Performance of the Month: Fredric March in “Death of a Salesman” (1951)



Fredric March as Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" (1951)

The Best Actor Oscar category was almost an embarrassment of riches in 1951: Humphrey Bogart was a popular winner as scraggly boat captain Charley Allnut in John Huston’s classic “The African Queen”, but the role itself was lightweight compared to the heavy dramatic lifting done by fellow nominees Montgomery Clift in “A Place in the Sun” and Arthur Kennedy in “Bright Victory”. Of course, Marlon Brando’s landmark work as Stanley Kowalski in Elia Kazan’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” was highly praised, and deservedly so; and it seems unfair in retrospect that Brando was the only one of the four principal cast members not to win an Oscar for the film. The field was so strong with top-notch actors in important roles that outstanding performances given by Robert Walker (Strangers on a Train), Kirk Douglas (Detective Story), and Richard Basehart (Fourteen Hours) were unable to even earn a nomination. The fifth nominee, my personal choice for the Best Actor of 1951, as well as performance of the month is Fredric March as Willy Loman in the film adaptation of Arthur Miller’s landmark play “Death of a Salesman”. Having never read the original playscript by Miller, I cannot comment upon the film’s difference from the original stage drama. Also, having never viewed a stage or filmed version, I am unable to compare March’s performance with other well-regarded Willy Lomans, such as Lee J. Cobb, Dustin Hoffman, or Brian Dennehey, so I must consider it on its own terms as a performance.

Fredric March is an actor who gave outstanding performances during every phase of his career: As a young man, he won an Oscar in 1932 for “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, and repeated that feat during middle-age for 1946’s “The Best Years of Our Lives”. Likewise, he is also remarkable in old age, as in 1960’s “Inherit the Wind”, and worthy of mention for numerous other performances through the years, including “The Dark Angel” (1935), “A Star is Born” and “Nothing Sacred” (both 1937), “One Foot in Heaven” (1941), and Executive Suite (1954). But it is in ‘Salesman’ that I think March found his greatest role, and Willy Loman is certainly one of the legendary roles in American drama. Willy is a man who finds his dreams crumbling at the same time as his sanity, and the breakdown may not be enjoyable to watch, but it is compelling. He is getting along in years, having worked the road as a salesman and is hoping to be transferred to a position in the office of his company. His devoted wife Linda (Mildred Dunnock earned a Supporting Actress nomination, and this characterization is practically a letter-perfect example of the long-suffering housewife archetype that exists in popular culture even today) is worried because she fears Willy may be planning to kill himself, and tries to keep the peace between Willy and newly returned son Biff (Kevin McCarthy, nominated for Supporting Actor), with whom he’s always had an antagonistic relationship.

Perhaps some of my own emotional baggage colored the scenes between Willy and Biff; the eternal struggles between fathers and sons, between generations, and between men with different goals and outlooks on life. I have a feeling that it could be very easy for an actor to overplay Willy; to rely on shouting and overpowering mannerisms, but March doesn’t do that. Willy holds his own with Biff, even though it is obviously a struggle to do so. In addition to the family drama, there is the fact that Willy’s sales have dropped to the point that he has to regularly borrow money from his pal Happy just to make the monthly bills. And too, there are the hallucinations and recalled memories from his past that have begun to haunt Willy. March is smart in never playing these too obviously; rather they come across as a natural expression of Willy’s deteriorating mental state. And in the end, his memories turn on him, and become as disappointing as his reality has become.

“Death of a Salesman” is certainly a depressing experience, but worth watching for the talents of the actors involved, and, as I said before, because it is considered one of the milestones in modern American theater. And though Fredric March’s interpretation of Willy Loman may not be the definitive version, it is certainly one of the high points in film acting from 1951; an excellent performance in a year that was overflowing with great actors in great roles.