The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Based on the novel by Sloan Wilson, director and screenwriter Nunnally Johnson’s (THE THREE FACES OF EVE) multilayered drama stars Gregory Peck as a man struggling to realize the American Dream without sacrificing his family and his soul. Tom Rath seems a typical, solid business- and family man, but he suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder. Inconsequential sights--such as the fur collar on a fellow commuter’s coat--prompt flashbacks to his days as a captain in WWII. Rath is also beset by demands from his ambitious wife, Betsey (Jennifer Jones), who hates their ugly house and is ashamed of how Tom has lost his nerve since the war. To appease her, he takes a higher-paying PR job at media conglomerate United Broadcasting. Rath then has to learn the spin-doctor ways of Madison Avenue and risks becoming a yes man to powerful UBC president Ralph Hopkins (Fredric March). Meanwhile, problems at home escalate with a dispute over his grandmother’s will and a haunting reminder of his wartime liaison with a beautiful Italian girl, Maria (Marisa Pavan). Peck gives a strong, touching performance as a man fighting to overcome his past and to secure his family’s future.