La mort d'un commis voyageur

For reasons unknown to me, this version of the film has been unavailable for years. When I finally was able to view it recently, I thought it was excellent, and that Frederic March was the ideal Willy Loman. Played on Broadway by Lee J. Cobb, George C. Scott and Brian Dennehy, powerful men with powerful presences, the role has the potential to make Willy's downfall extremely dramatic, a testament to how far the mighty can fall. But in Frederic March, we better see his inherent weakness, and believe his corruption. We're not tricked into believing that his life's work was ever worthwhile, that it just fell on hard times. Instead, we see that his life was a lie from the beginning, which is what I believe the play intends.

Dustin Hoffman, another great actor, also famously played the role on Broadway and in the TV version of that production, widely available on video and therefore perhaps the version most viewers are familiar with. His interpretation was quirky and unreal, a character actor playing the lead in a modern take on a Greek tragedy, and it didn't work for me. But no matter how you feel about the play and the role, if you can catch this Frederic March version, do so; you won't regret it.

This all but lost 1951 version of Arthur Miller's American masterpiece was nominated for several prestigious Academy Awards in 1952, including Best Picture. That it has never been officially released on video is a shame, for, quite simply, Fredric March's go around as Willy Loman is a absolute treasure. The supporting cast are uniformly excellent; the mood and tone are consistently melancholy; the sets are spare, even stagy; and, most important, the pace is as brisk as this play will allow. Please search out this one out on TV-- you will not be disappointed.

Like many people ,I had seen the Schlondorff version starring Hoffman first,and I did like it.

This one should not be overlooked though :Arthur Miller's play,with its ceaseless to and fro between present and past , imaginary world and reality was not easy to transfer to the screen,and Laslo Benedek's directing is quite estimable:the scenes in the present are dark and make the house look like a tomb (notably when Willy comes back home) whereas the past which seems so bright is filmed in plain day light (the scene when young Biff and Happy polish the car );the subway is a good place to locate the events when willy has been fired;ditto for the final scene ,with all these 'living' night lights.The one thing which is passed over in silence is the boys' attitude after the funeral:Happy is "staying right in this city and gonna beat this racket,(...) and gonna win for him" whereas Biff "knows who he is" and that he perhaps will not never be able to settle down and take orders from somebody .

The cast is sensational:Fredric March gives a tormented performance ,switching back and forth between the extremes:sometimes proud of his athlete three colleges will take,often humble and bent in the office,where his boss is more interested in his tape recorder than in his salesman's future ;Mildred Dunnock is the patient mom,who trusts her dear husband ,even when the future seems bleak and he loses his mind ;Cameron Mitchell is Happy ,his dad's optimistic side ,a lady killer who thinks everything will work out fine (too bad his part is reduced in the last scene).Kevin McCarthy (film debut) is my favorite and he thoroughly deserved his AA nomination (he lost to Karl Malden 's Mitch in " a street car named desire): I love the way he talks about Bernhard ("he is liked ,but he is not well liked" ) ;he can be hilarious -the brief moment when he apes his teacher's lisp- or deeply moving when he breaks crying in his dad's arms ("Pop! I'm dime in a dozen and so are you!")His performance is at least as mind-boggling as that of John Malkovich thirty years later.

This is the version people of my generation grew up on; it played on TV in the 50's, and being black and white non-widescreen and uncensorable, what we saw was what was filmed. Frederick March hammmed it up a bit, but in retrospect the play itself is hammmy (emotion-charged). It has been said Arthur Miller disliked the film, particularly the realistic representation of Willie's reveries and imaginings. Kevin McCarthy did a fine job as Biff. I loyally refused for years to watch Dustin Hoffman's version, but when I finally gave in I enjoyed his substantially different interpretation. But if he differed from March, then it follows March differs from him. In short, a whole other way of enjoying the greatest American soap opera ever penned.

When Death Of A Salesman was still on Broadway critics acclaimed Arthur Miller's play as an American classic and so it remains. There are so many versions out there that you've got so much to compare. And Lee J. Cobb who created the role of Willy Loman managed to get an acclaimed television version made for future generations to see.

I think that Fredric March's interpretation stands up to any that's out there. For one thing at the age of 54 he's the proper age for the part. March fleshes out the Loman character and plumbs his depth of a man who has seen life pass him by and he's running on fumes. He's not going to rise to management in his profession simply on his likability. And for Willy Loman that's the most important thing in the world.

His family which includes wife Mildred Dunnock and sons Kevin McCarthy and Cameron Mitchell stand by him. But McCarthy who since being a high school football hero has led a drifting aimless life is curiously alienated from his father. The source of that alienation is what you see Death Of A Salesman for.

Arthur Miller's work which is a classic about showing middle age with a purposeless existence has so many interpretations. Everyone has there own interpretation of Willy Loman so here's mine. When we're young we all start out with ambitions and dreams. Choices we make at that time determine our fates whether realize it or not. Most of us adjust and try to make a comfortable existence. It's usually our leisure time activities that identify us as individuals. Hobbies, causes, even sports fandom if that's your thing make life bearable. Willy didn't need to be liked, the poor guy needed a hobby.

Fredric March got an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, but lost to Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen. Mildred Dunnock and Kevin McCarthy were nominated in the supporting actress and actor categories. The film also received nominations for Best black&white cinematography and best musical scoring. It did not come home a winner as this was the year for A Streetcar Named Desire. Ironically March as Willy was up against the Broadway Biff Loman who was Arthur Kennedy and was nominated for Bright Victory.

I urge everyone to see all versions of Death Of Salesman as possible. I guarantee you will see as many Willys as there are actors to play him. This is as good as any.