Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Books like The Organization Man proposed the social evolution of the corporate cog of
the 1950s, a new kind of man needed to fill the offices of those new steel towers in New York City.
This acclaimed movie version of Sloan Wilson's best selling book isn't particularly cinematic
but stands the test of time as a meaningful look at the perceived erosion of American
values in the era of postwar prosperity. Unlike the liberal-cause films of a decade before (Zanuck
and Peck's own Gentleman's Agreement), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit uses its
inordinate running time to paint a complex picture of a decent man. He's undergoing a modern
crisis, the muted kind mired in everyday decisions devoid of glamour - how to make ends meet and
retain one's dignity.
Gregory Peck is excellent as a man who only wants to
earn a living and make his wife proud of him. He has a tough time reconciling his time as a
soldier with the 'civilized' politics he finds in the corporate environment. Film fans unfamiliar
with the film's 50s context may be equally attracted by the stereophonic score by favorite
Bernard Herrmann, which lends a moody and plaintive desperation to Gregory Peck's personal struggle.
Synopsis:
Capable executive Tom Rath (Gregory Peck) faces career and domestic problems as
he enters his 30s. Wife Betsy (Jennifer Jones) pushes him to be more aggressive and take career
risks, but Tom balks at playing the cynical political games he sees practiced
in the broadcasting
company of big success Ralph Hopkins (Fredric March), an important man who feels he's been a total
failure in his family life. Meanwhile, Tom is aggrieved by other personal problems. His finances
are threatened when his grandmother's will is contested by a crooked caretaker. Even more
alarming, he learns
from an old army buddy (Keenan Wynn) that a wartime affair he had with Italian Maria Montagne
(Marisa Pavan) has resulted in a child, that he feels compelled to help support. But how
will he break the news of his infidelity to Betsy?
Every decade has its standout themes and backward looks at the 1950s often pretend as if all
of America was caught up in Rock 'n Roll, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. What was really first on
most people's minds was how to get ahead, or stay above water, in the rat race of a booming economy.
Key films from Pitfall to Bigger Than Life used a generalized social
anxiety as a dramatic context for people caught up in failed dreams and self-doubts, but
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit makes one man's search for meaning and happiness into
its central theme. Tom Rath has an okay house (that would be a financial treasure these days),
three fine kids, and a beat-up '49 Ford to take him to his commuter train. He tries to be rational
and cautious when his dissatisfied wife Betsy harps on their tight money situation. Betsy
doesn't seem to be a social climber, but she is sick of her unattractive residence and
scraping bottom every time an appliance breaks down. She nags Tom to grab at opportunities.
But Betsy no more understands of Tom's work than she could his experience in combat ten years
before. Her life still centers around clear-cut homemaking issues while Tom's
tentative job hunt is a delicate game of personal impressions and veiled aggression. The
first executives Tom meets in his prospective new company are wheedling sycophant Gordon (Arthur
O'Connell) and a cool Machiavellian type Bill (Henry Daniell). The new position is directly
under the big boss Ralph Hopkins, but Tom is stymied by Bill's hostility. Hopkins' underlings have
allowed him to indulge a bad idea for a nationwide health campaign, and Tom must weigh the
advisability of giving the boss his honest opinion, or playing along like the others do.
Tom is hit by two other major ethical challenges. He goes to small-town Judge Bernstein (Lee J. Cobb)
for help with a greedy man who may be able to legally steal Tom's house. And after a (too lengthy)
series of flashbacks to 1945 Italy and the Pacific theater, Tom faces up to a paternity
responsibility that jeopardizes the foundations of his marriage. Betsy isn't likely to understand
that combat conditions forced him to live from day to day with little connection to his life back
home, or that his affair with an Italian woman was not purposeful cheating.
An intelligent script and unfussy direction keeps up interest in most of these plot threads.
Visually, the movie is often dull. Nunnally Johnson stays wide on interior sets and compositions
atypically stick characters in extremes of the frame with an empty expanse in the middle. Despite
the lack of 'pointed' direction, little touches - like the forlorn-looking doll slung over the
bannister in the Rath home - stand out. Tom's
instinctual decision to let his upset son sleep with his dog is a cure for
the kind of kid anxiety felt in Pitfall, and references Peck's loving father in
The Yearling. One of
his daughters is played by Sandy Descher, the terrorized tot from
Them! The death
of the Andy Hardy homelife ideal is seen when Tom returns from work and cannot get his kids'
attention away from from the television. He shoos them to bed, and then sits and stares at the
tube, equally hypnotized. The images on that teevee will soon be more 'important' than anything
in reality.
