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      The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

      Released May 8, 1956 2 hr. 33 min. Drama List
      71% 14 Reviews Tomatometer 73% 1,000+ Ratings Audience Score Tom Rath (Gregory Peck) is a suburban father and husband haunted by his memories of World War II, including a wartime romance with Italian village girl Maria (Marisa Pavan), which resulted in an illegitimate son he's never seen. Pressed by his unhappy wife (Jennifer Jones) to get a higher-paying job, Rath goes to work as a public relations man for television network president Ralph Hopkins (Fredric March). Drawn into poisonous office politics, Tom finds he must choose his career or his family. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Sep 18 Buy Now

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      Audience Reviews

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      TM S Excellent acting and an absorbing story. And all too relevant to the present time. The real human life pace and older model cars are either an attraction or, if one is myopic, a detriment but it is one of the rare commercial movies even up to 2023 that seriously deals with combat PTSD, something the military-industrial complex and its supporters would like to ignore as much as possible. Excellent performances by Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones, and Marisa Pavan does well too. It's one of those very well done films that fit a particular historical period but connects to the present time, maybe too much so. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/28/23 Full Review Steve D A lot of talent but FAR too slow to work. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/03/23 Full Review steve m Great movie about all the men in those gray suits, they look the same on the outside but how they are quite different on the inside, how it affects their professional and personal lives. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review deke p 1956 !! Surprisingly interesting. Combines family conflict, WW2 battle flashbacks, & nascent TV network office politics. I've heard of this iconic title but never saw before now Feb 2, 2022, on TV Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Written and directed by Nunnally Johnson, this tale of a man, Gregory Peck, fighting battles on Madison Avenue and flashing back to battles fought during the war, all in the name of protecting those back at home, is a terrifically compelling one. However, at the same time, "The Man in the Gay Flannel Suit" is an extremely chauvinistic and sexist one when watched with modern eyes. Peck is an up and coming ad man who is looking to move to a larger firm for a larger salary in order to support his growing family. At the same time he's also haunted by his experiences during WWII and the film frequently flashes back to those experiences. Part of the film's focus is how his wife, Jennifer Jones, and family never understand or appreciate the battles he's fought in his work-life or his time as a soldier. There's certainly some truth to that, but it's also rather condescending and lacks appreciation for his wife's perspective and experiences, which are presented as trivial and not all that important, but this is a film of it's time. Melodrama does set in on this film, to it's detriment, when an old war buddy of Peck's, the excellent Keenan Wynn, and tells him that Peck fathered a child out of wedlock during the war, who Wynn has been supporting. Peck then must decide whether he should bring his wife and family into the ugliness of what he faced during the war and if he should continue that battle on Madison Avenue taking a higher paying job that will better support his family, but leave him little time with and more disconnected them (that potential future is represented in CEO Frederick March, a successful businessman but failed family man). That part of the film starts to feel trite and more conventional of a story, but I did quite enjoy the parallels that were drawn between the war and the workplace, which was an astute allegory by Johnson from Sloan Wilson's novel. Also of note is the filmscore by composer Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann is my all-time favorite film composer and this is one of my favorite of his scores. Herrmann's music is at times incredibly rich and lush, particularly the love themes and the main title music, while at others is surprisingly subdued, especially about the suspenseful percussion for the the stealth wartime hand-to-hand fighting sequence. Overall, "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" is a flawed story about a flawed everyman, but it's none-the-less one that I found identifiable and compelling to watch, even after repeated viewings. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A coming-of-middle-age love story, which is in danger of being derailed. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (14) Critics Reviews
      Variety Staff Variety As the broadcasting tycoon, Fredric March is excellent, and the scenes between him and Peck lift the picture high above the ordinary. Jun 27, 2011 Full Review TIME Magazine Relentlessly envelops every idea, obscures every issue in a smug smog of suburbinanity. Jun 27, 2011 Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times A mature, fascinating and often quite tender and touching film. Rated: 4/5 Mar 25, 2006 Full Review André Bazin L'Obs (France) Although The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit is noteworthy, then, for its intentions and the clarity of its exposition, even, to a certain extent, for the sincerity of its purpose, it is nevertheless a dishonorable undertaking. Dec 7, 2021 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...improves considerably as it progresses... Rated: 3/4 Aug 23, 2021 Full Review TV Guide A surprisingly engrossing, if shallow and overlong, Hollywood vision of 1950s thirtysomethings, with Peck turning in a dignified title role. Rated: 3/4 Jun 27, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Tom Rath (Gregory Peck) is a suburban father and husband haunted by his memories of World War II, including a wartime romance with Italian village girl Maria (Marisa Pavan), which resulted in an illegitimate son he's never seen. Pressed by his unhappy wife (Jennifer Jones) to get a higher-paying job, Rath goes to work as a public relations man for television network president Ralph Hopkins (Fredric March). Drawn into poisonous office politics, Tom finds he must choose his career or his family.
      Director
      Nunnally Johnson
      Screenwriter
      Nunnally Johnson
      Distributor
      20th Century Fox
      Production Co
      Twentieth Century Fox
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      May 8, 1956, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jul 1, 2011
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