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Most American theater lovers think that greatness descended upon Arthur Miller in 1947 with his great play THE DEATH OF A SALESMAN. It certainly is the play that people remember above all his work, even such later classics as THE CRUCIBLE and A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. But as a matter of fact, just like THE GLASS MENAGERIE preceded Tennessee Williams' A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, ALL MY SONS preceded THE DEATH OF A SALESMAN.

If Williams found a tragic poetry in the soul of his fallen aristocratic characters - his Amanda Wingfields and Blanche Dubois - Miller found a mine of power in the failures of the American cult of business success. In SALESMAN it is Willy Loman's gradual realization that a lifetime of hard struggle and strife serving his company did not result in his being shown any respect when he can no longer bring in any large business. In ALL MY SONS, Joe Keller (Edward G. Robinson) is not a small peg in the economy like Willy Loman. He is the owner of a factory - on his way to being a millionaire which (in 1948) is the proof of success in America. But while Willy Loman has a dirty secret that cost him his son's respect for him as a father, Keller has a dirty secret that makes him a criminal.

The film/play takes place in 1945 - 46. Keller's oldest son has died in World War II, in an military aviation crash. His younger son Chris (Burt Lancaster) has returned too from military service upset - he is aware that something is wrong about the death of his brother, but he is not sure what. He is also aware that his father has a secretive side - one that he is sensitive about. It appears to be connected to the wartime trial of Keller's partner Herbert Deever (Frank Conroy). It seems that Keller and Deever's plant got a big government contract that required the delivery of airplane motors at a particular date. It was a very lucrative contract: in fact, it built their company. But there was a defect in the motors - which did not prevent Deever from completing the delivery of the defective motors. As a result, twelve planes crashed in the South Pacific, killing their pilots and crews. Deever ended up going to prison, but the critical decision was made without Joe Keller being present (he was ill that day) and so Keller did not go to prison.

Somehow, despite Chris's perplexity about his brother's death in the war, the Kellers would seem not to have any problems. Joe is an apparently successful manufacturer and seems well liked. His wife Kate (Mady Christians) is always ready to smooth over any little flurries of difficulties that may pop up. But Chris comes home with his girl friend Ann (Louise Horton). This is upsetting to Joe and Kate, though they try to put their best face on it: Ann is the daughter of jailbird Herb Deever. And sometimes tagging along is angry, troubled George Deever (Howard Duff), who has occasionally visited his dad - and has heard the story of the defective motors from a different perspective. And that perspective raises issues about "good old" Joe Keller.

Up to 1945 the subject of government contracts and corrupt cost cutting rarely popped up on stage or screen. But during World War II it became a big issue because of the huge government contracts that Washington set up for the war effort. In fact, the U.S. Senator in charge of investigating waste and corruption in these contracts made a really big name for himself in the public eye. He was a Senator from Missouri named Harry S. Truman, and by 1944 he had become such a prominent figure that F.D.R. insisted he be his running mate for the Democratic National Ticket. They won, and within a year Truman had a higher office than Vice President.

But the subject never really came up before in film. There was, oddly enough, a film in the 1930s about the Spanish American War "tainted meat" scandal that damaged the career of Secretary of War Russell Alger in McKinley's Administration. This was I LOVED A WOMAN. The meat packer profiteer involved in that film was played by Edward G. Robinson of all people. But that scandal was the only war profiteering one that came to the screen. So when Miller did this film it was, if you will, "virgin territory".

Miller, of course, turned the issue into a morality situation - as Joe Keller comes face to face to his sin against his partner, his country, the war effort, and his own sons. And he does, in the end, learn that the material gain was too costly - as he realizes, the dead pilots were all his sons.

"All My Sons" was on Broadway in 1947 and starred Ed Begley Sr. and Arthur Kennedy. It was a timely play, as stories of wartime corruption had started to surface. Considered anticapitalist, it was suspected of being pro-Communist, so the film version is somewhat modified from the play. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster, Mady Christians, Howard Duff, Louisa Horton, and Arlene Francis.

Edward G. Robinson plays Joe, a man who worked hard to build his factory along with his partner, Herbert Deever. During the war, Deever was put on trial and found guilty of shipping cylinders from the factory that he knew were defective, which, when put into planes, caused the deaths of many war pilots. Though Deever claimed that Joe knew about the shipment, he wasn't believed - Joe was home sick at the time the cylinders were sent. Though the cloud remained over Joe, his business stayed highly successful, and he enjoyed a good place in the community. His son, Chris, however, comes home and announces that he wants to marry Deever's daughter Ann - who had been engaged to Chris' brother Larry, lost during the war and presumed dead. This fact has never been accepted by Chris and Larry's mother (Christians), and Joe is anxious that Chris put aside his idea of marrying Ann. Then Ann's attorney brother calls her from the prison where their father is incarcerated. He believes Joe is guilty and wants to reopen the case.

