A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Frank Davis (writer)
Tess Slesinger (writer)

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 | Struggle | Alcoholism

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Dorothy McGuire	...	Katie Nolan
Joan Blondell	...	Sissy Edwards
James Dunn	...	Johnny Nolan aka The Brooklyn Thrush
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

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:

Referenced in "Kate & Allie: A Tree Grows on West 56th Street (#6.8)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Ciribiribin

A Charming Family Story

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.