THE STANFORD THEATRE
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn poster

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

1945 ★ 128 min
Starring: Dorothy McGuire, Peggy Ann Garner, Joan Blondell
Director: Elia Kazan
Writer: Anita Loos, Betty Smith, Frank Davis
Producer: Louis D. Lighton

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1945 American drama film that marked the debut of Elia Kazan as a dramatic film director. Adapted by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis from the 1943 novel of the same name by Betty Smith, the film focuses on an impoverished, but aspirational, second-generation Irish-American family living in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in the early 20th century.

Trivia

  • Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
  • Selected for the National Board of Review: Top Ten Films.
  • Also nominated for: Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay.
  • Based on A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (1943 novel by Betty Smith).
  • The film rights to Betty Smith's novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn were the focus of a studio bidding war even before its publication in 1943. 20th Century Fox acquired the rights for $55,000.
  • The screenplay was written by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis, a married couple who often worked together.
  • The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Elia Kazan, who had previously achieved renown as a stage director.

Previous Showings

10 Runs • 7 Festivals

9,226 tickets sold

Original Billings: 1 run (April 8, 1945)

Original Run: April 8, 1945 (Sunday - Wednesday)

All runs on record (10):

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