This is a very well acted film that suffers from the miscasting of Edward G. Robinson. Robinson was a magnificent actor but is so obviously guilty, one wonders how he escaped prosecution, especially when one sees the sincerity of Herbert Deever when Chris visits him in prison. The Broadway star, Ed Begley Sr., had a friendly face and a good deal of warmth; Robinson is scrappy, defensive, plus he looks like a thug. It was more of a Spencer Tracy role - it called for a more lovable man that you want to believe, doubts to the contrary. Mady Christians, who was blacklisted, is very sympathetic as Joe's wife.

Burt Lancaster insisted on this role; early on, he saw a career as a hunk beginning to take form and fought it. This led to interesting parts for him later on, and he made a great transition to character actor later in life. One can certainly understand the temptation to cast him as a hunk, with his broad shoulders and great build. Lancaster was the whole matinée idol package, right down to his full lips. Apparently the actor knew how handsome he was and was very competitive with other stars of that era, such as Tony Curtis, and like Curtis, he wanted more than romantic leads.

Despite its flaws, All My Sons is a strong drama about a son breaking away from his father, the strength of denial, the importance of penance for one's acts and of moving on. A Chinese woman who saw "The Crucible" was certain that Arthur Miller had been in prison in China, so universal was the language of that play. That was Miller's gift, the ability to tell a deeply human story that, politics and social change aside, can still resonate today.

A moral dilemma is at the center of this excellent expose about an unscrupulous man that has been responsible for the death of young pilots during WWII. Joe Keller, a prosperous man, is by all appearances a successful businessman. Most people in his town think he got away with murder. Joe, in defending himself, points out that justice prevailed, feeling vindicated for the crime that sent his partner, Herbert Deever, to jail for a crime he is involved after following Joe's orders.

The past comes to haunt Joe Keller as Annie Deever, the daughter of Herbert Deever comes to visit the Kellers. Kate Keller is suffering for Larry, her missing in action son, who after three years after the end of that conflict has not come back. Annie has fallen for Chris, the other son that now works in his father's business. Annie's visit proves to be the spark that marks the unraveling of Joe Keller, as he comes to term in facing his guilty conscience. Learning the real reason of Larry's fate in the war brings Joe to face a reality he did not want to deal with because he chose the status quo, knowing full well his own guilt in the tragedy he provoked.

Arthur Miller wrote the play in which this film is based. The original cast included Ed Begley, Arthur Kennedy and Karl Malden, in the legendary production directed by Elia Kazan. The playwright took a hard look at the American Dream, as early as the boom years after the end of WWII, something clearly unheard of in those days. Mr. Miller became a new voice in the theatrical world by bringing forward issues that took a look at the core of the American society. The inspiration for the drama was based on a real story that appeared in a newspaper. Miller questioned many things Americans took for granted.

The film version boasted an ensemble cast dominated by Edward G. Robinson, an actor that gave impressive accounts of the characters trusted to him to bring to life. His Joe Keller is a calculating man that feels he did not do anything wrong. Burt Lancaster plays Chris, the son that must fight for his right to marry Annie, the girl the Kellers did not want for him because of her involvement with Larry. Mady Christians was impressive as Kate, the wife who chose to go along with a husband she loved, but who she thought was guilty, all along. The weakest role in the film version was perhaps Louisa Horton who was miscast as Annie. In a way, this was her first screen appearance, so it might have been she felt insecure in connecting with her Annie. Howard Duff, Arlene Francis, Harry Morgan and the excellent Frank Conroy, are seen in minor roles.

Irving Reis directed Chester Erskine's screen adaptation. The black and white cinematography was by Russell Metty and the music score is credited to Leith Stevens.

This is a powerful drama.

Arthur Miller is one of our best authors. His play however reeks of a bias, that makes him seem ignorant of his own times. Without Industry, and the profit system, the US would not have won WWII. Rubber was one of those items needed to fight a modern war. And it was the "war profiters" who provided our nation with synthetic rubber. If your too young to remember, ask your grandfather or Dad about the rubber shortage.

If a writer wants to focus on immorality, why don't they start at the top, and blame those politicians and propagandists who get us into wars. Watch nearly every movie made from 1939 until 1945, and you will see what Playboy magazine called "Hollywood Go to War."

People of German, Italian and Japanesse decent were racially and ethnically played in the worst possible way, and any artist worth his salt would agree that even a movie as great as Casablanca had its share of propaganda.

Miller and Chester Erskine, who adapted Miller's play seemed an illogical indictment of anyone who made a profit during the war.

