A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Frank Davis (writer)
Tess Slesinger (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

28 February 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Encouraged by her idealistic if luckless father, a bright and imaginative young woman comes of age in a Brooklyn tenement during the early 1900s.

Plot Keywords:

Poverty | Tenement | Tree | Alcoholism | Struggle

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Dorothy McGuire	...	Katie Nolan
Joan Blondell	...	Sissy Edwards
James Dunn	...	Johnny Nolan
Lloyd Nolan	...	Officer McShane
James Gleason	...	McGarrity
Ted Donaldson	...	Neeley Nolan
Peggy Ann Garner	...	Francie Nolan
Ruth Nelson	...	Miss McDonough
John Alexander	...	Steve Edwards
B.S. Pully	...	Christmas Tree Vendor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert J. Anderson	...	Augie (uncredited)
Jessie Arnold	...	Nurse (uncredited)
John Berkes	...	Mr. Creckenbox (uncredited)
Linda Bieber	...	Girl (uncredited)
Ferike Boros	...	Grandma Rommely (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Cheap Charlie (uncredited)
Virginia Brissac	...	Miss Tilford (uncredited)
Lillian Bronson	...	Librarian (uncredited)
Boots Brown	...	Boy (uncredited)
Sally Ann Brown	...	Girl (uncredited)
Sheila Brown	...	Girl (uncredited)
Bobby Burns	...	Library Patron (uncredited)
George M. Carleton	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Jack Carr	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
James B. Carson	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Alec Craig	...	Werner (uncredited)
Peter Cusanelli	...	The Barber (uncredited)
Harry Denny	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Adeline De Walt Reynolds	...	Mrs. Waters (uncredited)
Joy Duguay	...	Girl (uncredited)
Al Eben	...	Union Man (uncredited)
Fernanda Eliscu	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Edythe Elliott	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Robert Ferrero	...	Raider (uncredited)
Elvin Field	...	Boy (uncredited)
Norman Field	...	Principal (uncredited)
Jean Fowler	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Paul Graeff	...	Raider (uncredited)
Vincent Graeff	...	Henny Gaddis (uncredited)
Joseph J. Greene	...	Hassler (uncredited)
Irving Gump	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Edith Hallor	...	Christmas Tree Customer (uncredited)
Ethyl May Halls	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Charles Halton	...	Mr. Barker (uncredited)
Mary Lou Harrington	...	Girl (uncredited)
Harry Harvey Jr.	...	Herschel Knutson (uncredited)
Paul Hilton	...	Boy (uncredited)
Janice Hood	...	Girl (uncredited)
Teddy Infuhr	...	Boy in Soda Fountain (uncredited)
Edna Jackson	...	Tynmore sister (uncredited)
Mickey Kuhn	...	Boy at Christmas Tree Throw (uncredited)
Eva Lee Kuney	...	Girl (uncredited)
Jacqueline Larkin	...	Girl (uncredited)
Jack Lawrence	...	Bakery clerk (uncredited)
Susan Lester	...	Flossie Gaddis (uncredited)
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Carney The Junkman (uncredited)
Gerald Mackey	...	Raider (uncredited)
Robert Malcolm	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Charles Marsh	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Mae Marsh	...	Tynmore Sister (uncredited)
Patricia McFadden	...	Sheila (uncredited)
Mickey McGuire	...	Raider (uncredited)
George Meader	...	Principal (uncredited)
George Melford	...	Mr. Spencer (uncredited)
Sue Moore	...	(uncredited)
Ronnie Pattison	...	Boy (uncredited)
Francis Pierlot	...	Priest at Funeral (uncredited)
Constance Purdy	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Gordon Rader	...	Boy (uncredited)
Nicholas Ray	...	Bakery clerk (uncredited)
Ruth Rickaby	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Walt Robbins	...	Junkman (uncredited)
Nancy June Robinson	...	Girl (uncredited)
Erskine Sanford	...	Undertaker (uncredited)
Tony Santaro	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Harry Seymour	...	Floorwalker at 5 & 10 cent store (uncredited)
Danny Shaw	...	Raider (uncredited)
Art Smith	...	Charley (uncredited)
William Smith	...	Boy (uncredited)
Robert Strange	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Robert Tait	...	Street singer (uncredited)
Gloria Talbott	...	Teen-Age Girl in Classroom (uncredited)
Dink Trout	...	Undetermined (uncredited)
Joyce Tucker	...	Girl (uncredited)
Paul Weigel	...	Candy store proprietor (uncredited)
Martha Wentworth	...	Sheila's Mother (uncredited)
Cecil Weston	...	Undetermined (uncredited)

