Started the day with something that should be a yearly ritual for many, and although it is from 1957 — 56 years ago — it still has enormous power and tremendous topicality.

A Face In The Crowd.

It was what made it possible to have the Andy Griffith show, a staple that still has impact today, although the character that is central to it is nothing like that old sheriff.

It is old school film making, strong and passionate, deeply moving. Black and white, it carries shaded visuals that are seldom matched in the usual spate of movies.

It is a character piece that warns about buying into your own press, that takes a simple person with deep character flaws and shows how image is manipulated.

Walter Matthau’s end speech is something that still haunts people all the time, the recent example of Glenn Beck being just one example.

“There is nothing more trustworthy than the ordinary mind of the ordinary man.”

Lonesome Rhodes forgot to heed his own advice, which lacks a focus that I think needs to be seen often: if you appeal to the best in people, they will often give it to you.

Not always, just often.

But if you appeal to the worst in them, they will always give you that.