Aircraft pistons are one part of an Aircraft. They are less likely to fail than compression rings, rods, bearings, electrical and hydraulic parts. Losing one piston, does not usually cause crashes.

Writers may be clever about how they write, but they can sound awfully stupid writing dialog that has Joe Keller stating that he "beat an old stove up for scrap." Scrap is sold by the pound, not by condition.

More importantly, both writers seem to be totally ignorant of the government and manufacturer's inspection systems. Manufactures would not accept "junk" material from a subcontractor. As aircraft are put together, each manufacturer assumes liability for the pieces they build. More than the Federal inspectors, they would not risk their contracts by routinely and criminally accepting faulty pistons. Miller and Erskine conveniently overlook that logic and fact, and concentrate on one character who probably would have been caught before the piston ever found its way into an aircraft.

Before the aircraft was accepted by the military, it would be flown to its maximum performance standards. The military would also fly the aircraft in a test flight before sending it into combat. The failure of one piston, in an engine would not usually bring an aircraft down. This is particularly true of multi-engine aircraft. And perfectly good pistons have been known to break down occasionally. Producing perfectly good pistons that break is not a crime or immoral. Proving that a faulty piston caused 29 accidents, and was a crime, is legal fantasy.

There may have been a million pistons produced in WWII. The sheer number makes it likely that some perfectly good pistons failed.Miller's and Erskine's play and film script becomes a tall tale to weave its "moral" failings of one man, or the industries that produced "The Arsenal" of Democracy.

From the lowest person who pushed a broom, to the very capable men who made millions, Miller's seemed to go out of its way to indict the industry that provided the arms for the the millions in uniform. I would be foolish to defend the rotten apples, cowards, stupid mistakes, and expediencies which cost lives. It just makes me wonder why Miller picked on one piston manufacturer to make his clumsy points. I recall a line in the film dialog, where Joe Keller stated that he had been arrested and spent some time in jail, and the jury declared him innocent. Did Miller or Erskine ever attend a real criminal trial? Does he know what it takes to convict anyone in this country? Convincing a jury that a batch of bad pistons among millions caused 29 crashes goes beyond any real concept of the trail system.

Why did Miller pick a fight with the men who made profits during the war? His play shows his contempt for such men, the film version softened his personal views.

The film ignores some basic facts. A public trial opens up an opportunity for all sorts facts and evidence to surface. More importantly, since Joe Keller was acquitted, he could not be charged again. As the film opens, his reputation is already an open question with some in his circle of friends, and should have been fixed during the time the film opens. Neither Miller nor Erskine inject any new information into Keller's guilt or innocence. Whether Keller was sick or not on the day the "faulty" pistons were shipped, in any ordinary trial would have been investigated and regurgitated by Keller's defense team. Keller's statement at the dinner table, that" he had never been sick a day in his life" has as much resonance as the comments all men make at times, such as "I would have killed him".

Miller doesn't know anything about American combat pilots. They were not inclined to go on suicide missions due to defects in family or friends.

Miller should have written what it was like to have survived as a combat crew-member during the war. Or the moral anguish that officers had over sending men to their death. especially when mistakes were made. Did they have a moral struggle to admit they cost innocent lives?

Miller's play is a fiction that goes beyond "literary license" and to this film lover, seems to be an effort at politics, rather than a morality play.

I still do not understand the purpose for creating a character like Kate Keller. Anyone who continued to think her son was still alive three years after the war does not seem to be a stable person and more likely to commit suicide than the character of Joe Keller.

The story is wonderful. It is clean of the usual flurry of characters going in and out of the screen. There is much dialog and less time wasted on introspection and private thoughts you have no idea if they are meant to be heard by the audience of by somebody else. The actor play is quite good and the characters are drawn well with a sure hand, mostly to the credit of the play author.

On the technical side I loved how the screen was also clear of most useless objects. For example the opening scene that follows into the garage. You see there are not one but two cars. The cars are big. They seem new because they are clean. And the garage is large enough for the two characters to move around with the two cars parked inside. So they are well to do. Also, later on, you realize there are two cars because only *men* drive cars. That is made clear by the remarks young women receive. So this is quite a patriarchal environment. I get to see nothing else in the garage. Not the mess of a storage shed. No other accessories.

What breaks the well executed film is the end which might as well be shot afterward without director or script just to give the story an optimist look.

Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

This is a great movie for anyone who likes well-acted, tightly-written suspense and who can tolerate the absence of such tired action-movie clichés as exploding helicopters and pithy catchphrases. Edward G. Robinson does a masterful job as Joe Keller, an aircraft manufacturer who shirks the responsibility for providing faulty equipment to the Army Air Force (as it was known then) and allows his partner to go to jail. Solid supporting performances by Burt Lancaster, Howard Duff, and Mady Christians make All My Sons an even more rewarding movie.

