A FACE IN THE CROWD
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Here’s another prime, and prime-time opportunity, to see one of the major, startlingly intense big-screen performances by eventual sitcom icon Andy Griffith. Years before he pinned on the badge as Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, Griffith made an indelible mark in this Elia Kazan movie, written by Budd Schulberg, about a small-town drifter who uses the media to rise to fame, attaining stardom while using and abusing almost everyone along the way. If you can’t picture Griffith in a less than genial role, this drama – an early, searing indictment of the media’s obsession with pop culture – simply has to be seen. Patricia Neal and Anthony Franciosa co-star.