Response
Although the film was well received by critics, and Spencer Tracy's performance was especially praised, the film did not do well at the box office, except in New York City. By the end of 1940, it had grossed a little over a half-million dollars, which meant that Sturges had only received about $2,000 over his advance. By 1957 it had grossed around a million.
Sturges' innovative narrative structure was singled out by critics, and the praise was so great, the studio put a bronze plaque up on the New York movie theater where it had its world premiere. The bronze tablet hailed The Power and the Glory as "the first motion picture in which narratage was used as a method of telling a dramatic story."
Sturges' screenplay was widely praised. It was published in book form in 1934, and he received the 1933 Hollywood Reporter Award of Merit for Best Original Story.
Read more about this topic: The Power And The Glory (1933 film)
Famous quotes containing the word response:
“Because humans are not alone in exhibiting such behavior—bees stockpile royal jelly, birds feather their nests, mice shred paper—it’s possible that a pregnant woman who scrubs her house from floor to ceiling [just before her baby is born] is responding to a biological imperative . . . . Of course there are those who believe that . . . the burst of energy that propels a pregnant woman to clean her house is a perfectly natural response to their mother’s impending visit.”
—Mary Arrigo (20th century)
“Eyes seeking the response of eyes
Bring out the stars, bring out the flowers,
Thus concentrating earth and skies
So none need be afraid of size.
All revelation has been ours.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Perhaps nothing in all my business has helped me more than faith in my fellow man. From the very first I felt confident that I could trust the great, friendly public. So I told it quite simply what I thought, what I felt, what I was trying to do. And the response was quick, sure, and immediate.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)