With Fredric March and Kevin McCarthy, this is a very good record of the classic American stage play. Arthur Miller never fared as well again. His somber stage play retained much of its power in this film version featuring one of March's greatest performances as the end-of-the-line Willy
Loman.
Willy is incapable of changing a lifestyle and career that are lost in the past. He is in his early sixties and, after being fired, has nowhere to go, clinging to his petty, mediocre values and looking backward with soul-wrenching agony. He has a long-suffering wife, Linda (Dunnock), and two sons,
Biff (McCarthy) and Happy (Mitchell). The older son, Biff, is an average business success but has no spirit. Happy is disillusioned after losing his job and has no motivation to find another. The sons share the spiritual malaise of their father. The film powerfully depicts Willy relentlessly
plodding to his doom, looking for redemption inside empty rooms of the past and babbling cliches to the apparition of his long-vanished brother.
Lee J. Cobb gave what many consider the definitive performance as Willy in the original 1949 stage hit, and Dustin Hoffman applied his considerable talent to project a tragic Willy in a 1985 TV presentation, though his portrayal is really a caricature. March is excellent if ultimately inferior to
Cobb who reportedly was "reverse blacklisted" for his friendly testimony before HUAC during the McCarthy era. Still March looked, felt, and understood the part completely, bringing the character to life as the playwright envisioned him. Kramer's production and Benedek's direction are equally
faithful to Miller's vision. Although DEATH OF A SALESMAN lost money at the box office, it stands as one of the great theatrical classics on film. leave a comment
