All Fall Down **** (1962, Eva Marie Saint, Warren Beatty, Karl Malden, Brandon De Wilde, Angela Lansbury) – Classic Movie Review 8517

Director John Frankenheimer’s 1962 drama All Fall Down is a distinguished piece of film-making based on a novel by James Leo Herlihy, the author of Midnight Cowboy, about a young man called Clinton Willart (Brandon De Wilde), who decides to kill the self-absorbed elder brother (Warren Beatty) he loves when the latter causes the death of his lover, an older woman named Echo O’Brien (Eva Marie Saint).

These in-their-prime actors, plus Angela Lansbury and Karl Malden as Annabell and Ralph Willart, the indulging, feuding parents of De Wilde and Beatty, sail through their parts incredibly smoothly. There is a notable, poignant script by playwright William Inge, and an inspired Frankenheimer was in his glorious summer too.

Bizarrely, Beatty’s worthless, womanising character is called Berry-Berry. But then Madame Spivy is playing Bouncer and Evans Evans is playing Hedy. Evans was married to Frankenheimer (till his death on 6 July 2002) and is also in his films Grand Prix, The Iceman Cometh, Prophecy, and Dead Bang (1989).

Also in the cast are Constance Ford, Barbara Baxley, Evans Evans, Jennifer Howard, Albert Paulsen, Madame Spivy, Sam Harris, Harry Hines, Colette Jackson, Carol Kelly, Henry Kulky, Burt Mustin and Bernadette Withers.

A computerised colour version is available for those who cannot bear distinguished cinematographer Lionel Lindon’s black and white images. It is produced by John Houseman, scored by Alex North and designed by E Preston Ames and George W Davis.

All Fall Down is directed by John Frankenheimer, runs 111 minutes, is made by John Houseman Productions, released by MGM, is written by William Inge, based on a novel by James Leo Herlihy, is shot in black and white by Lionel Lindon, is produced by John Houseman, is scored by Alex North and is designed by E Preston Ames and George W Davis.

Midnight Cowboy was filmed in 1969.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8517

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Brandon De Wilde (1942–1972).