All My Sons (1948)

Plot:  Based on the Arthur Miller Play.  A Son confronts his father over making defective airplane parts that caused the deaths of 21 pilots.
Stars:  Edgar G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster.
Best Quote: A feast for the self-righteous; Ibsen for beginners; for the morally curious a sad bore... Entirely well-intentioned and sincerely acted; but not an interesting play and certainly not a movie - James Agee

Background
Lancaster pressured producer Hal Wallis into giving him the part "Chris Keller". With only a few film credits, Lancaster was already tired of playing tough guys and wanted some serious dramatic roles. Screenwriter Chester Erskine was skeptical - giving Lancaster the role, he said, was like "casting Boris Karloff as a babysitter". 

The Movie
All my Sons is a well-acted, well-directed movie about a story/characters I didn't care about. The E.G. Robinson character is guilty from the word go, and who cares about this greed-head's excuses?  He sent men to their deaths, because he wanted to be rich. Meanwhile, the Lancaster character is a self-righteous bore, and the mother, a nut. And to top it all,  we learn the dead son was so ashamed of his father, he went on a kamikaze mission!   How theatrical.  The whole story seemed pointless.

Acting
However, everyone gives a strong performance, although Robinson is slightly miscast.  Too often he reminds us of "Rocco" - the part needed someone more likable and not so obviously corrupt.  As for Lancaster, the critics were unkind in 1948, but I see nothing wrong - its a workmanlike performance.

Summary:  I don't like Arthur Miller's plays. I'm probably the only American who was bored by The Crucible and  thinks Death of a Salesman  was a pretentious play about a whiny loser.  So, unsurprisingly, I didn't like All My Sons - even though its a well made movie.