“Under the tumbling, variegated flow of characters in A Face in the Crowd is a sharp warning: There is power in television. It can be perverted” (Elia Kazan, 1957). A Face in the Crowd is a film that has been unjustly overlooked over the years, for it is more pertinent now than ever. Director Kazan and writer Budd Schulberg, inspired by the t.v. performances of Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy, wanted to explore the dangerous power of the media, which could sell politicians like soap. Andy Griffith stars as Lonesome Rhodes, an Arkansas drunk who is “chosen” to become a popular hero on television and radio, whence he wields great commercial and thus political influence. Lonesome Rhodes plays the guitar (not well, but loudly); exudes and extols the homely virtues (not eloquently, but persistently); and applauds political ignorance as he plays on it. He joins a fascist group that manipulates his megalomania to a climax, after which Lonesome Rhodes ends up in the trash-heap of forgotten heroes. Patricia Neal gives a memorable performance as the radio reporter who helps create the monster.