L'Ange de la violence

This film is about a younger brother who cannot stop saying the name of his older brother Berry-Berry. Then everyone else chimes in and says it too. Over and over and over again.

Did I say Berry-Berry? Such a ridiculous name. Oh, and by the way.....Berry-Berry. In case I didn't mention it.... Berry-Berry. And for those who hadn't heard it before.....Berry-Berry. And in conclusion I will sum up with......wait for it........Berry-Berry!

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!

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.

All Fall Down...did not live up to its promise... some dramatic scenes are , at times , laughable.. But you keep watching, and waiting. nothing much happens but a good study of a dysfunctional family in early 60's... The cast is probably the reason why we cant stop watching this beautifully photogaphed black &white film.. Angela Lansbury just about steals every scene .. not her best work but always good ! Karl Malden is also very good a Ralph the father... both were much younger than the roles they were playing.. Eva Marie Saint maybe miscast but she played the part very well.. young hunk Warren Beatty plays his confusing role well, and never looked better..what an early 60's masculine masterpiece was he...Barbara Baxley almost steals the show as the schoolteacher lusting after and later beaten and beratted by Beatty (Berry-Berry)..I would meet Ms. Baxley at an NYC bar years later (mid 1980s) and told her how much I admired her work...she replied in a euphoric stupor, & a puff of her cigarette..."I'm glaad someone remembers me darling "... true story.... But most of all .. Brandon De Wilde...growing up in the 1950's he was my teen idol I wanted to be Brandon de Wilde... blonde, beautiful talented making movies with A.Ladd etc.. what a screen talent.. what a loss.. long live Brandon de Wilde !!!

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.