Directed by
Elia Kazan

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Frank Davis		writer
Anita Loos		uncredited
Tess Slesinger		writer
Betty Smith		novel

Produced by
Louis D. Lighton	....	producer

Original Music by
Alfred Newman

Cinematography by
Leon Shamroy

Film Editing by
Dorothy Spencer

Art Direction by
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Bonnie Cashin

Makeup Department
Guy Pearce	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Saul Wurtzel	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Frank E. Hughes	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
Bernard Freericks	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
E. Truman Joiner	....	key grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (as Edward Powell)

Other crew
Nicholas Ray	....	dialogue director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• Media Cooperation One (MC-One) (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• inD DVD (2005) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Ein Baum wächst in Brooklyn (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Laços Humanos (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Brooklynissä kasvoi puu (Finland) [fi]
Der vokser et træ i Brooklyn (Denmark) [da]
Det växte ett träd i Brooklyn (Sweden) [sv]
Die Jahre der Jugend (Austria) [de]
Hamena neiata (Greece) [el]
Lazos humanos (Spain) [es]
Le lys de Brooklyn (France) [fr]
Un albero cresce a Brooklyn (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

After being so impressed by the dailies of the film, executives at Fox wanted to re-shoot the entire movie in Technicolor, but Elia Kazan refused.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Katie Nolan: This'll be the last of them now, Francie.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Elia Kazan: A Director's Journey (1995)

Soundtrack:

Joy to the World

Growing Up in Brooklyn

A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (20th Century-Fox, 1945), directed by Elia Kazan, from the book by Betty Smith, is a nostalgic look back to the days when Hollywood used to produce moving stories about a family and true to life characters and at the same time recapture the life and times of old New York, in this case, Brooklyn, as seen through the eyes of an adolescent Irish girl named Francie Nolan. While the screenplay doesn't reproduce the entire book from which it is based, it does capture the essence and mood, ranging from hardships and heartaches of a poor Brooklyn family and their struggles blending in with the good times during the early part of the Twentieth Century.

Opening with an eye-view of early Brooklyn with horses pulling the food carts through cobblestone streets, trollies passing by ringing the bell, clothes hanging out to dry over the back alley of apartment buildings on the line connected from one fire escape to another, the first half hour of the story gives the viewer an insight look into the livelihood of the Nolan family: Katie Nolan (Dorothy McGuire), an embittered wife and mother who must scrub floors in order to support her family; Johnny (James Dunn), her happy-go-lucky husband who just can't seem to find time to earn a living but does take the time to cater to his children, particularly his "prima dona" adolescent daughter named Francie (Peggy Ann Garner), who finds the world a fabulous place to grow up in, and like President Abraham Lincoln, she wants to learn everything about anything there is to know by reading every book she could check out at her local library in alphabetical order, while her younger brother, Neely (Ted Donaldson), would rather enjoy himself playing in the streets with the other kids than go to school and graduate with a diploma. While Francie and Neely are total opposites, they are typical brother and sister, having their differences but show their devotion towards one another. As for their dad, Johnny, a singing waiter by profession, he is a caring soul, and like everybody else, has his weaknesses, such as drinking and gambling, but in spite of these handicaps that prevent him from keeping a steady job, it is learned later on in the story following his death that he was so well liked that his funeral consists of a crowd of people who truly cared about him, indicating that any one with as many friends as this is not really a total failure after all. And since Johnny is taken for granted by both his wife and son, it is Francie who looks up to her father as someone very special in her life. Besides her father, both Francie and Neely look forward to frequent visits from their beloved and fun loving Aunt Sissy (Joan Blondell), who's the talk of the neighborhood whenever news spreads out from the insurance bill collector, Mr. Barker (Charles Halton) that she has gotten herself another husband ("Is this one named Bill, too?" remarks Neely), and it is because of such gossip and ways of talking her way out of trouble does her kid sister, Katie, forbid her from visiting, feeling that she would be a bad influence on her kids, causing friction between her and her children, especially Francie. Further complications ensue when Katie, due to financial difficulties and a new baby on the way, to make that difficult decision in having her eldest Francie quit school, which she enjoys loves more than anything else in life, and go to work.

