The Great Man (1956), was a harsh look at the media of the 1950s and the cult of personality. The posters for the film read, "Everybody loved The Great Man, except those who hated his guts," and "What was the truth about him? Was it the cheers of the millions who knew his voice...or the tears of the women who knew his lies? Was it the love he inspired...or the hate he returned? One man looked for the truth...and found the most fascinating story of our time!", which sums up the plot, nicely. Based on the novel by Al Morgan, The Great Man was reportedly based on the phenomenally popular personality Arthur Godfrey, who had transitioned from radio to television, and whose personal and professional squabbles were well known to the public, including the famous on-air firing of Julius LaRosa in 1953.

The film was directed by actor José Ferrer, who also starred as Joe Harris, popular radio reporter on the Broadway beat. When beloved personality Herb Fuller is killed in a car crash, Philip Carleton (Dean Jagger), the president of the Amalgamated Broadcasting Network assigns Harris to put together a memorial for Fuller, complete with a public viewing and a retrospective radio program, featuring interviews with those who knew and worked with Fuller. Carleton tells Harris that if he does a good enough job, he might become Fuller's replacement. As Harris digs into Fuller's life, he sees that the private man was very different from the public persona. Also in the cast were Ed Wynn, his son, Keenan Wynn, Jim Backus, Julie London, bandleader Russ Morgan, a pre-"Get Smart" Edward Platt, and Lyle Talbot.

The Great Man was shot at the Universal Pictures Building in New York City (which doubled for the "Amalgamated Broadcasting" building), as well as various locations across the city, and at the Universal Studios lot in California. According to film critic and author Pauline Kael, Ed Wynn, who had begun his career as a comedian, and later went on to make several impressive dramatic appearances in the 1950s and 1960s, did his six-minute scene in only one take. That performance earned Wynn a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actor for 1958 and a British Academy of Film and Television Award nomination for Best Foreign Actor. The Directors Guild of America honored José Ferrer with a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.

The normally crusty New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther praised The Great Man in his review, calling it "a smashingly brutal and generally absorbing exposé of a piece of deception and hypocrisy within the radio industry. [...] It becomes a study of the reporter's personal conflict with a gang of mercenary hypocrites. As such, it is wickedly reflective of a commercial and social attitude that is sometimes held by cynics to be typical of "Madison Avenue."

SOURCES: Crowther, Bosley "Screen: The Great Man" The New York Times 2 Jan 57
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By Lorraine LoBianco