical agent chews some scenery in an overall strong offering. Singer Julie London surprises as a used up boozed out side piece to Fuller. Dean Jagger as ABCs cool, wheels always turning CEO turns out to be the most fascinating character of all as he calmly weighs option and wheels power over underlings from sniveling yes men to the eager Harris. It is Network 56 without the rancor and absurdist notion with Ferrer's stoic Harris replacing Peter Finch's ranting Howard Beale. It also lacks the fireworks and outstanding Chayefsky script but it does make its point about corporate power, the media and the way it manipulates the public with hardly ever raising its voice.

This is a very interesting film for a variety of reasons. In many ways, it's a CITIZEN KANE knock-off, but sometimes in reverse. We see the reporter who is putting together the story of the great man, but we never see the great man himself. As in "Kane," the ex-wife is an alcoholic singer. There is also a "Rosebud" of sorts-a deathbed obscenity. Well worth watching!

Just as Charlie Kane was based on William Randolph Hearst, great man Herb Fuller was based on TV and radio icon Arthur Godfrey. I believe several of the story lines in Great Man paralleled events in Godfrey's life. The one that stands out involved a `boy singer' that was fired by Herb Fuller. In real life Arthur Godfrey fired `boy singer' Julius LaRosa. I have heard that Godfrey – the `old redhead' was none too pleased with Jose Ferrer's film.

There is a brilliant scene in the film where the hard-boiled, cynical reporter Joe Harris (Jose Ferrer) meets a former employer of great man Herb Fuller, the guy who gave Fuller his start in broadcasting. Harris and his secretary make fun of Paul Beaseley (veteran actor Ed Wynn, who only has this one scene), a doddering old bumpkin who owns a small radio station in New England. Beaseley tells a story that reveals the two sides of Herb Fuller – a folksy, down-to- earth radio personality that people love on the one hand and a mean-spirited, drunken rat bastard on the other. At the end of the scene Beaseley says something like, `I know that some people find me ridiculous' and Harris, no longer mocking Beaseley, replies, `Mr. Beaseley, I don't find you ridiculous at all'. This is one of my favorite movie scenes of all time.

When I was a kid in the 1960's, my father came back from Las Vegas smitten with a singer he had seen in one of the casino showrooms. Her name was Julie London.

I hadn't seen or heard of London again until I saw this film on TCM one night. I immediately agreed with my father. She, and the rest of the cast, were great in this movie.

Ed Wynn, who I also remember from my childhood as a comic fool on 1960's TV, turns in what in my opinion was an Oscar winning performance as the oddball manager of a religious radio station in a small town. His son, Keenan Wynn, turns in his usual loud, braying performance as an abrasive talent manager. And Jose Ferrer was impeccable as the man in the middle, who has to decide between honesty and cash.

I agree with another reviewer that the sound quality was terrible. I watched it with closed captioning, and the word "(unintelligible)" popped up more often than it should. But it doesn't distract from the context, which is fascinating. I highly recommend this forgotten gem.

Josè Ferrer both directed and starred for the first time in this movie that is a bit reminiscent of CITIZEN KANE about the true story of a famous journalist. Despite is not a classic like KANE, it's still pretty good.

Radio reporter Herb Fuller is killed in an car accident and this causes crisis in the ABC radio station. Joe Harris (Ferrer), his replacement, has to do as first assignment a one hour show discussing the life and career of the deceased journalist. As he interviews fans and the people that knew him, Harris discovers that the man hasn't really a nice reputation as it seemed. How he will discuss its life? See the film by yourself.

Josè Ferrer directs nicely and his performance is what lifts the movie. As always he has lots of charisma and no-nonsense lilt. He is surrounded by various supporting actors of those years: Edward Platt, Keenan Wynn, Jim Backus, Lyle Talbot and even gorgeous Julie London as one of Fuller's former girlfriends. However, while not a classic, it's still a very good movie in its own way and worth seeing as well.