What I really loved about it is how the screenplay contrasts not just guilt and innocence but also knowledge and belief, loyalty to family and loyalty to the truth, and grief and guilt. The plot is complex and fulfilling; all characters are well-rounded. The acting is uniformly excellent and you are made to believe in the characters and their plights.

I have two hesitations about recommending this movie unreservedly. One is that anyone who has seen the play, and especially any fan of Arthur Miller, might find the movie disappointing. Screenwriter Chester Erskine changed quite a bit, including removing some characters and reducing the number of competing plot lines. The script may be weaker than Miller's play, but it's more suitable for the big screen.

The other reservation I have is that the underlying premise is actually quite unrealistic. In real life there would have been no investigation in the first place, and certainly no criminal charges. Training aircraft crashed with such depressing regularity that investigation was rare even in the most suspicious cases - there just wasn't the money, time, or interest on the part of the brass. Problems in combat situations would be investigated, but most training accidents were assumed to be pilot error even when they patently weren't. This error won't bother most people, of course, and shouldn't; but if you are a stickler for accuracy it might affect your enjoyment of the film.

Producer Chester Erskine wrote the screenplay for this Arthur Miller play about a son that discovers his financially successful father isn't all that he seems to be; Irving Reis directed. Burt Lancaster plays the son Chris Keller, Edward G. Robinson plays his factory owner father Joe ("if you want to know, ask Joe"). Mady Christians plays Joe's wife Kate, Louisa Horton plays Chris's fiancée Ann Deever, who had been Chris's brother Larry's fiancée, but Larry was killed in World War II even though his mother is in denial about this fact.

This compelling drama doesn't really begin until Ann's brother George (Howard Duff) comes to town with accusations that his father Herbert is taking the rap for Joe's malfeasance during the war when defective cylinders were knowingly shipped from the Keller factory to be used in the war effort. The cylinders were then installed in airplanes, thirty-one of which crashed, killing their crews.

Though Joe was exonerated, Herbert was convicted and sentenced to a prison term. Joe assumes that everyone in his community has accepted him back into their graces, but some know better with regards to who was responsible for the tragedies. Joe's neighbors include a doctor (Lloyd Gough) and his nurse wife (Arlene Francis) as well as a stockbroker (Harry aka Henry Morgan), his wife (Elisabeth Fraser) and their three kids.

Though hot-headed George is initially calmed down and soothed by Kate, Ann, and the others including Joe, who helps the young man remember how forgetful his father had always been, the past incident rises back to the surface, and things won't stay how they have always been.

George drives a wedge between Ann and Chris, who decides that he must find out what really happen, so he visits Herbert (Frank Conroy) in prison. With the truth, he returns to confront his father but it isn't until Ann provides him with a letter from Larry which reveals yet another startling tragedy that Joe takes responsibility for his past actions in a climactic way.

"All My Sons" is one of those disappointing films that goes far enough in a certain direction to become somewhat interesting but doesn't really follow these ideas to any kind of meaningful or even dramatically satisfying conclusion. To how much of an extent that was the fault of the original work by Miller and how much was due to the changes by the screenwriters it's impossible for me personally to judge because I'm not familiar with the material. But regardless of the reason, in my opinion it doesn't add up to a particularly good film.

Chris Keller (Burt Lancaster) is the somewhat disillusioned son of an industrialist, Joe Keller (Edward G. Robinson) who happens to be in love with the daughter of his father's former business partner (Howard Duff), Ann Deever (Louisa Horton). What could have been a rosy small town setup however has been sent off the tracks by a criminal investigation into the war-time practices of the company, which was accused of passing off defective parts which ended up killing American pilots – Ann's father has been sent to prison for a crime that it becomes increasingly obvious was probably just as much Edward G's character's fault.

The great weakness of this film is that it's completely obvious that his character is the guilty one. Otherwise there would be no story at all. And a moral dilemma should really have more weight than this one. Should Keller have rejected the defective parts, even if it meant shutting down his plant? Obviously he should have rejected them, so there's really no dilemma. The film tries to convince us that his plant would have been forced out of business if he had rejected them, and yet at the same time shows us that his business was booming during the war. This makes the economic element of the dilemma unconvincing. And even if we did believe that he had to choose between rejecting the parts and closing his plant, his speech about how hard he's struggled to create this legacy for his children hardly inspires me to empathy with his "plight".

As if to quash any last possibility of compelling drama, the film's eventual conclusion focuses on a letter from Chris' brother, who died in the war. His letter, which the film implies should be like an earthquake of drama shaking this family, is instead predictable and its tragic consequences are also predictable.