The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

"His loves...his world---both past and present---and the crisis they caused!"

1956 2h 33m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 59

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Tom Rath is a suburban father and husband haunted by his memories of World War II, including a wartime romance with Italian village girl Maria, which resulted in an illegitimate son he's never seen. Pressed by his unhappy wife to get a higher-paying job, Rath goes to work as a public relations man for television network president Ralph Hopkins. Drawn into poisonous office politics, Tom finds he must choose his career or his family.

“His loves...his world---both past and present---and the crisis they caused!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Gregory Peck
Tom Rath
Jennifer Jones
Betsy Rath
Fredric March
Ralph Hopkins
Marisa Pavan
Maria Montagne
Lee J. Cobb
Judge Bernstein
Ann Harding
Helen Hopkins
Keenan Wynn
Sgt. Caesar Gardella
Gene Lockhart
Bill Hawthorne

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nunnally Johnson
Writers: Nunnally Johnson
Languages: English, German, Italian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 153 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

70 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nunnally Johnson, shot by Charles G. Clarke. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bernard Herrmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dorothy Spencer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones and Fredric March carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nunnally Johnson directs. Charles G. Clarke behind the camera. Bernard Herrmann scores. Dorothy Spencer cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 153 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Shot for just $2.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
370 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Italian.
5Directed by Nunnally Johnson, shot by Charles G. Clarke. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Bernard Herrmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Dorothy Spencer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones and Fredric March carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "His loves...his world---both past and present---and the crisis they caused!".
10IMDB entry: tt0049474 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 59 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles G. Clarke
Original score: Bernard Herrmann
Editing: Dorothy Spencer
Makeup / hair: Ben Nye
Runtime: 153 min · 2h 33m
Status: Released
Budget: $2,670,000
Box office: $4,350,000
Return: 163% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)

Also by

Nunnally Johnson

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

barrymost2020-01-19
★ 9/10
Oh, business woes. Plot in a nutshell: Character study of a WWII veteran trying to make it in the business world of post-war America, and contend with his domestic problems. Comments: Great cast of veteran actors really makes this work. Gregory Peck is a very mature actor by this point, and Jennifer Jones is very convincing as the wise but harried housewife. Fredric March plays a nice corporate boss, and comes across as a bit odd; maybe that's just Fredric March. This film isn't just any old "escapist fare" - actually about as far from that as you can get. It's very long, dark, and intelligent. "Without men like me there wouldn't be big and successful businesses. My mistake was in being one of those men." ~Ralph Hopkins (Fredric March)

Production companies