A Face in the Crowd: Worthiness vs. Emptiness

The history of musical talent that relied more on pomp and circumstance than actual music ability goes back for as long as managers and agents figured out how to exploit the potential earning power of a fresh new face. Elvis Presley never wrote a song of his own in his life, but his career sure seemed to turn out okay. Perception becomes reality when it comes to selling entertainment to the masses. A Face in the Crowd tells the story of Johnny “Lonesome” Rhodes, a small Arkansas boy with a guitar and charisma to burn; on his rise to the top of the world and all the pieces of himself he loses along the way.

Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal) is on the road with her traveling radio show and her latest stop is a tiny jail in a little town in Arkansas. Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes (Andy Griffin) already has his spot in the corner of the jail and wants no part of Marcia’s radio show until the sheriff offers to let him out early if he plays a song for the show. Now fresh out of jail, Rhodes heads to Florida, but Marcia and her station manager approach him with an offer to stay and do a show on their station. Rhodes is reluctant at first, especially at the notion of having a job, but he warms up to the show when he realizes people listen to what he has to say. After Rhodes and the townspeople play a prank on the sheriff, Lonesome catches the ear of a location TV station that wants to put him on the air with his own show. Before too long, Lonesome Rhodes becomes a star with loyal fans that will go to great lengths to protect their man. Marcia stops fighting her feelings for Rhodes one night, but her decision quickly blows up in her face when Lonesome comes back from Mexico with a brand new 17-year old wife named Betty Lou (Lee Remick). Lonesome Rhodes becomes a hit in New York selling a pill off his name, that, and a little bit of sex thrown for good measure. Rhodes is introduced to many of New York’s most powerful and elite even getting to help a presidential hopeful prepare for the new audience that television provides. Eventually though, all good things must come to an end and after Marcia outs Lonesome Rhodes as a fraud on national TV, he is left alone with no more powerful friends, no fans, and gone too was the only person he could always trust. 

Manipulation is the name of the game in A Face in the Crowd. From the moment that Marcia hides a microphone to record Lonesome Rhodes while he warms up his vocals rather than waiting until he is actually ready to perform, the bar has been set. When Rhodes convinces the townspeople to play a hilarious prank on the sheriff, he sees the power he possesses. Even without saying a word, Rhodes’s power resonates with the people. His fans protest a sponsor that fired Rhodes after Lonesome disrespected their product by burning the sponsors’ product in the street. The production companies that hire Rhodes and put him in front of his adoring public are just as culpable with their own manipulation. Before Rhodes goes on TV for the first time, the show’s producers stuff a stick of hay in his mouth to give him an even folksy-er appearance. The entire marketing campaign for Vitajex, a supplement pill that’s akin to a placebo, is based on the pill being cool to take because Rhodes and his sexy back up dancers say so. Ecstasy is the word that is repeated over and over again in the commercial.      

All the hallmarks of a music industry that chews up artists and spits them back out are present in A Face in the Crowd. Rhodes career arc doesn’t look too much different than Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, or any boy band of the last 20 years. Rhodes' song catalogue is not that diverse, but music is never the point. The bosses know that Rhodes’ popularity has nothing to do with the talent, but rather the image of his brand as an everyman. Rhodes picks up on this himself fairly early on. He finishes his first show on the radio with a quasi fireside chat rather a musical number. He knows it is more profitable to sell things and emotions rather than his music. But in the end, when Rhodes usefulness has all been used up, the industry moves on to the next big thing leaving Rhodes with nothing but emptiness. 

Over 50 years after its original release, A Face in the Crowd still resonates through the cult of personality that is our entertainment society of today. It’s rarely about the most talented artist in any genre, but rather the most likely to sell the most boxes of cereal, action figures, or bottles of “energy” pills. The times change, but exploitation remains the same. Previous to A Face in the Crowd, Elia Kazan directed such screen masterpieces as On the Waterfront and East of Eden. Also of note is this was Andy Griffith’s screen debut.   

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4740dqLktqE%26nbsp%3B

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