Bosley Crowther

Bosley Crowther was a famous writer. He wrote for a big paper called The New York Times. He spent 27 years writing about movies. His words helped many actors and directors.

He liked films from other lands. He also liked movies with deep meanings. He did not like films with too much fighting.

He wrote books about the history of movies. He even helped a film studio find new stories. He was a very busy man.

Bosley loved to share his ideas. He wanted movies to be good for everyone. He was a true expert on film.

Bosley Crowther was a famous American writer. He worked for The New York Times for 27 years. He spent much of that time as a film critic. This means he watched movies and wrote about them. His reviews were very powerful. They helped shape the careers of many actors and directors.

Crowther had many different tastes in film. He loved movies from other countries. He liked the work of directors like Federico Fellini. He also liked films with deep social meanings. He liked movies like Citizen Kane. However, he did not always agree with everyone. He once called the movie Godzilla "an incredibly awful film." He also disliked movies with too much violence or gunplay.

Crowther was more than just a critic. He wrote books about the history of movies. He even helped a studio find new stories to film. In 1954, he won a special award for his work. He stayed at the newspaper until 1967. He died in 1981. His life showed how much one writer can influence the world of art.

Bosley Crowther was a famous American journalist and film critic. He worked for The New York Times for 27 years. His writing was very powerful and influential. He helped shape the careers of many actors and directors. People often looked to his words to see if a movie was worth watching. He was known for a style that was scholarly rather than breezy. This means he wrote with a serious and thoughtful tone.

Crowther had a very specific way of looking at movies. He believed that films should have social responsibility. He liked movies that explored important human themes. For example, he approved of films like Citizen Kane and The Grapes of Wrath. He also loved foreign-language films from directors like Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman. However, he did not like movies that showed too much violence or gunplay. He even gave the movie Godzilla an incredibly awful review.

His journey into journalism began with a big win. He grew up in Maryland and North Carolina. Later, he moved to Washington, D.C., and went to Western High School. He attended Princeton University and studied history. In 1928, he won a contest from The New York Times. This prize gave him a trip to Europe. When he returned, he took a job as a reporter. He started with a salary of only $30 per week.

Crowther spent many years working at the newspaper. He started as a nightclub reporter in the early 1930s. In 1932, he joined the drama department. By 1940, he became the main film critic for The New York Times. He held this important role until he semi-retired in 1967. In 1954, he won the first film criticism award from the Directors Guild of America. He also wrote several books about the history of the movie industry.

At the end of his career, Crowther had a famous disagreement. He strongly disliked the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. He thought the movie used too much sensationalized violence. Many other critics disagreed with him later on. This disagreement may have even led to him leaving his job at the Times. Crowther died of heart failure in 1981 at age 76. He left behind a large family, including three sons. His life showed how much one writer can change the world of art.

Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. was a highly influential American journalist and film critic. For 27 years, he served as a primary critic for The New York Times. His written reviews carried immense power in the entertainment industry. He helped shape the professional careers of many actors, directors, and screenwriters. Crowther did not just watch movies; he analyzed them through a serious lens. He adopted a scholarly tone rather than a breezy or casual one. This approach meant his critiques were often deep, thoughtful, and academic in nature.

Crowther's career followed a specific path of professional growth. He was born in Lutherville, Maryland, in 1905. After attending Princeton University, he won a contest held by The New York Times. This contest provided him with a trip to Europe in 1928. Upon his return, he accepted a position as a cub reporter. His starting salary was only $30 per week. He began as a nightclub reporter before joining the drama department in 1932. By 1940, he had officially replaced Frank Nugent as the film critic for the newspaper.

As a critic, Crowther held very specific standards for the motion picture industry. He was a strong advocate for social responsibility in filmmaking. He believed movies should address important human and social themes. He frequently approved of films with significant social content. Examples include classics like Citizen Kane (1941) and The Grapes of Wrath (1940). He also championed foreign-language cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. He specifically admired the work of directors like Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman.

However, Crowther's tastes were often controversial and strictly defined. He generally detested action and war films that featured heavy violence or gunplay. For instance, he gave the World War II film The Great Escape (1963) a highly unfavorable review. He was also quite critical of certain iconic performances. He expressed disdain for actress Joan Crawford, calling her style artificial and pretentious. He even called the film Godzilla (1954) "an incredibly awful film." His views could shift, however, as seen when he eventually recanted his dislike for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960).

Crowther also used his platform to engage with the politics of his era. He was a vocal opponent of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy and his anti-communist crusade. He believed movie producers should maintain balanced political attitudes. This was especially important during the uncertain times of the 1940s and 1950s. He often chided films that he felt were too one-sided or lacked realism. For example, he criticized the film Mission to Moscow (1943) for being too idealistic about the Soviet Union. He believed films should avoid pretending that any nation is a paradise of purity.

The final chapter of his career at The New York Times was marked by a major conflict. He became a fierce opponent of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. Crowther strongly disliked the film because of its sensationalized violence. While many other critics eventually praised the movie, Crowther remained a dogged critic. He wrote three negative reviews and continued to blast the film in his columns. Some observers believed this persistent stance showed he was out of touch with modern cinema. This disagreement coincided with his departure from the newspaper in early 1968.

Beyond his journalism, Crowther was a prolific author of film history. He wrote several books that documented the entertainment industry. These included The Lion's Share (1957), which covered the history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He also wrote Hollywood Rajah (1960), a biography of Louis B. Mayer. His work helped preserve the history of the "Golden Years" of the motion picture industry. After semi-retiring from the Times in 1967, he even worked as a consultant for Columbia Pictures. He died of heart failure on March 7, 1981, at the age of 75.