As a contrast to Tom's home life, the script spends a lot of time with Ralph Hopkins' own dismal
domestic situation. He tries to be kind to his estranged wife (Ann Harding), but she's
completely alienated from him. Hopkins'
spoiled daughter (Gigi Perreau) also thinks he's some kind of villain. The loneliness of the
executive who gives up his family to run a big business is presented as a fate to be avoided,
and provides a positive ending to the tale that is the film's only oversimplification. Tom turns
down an invitation to join Hopkins in the bi-coastal fast lane, choosing to be a 9 to 5 man instead.
Hopkins accepts Tom's decision gracefully, which seems all wrong. The big boss already considers
Tom a replacement
for his own son lost in the war, and might consider it disloyal to be abandoned by yet another
'family member.' Few magnates practice what they preach about friendship within the organization -
a powerful man has little time to waste on an underling who doesn't do as he wants. If Hopkins
needed a personal assistant - speech writer to travel with him, Tom Rath
would soon be replaced with a more accomodating man.
Jennifer Jones is both impassioned and restrained as Tom Rath's emotionally needy wife; Marisa Pavan
is charming as the girl from Italy. Lee J. Cobb seems sort of a tangential addition to the story,
while Gene Lockhart's man on the day train seems to be speaking to Tom in a quietly conspiratorial
tone. Henry Daniell nails his insultingly direct manager role and could be a template for the
pointy-haired villain of the comic strip Dilbert. Popping up in bits are the familiar faces
of William Phipps, Kenneth Tobey, Dorothy Adams and DeForest Kelley.
Fox's Studio Classics disc isn't the first letterboxed video presentation of The Man in
the Gray Flannel Suit, but it looks far better than the old laser disc from the 1990s.
The enhanced picture is sharp; the given aspect ratio is 2:55 but the transfer looks more like
the eventual 'Scope standard of 2:35. The first silhouetted 'gray man' figure in the main title
is very close to
the left frame line. The 2:55 figure probably came out of a reference book, but many of the
visuals do look like early Cinemascope: A lot of closeups exhibit the borderline CinemaScope 'mumps'
defect of the first series of lenses in the process. 1
Dolby Surround sound showcases the classy, moody Bernard Herrmann score which will sound awfully
close to other 'viola d'amour' pieces in Vertigo and On Dangerous Ground. His
strings hit a high note that seems almost painfully high; the score makes the drama seem especially serious.
The extras start with a premiere newsreel, a still gallery and a restoration comparison. The classy
theatrical trailer uses soundtrack music from
Leave Her to Heaven and has a
clever opening in which Gregory Peck steps down from a kingsized book cover.
The audio commentary from author/publisher James Monaco is something of a chore. He starts out
with many interesting details about life in the 1950s but they soon take over almost completely,
along with asides about the Iraq war and other tangents. We get a few good details about the
original book (and its sequel) but also a lot of generalized observations. There's also altogether
too much dead space, as if he must stall to fill out the 2.5 hours. He can get pretty odd in his
observations, pointing out a 'fey' subtext in Henry Daniell's performance Savant certainly wasn't
aware of. Perhaps it's more prominent in the book. He skips over the appearance of
many smaller players. He pints out that one of Rath's daughters is played by James Mason's
daughter, and then adds harshly, "the other two child actors never
amounted to much." Gee, thanks.
The disc starts with the annoyingly loud anti-piracy ad that accuses us all of being thieves. I
couldn't skip it on my player. I'd like to see a 'public service spot' that accuses movie
companies of gross abuse against paying customers by jamming their theaters and DVDs full of
unwanted advertising and insulting, self-serving institutional messages.
On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit rates:
Movie: Very Good +
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: trailer, newsreels, restoration comparison, commentary by James Monaco.
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: July 18, 2005
Footnote:
1. The main titles show
a row of diminishing figures as the 'gray men' multiply across the screen. They're in B&W, a
curious graphic choice that makes them seem even a more likely inspiration for the equally memorable
titles on the next year's The Incredible Shrinking Man.
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