For a movie at the length of 128 minutes, there is bound to be some dull moments, but in this case, the only slow spot happens to be the scene set during a rainy evening where Katie is in labor with her third child (months after Johnny's passing), with Francie left to care for her before the doctor arrives, but it is with this scene alone that Francie gets to really understand why her mother is the way she is, while her mother begins to truly appreciate her the way her father did, thus their bitterness towards each other reverts to love. It is also during this scene which finds Francie reading one of her school compositions about her father, how he made everyone who knew him feel good with laughter, giving Katie a whole new outlook of her husband she had never realized before. In spite of his faults and empty promises, he was truly a good and remarkable man.

While Peggy Ann Garner as Francie is the sole attention to the story, she deservingly won a special Academy Award for her ever so natural performance. Having been in motion pictures at a very young age since 1938, it is with this role that she started to gain recognition and for which, even today, she is best remembered. She continued to appear in other movie roles, but major stardom for her was short-lived. James Dunn (1904-1967), a veteran actor in early Fox Films of the 1930s (best known for his three co-starring roles opposite child star Shirley Temple in 1934) whose promising career was soon reduced to "poverty row" features by the end of the 1930s through most of the 1940s, makes a temporary comeback in a major motion picture that earned him a much deserved Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor of 1945. It's a pity that his film career didn't pick up for better screen roles after this. But like Garner, Dunn was not only a natural, but born to play the part of Johnny Nolan. In fact, he is Johnny Nolan. And let's not forget Joan Blondell, another screen veteran who, like Dunn, whose peak years was the 1930s, giving one of her best performances of her career as Aunt Sissy, a performance that should have been recognized by the Academy voters in the supporting actress category. Also like Dunn, her chemistry with the children is not only natural, but highly memorable.

In smaller but not entirely unimportant roles are Lloyd Nolan as Officer McShane, who would eventually become part of the lives of the Nolan family; James Gleason as Mr. McGarrity, the neighborhood barber; John Alexander as Steve Edwards, Aunt Sissy's latest husband; Ruth Nelson as Mrs. McDonough, Francie's school teacher who inspires this well read girl to become a writer; and J. Farrell MacDonald briefly seen as Carney, the junk man. That distinctive voice of the Christmas tree vendor belongs to B.S. Pully. And who can forget boy actor Ted Donaldson's distinctive Brooklyn accent, adding the flavor to character.

Memorable moments from A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN include Francie reading a book on the fire escape and observing everything going on around her; Johnny singing a traditional Irish song, "Annie Laurie"; The Nolan kids obtaining a Christmas tree from a street vendor (B.S. Pully) on Christmas Eve followed by the family togetherness on Christmas Day; Aunt Sissy taking Francie to a secluded place in the school building after the girl receives her graduation gift (flowers), arranged several months ago by her father, now deceased, so she can have herself a good cry; and Officer McShane (Lloyd Nolan) nervously proposing to Widow Katie Nolan so he can provide for her and her new born baby; as well as the closing scene on the rooftop between Francie and Neely overseeing the city of Brooklyn, thinking back with fondness to the times they had together, putting those memories behind them and, now a year older and grammar school graduates, prepare for their new outlook in life.

A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN might have been filmed at the backlot of 20th Century-Fox, but it does have that Brooklyn feel to it (particularly with the organ grinding score to "Rings on Her Fingers" and other popular tunes of the day, that is underscored during the opening and closing credits), which would be most appreciative by anyone, whether they'd be native New Yorkers from Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens or Staten Island, especially when they can see themselves relating with these characters, and recalling their own experiences or thinking back to the stories told to them by their parents or grandparents of their hardships and struggles growing up in New York pinching pennies; obtaining and trading stuff from a junk dealer (in this case, Mr. Carney); visits to local meat markets and telling the butcher what "Momma said" she wants, all of which are the experiences and memories of growing up during the bygone era of old New York, as with the Francie Nolan character. Author Betty Smith recaptures everything there is to the old New York and the characters she created, while Elia Kazan, making his directorial debut, successfully brings all this and the characters to life.

A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (in reference to a tree in the back lot of the apartment where resides the Nolan family being chopped down, only to get a new lease in life by growing through the cracks of the cement later on, as predicted by Johnny Nolan during one of his heart to heart talks with his daughter), was distributed on video cassette in 1991. Other than becoming a late show favorite on commercial television from the 1960s to the 1980s, especially on Christmas Eve, it has later enjoyed frequent revivals on American Movie Classics cable channel for many years. At present, it can still be seen and appreciated on the Fox Movie Channel. In spite of a 1974 television movie remake, the 1945 original remains unsurpassed, thus making this version to A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN good family entertainment. "Momma said."