A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

"A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" is a rare example of the film-version measuring up to the high standards of the book. I read the book in High School, then got to see the film. The book was definitely a spellbinder, but to see it acted out was simply beautiful! It is the story of a young girl who lives with her alcoholic, perpetually unemployed father (whom she adores), her harsh, realistic mother, and her younger, naive brother in a run-down apartment building in Brooklyn ca. 1900. The family is poor, but the mother sees to it that their funeral insurance payments are always on time.

The father is a dreamer, and his daughter loves to dream. When he dies of alcohol related causes, the girl shows little emotion about the tragic loss. There are further complications, yet the story ends on a high note.

This is a wonderful story, told affectionately through the eyes of a girl who had to learn the rough lessons of life at an early age. This film is my all-time-favorite "sappy movie". Anyone who loves to grab a Kleenex while watching a movie should give this one a try. You won't be disappointed! Look for a young Joan Blondell, who is a sheer delight as the oft-married "black sheep" of the "respectable" family.

Fmovies: I was going to get on here and sing the praises of Peggy Ann Garner, but once I began reading the earlier comments further praise seemed unnecessary. I will mention that her earlier portrayal of young Jane Eyre is also quite extraordinary and showcases her skills almost as well as "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". Garner should remind contemporary film watchers a lot of Evan Rachel Wood, especially the way they bring a confident ferocity to their portrayals that is an extreme rarity in talented young actors.

Francie Nolan (Garner) is an imaginative but practical girl who lives with parents and younger brother in a Brooklyn tenement. She worships her father, Johnny (James Dunn), a dreamer with a drinking problem, who works as a singing waiter. She respects but increasingly resents her no nonsense mother, Katie (Dorothy McGuire), who is saddled with managing the family's precarious finances.

Fans of Betty Smith's book may take issue with the adaptation's failure to prominently feature the literal title character (i.e. the tree). The tree is a metaphor like the flowers in "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds" and the trees in the film adaptation of "Speak".

But such is the nature of adaptations, which much pick and choose a limited number of story elements and communicate them as efficiently as possible. For example, watch early in the film for the two brief appearances of the sick little girl (Flossie Gaddis played by Susan Lester) who lives in a neighboring apartment. Flossie first appears to show off her new silk dress to Katie who is annoyed that Flossie's parents wasted money on such a frivolity, money that should have been saved so the child did not end up in a pauper's grave. But when Flossie shows it to Johnny, he immediately picks up on the parents' wisdom and instinctively makes comments that leave Flossie beaming with joy (while Katie scowls from the top of the stairs). The point being that this little micro story of about 50 seconds screen time communicates about 50 pages worth of narrative regarding the wildly divergent attitudes of the two adult Nolans.

Along these same lines is a later scene that begins and ends with Katie asking Francie for the time, emphasizing the passage of only two minutes. Sandwiched within this short interval are a host of revelations for Francie that dramatically change her world and her view of her mother's actions.

But "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is more than just a retelling of the ant and the grasshopper story, with a sympathetic nod to the grasshopper. It is about finding a balance between enjoying each day and living for the uncertain future. Young Francie is figuratively title character and can be expected to grow up with a nice mix of her mother's discipline/ practicality and her father's zest and imagination. That we buy into this happy ending is a testimonial to Garner's skill in convincing us that Francine has acquired this degree of multi- dimensionality.

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is more complex than it first appears. The Nolans are an interesting family, with a lot of love for each other but a history of unfulfilled promises and recriminations that make it hard for them to accept tenderness from each other.

A lot of distance has grown up between mother and father and between mother and daughter. Even communication is complicated as Francie is often too round-about for her mother, who wants things more direct after y

A youngster (Peggy Ann Garner) in circa 1900 Brooklyn dreams of a suitable education and ultimately a better life. She and her young brother (Ted Donaldson) experience highs and lows as their lives are followed in a documentary-style format that creates a realistic and compassionate view. Poverty is tough in the area though as mother Dorothy McGuire (in arguably her greatest role) and father James Dunn (in one of the finest performances ever captured on film, he deservedly won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1945) have a hard time making ends meet. McGuire has a difficult time seeing the bright things in their lives, while Dunn (a hopeless alcoholic) treats everyone, including strangers on the street, with love, respect and understanding. Dunn sees greatness in Garner, even when most do not, and does his best to see that her hopes do come true. The title is symbolistic as a large tree in front of the family's low-rent apartment is about to be cut down to their dismay. It also refers to the fact that Garner is growing up and showing maturity way beyond her years; she is literally branching out and letting her leaves flourish. First-time director Elia Kazan arguably does the best work of any film-maker who had never completed a feature previously as he just lets Betty Smith's wonderful novel unfold methodically with a deliberate pace, tone and style. The screenplay yielded Oscar nominations for adapters Frank Davis and Tess Sleringer. Dunn, an actor who had a very pedestrian career, showed just how much of a hidden talent he really was. He is the straw that mixes the entire movie into an American classic. Arguably one of the top 10 films of the 1940s and one of the best features of all time. 5 stars out of 5.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn fmovies. I was not around in 1945 so I have no idea what was going on in the minds of the people who voted for what would be the five nominees for best picture of that year. Maybe this was just one of those movies that somehow didn't register right at first. Or maybe a movie about people living in poverty was not considered proper Oscar material. Anyway, I am sure there are millions today who agree with me that this is one of the great and beautiful movies of all time. The characters are so down to earth real and believable. Except maybe for the aforementioned poverty, you can identify with them and their situation and, therefore, you care about them. There are several very good and solid performances and then there is, of course, Peggy Ann Garner's performance; maybe the best ever by a juvenile in movie history. The most memorable scene for me is near the end, when the audience has just about forgotten about Papa, the director reminds us of him with the flowers and card found by Francie. I tell people who have not seen this movie that near the end there is a scene that will grab them around the throat. At least the voters saw fit to award Oscars to Peggy Ann and James Dunn.

This one breaks my heart every time I have seen it. Dorothy McGuire, Peggy Ann Garner, James Dunn, Joan Blondell and all the rest of the cast, without exception, under Elia Kazan's careful tutelage, render portraits that ring so true one is hard put to think of a film where such ensemble work has been surpassed. It is certainly an example of the Hollywood studio system, then in full flower, providing audiences with an experience that touches the emotions without a hint of sentimentality. Its restraint now seems like an artifact of days long gone, with so much current product catering to audiences who seem to demand nothing but mindless pablum and/or brutal sensation. I've never been able to confine myself to a "Ten Best" list of my own but "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" would definitely have a place on it should someone ask me to name such a small number of my all-time favorites.

This charming family story has much to offer. The story has a wealth of worthwhile, thoughtful material, plus some good lighter moments, and the production is on-target, not stinting on anything but never drowning out the substance of the story. Several of the cast members give particularly good performances, and most of them are also well-matched with their roles.

Much of the story centers on a couple of interesting relationships. In both cases they are well-acted, and in both cases the relationships suggest a number of themes worth thinking about. Having these two relationships so well-defined and memorably portrayed raises the movie well above the level of a mere sentimental family story.

The relationship between Francie and her father probably makes the movie, and it is wonderfully acted by James Dunn as the somewhat unsteady but thoroughly endearing father, and Peggy Ann Garner (in one of the finest child performances you will see) as the loyal, intelligent daughter.

Dorothy McGuire plays the important but thankless role of Katie, the stern, dour, yet sincere mother, the kind of role that few actresses can handle well. Katie's relationship with her sister (Joan Blondell) is another of the strengths of the movie. Blondell's flamboyant but sensitive portrayal of Sissy wins all the scenes that she is in, yet McGuire is also essential to making them work and to bringing out the themes implied.

The adaptation to the screen is pretty well-conceived. Naturally, much of the depth is going to be lost when you distill a worthwhile novel into a two-hour movie, but the screenplay highlights some very good material, and if it encourages anyone to read the book, so much the better.