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The Fountainhead
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The Fountainhead (1949) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   3,136 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 17% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
King Vidor
Writers:
Ayn Rand (screenplay)
Ayn Rand (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Fountainhead on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 July 1949 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
No Man Takes What's Mine ! more
Plot:
An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards. full summary | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
The Insanity of Ayn Rand: The Fountain-Brain-Dead.
 (From Huffington Post. 4 June 2009, 3:09 AM, PDT)

Jodie Foster gives voice to Maggie Simpson
 (From AfterEllen.com. 11 May 2009, 9:00 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Too unique to dismiss more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
114 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Filming Locations:
California, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The original novel was a favorite among America's armed forces, during World War II. The lengthy book helped pass the time when things were slow, and it provided inspiration to the troops, to survive the war and build their own dreams after they got home. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Cameron smashes the window in Roark's office, you can see that the flag outside the window flying in the skyline is not rippling and therefore is part of a photographic backdrop rather than a live location. more
Quotes:
Howard Roark: A building has integrity, just as a man and just as seldom! It must be true to its own idea, have its own form, and serve its own purpose! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Angels in America" (2003) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
49 out of 72 people found the following comment useful:-
Too unique to dismiss, 28 March 1999
8/10
Author: Brian W. Fairbanks (brianwfairbanks@yahoo.com) from Cleveland, Ohio

Gary Cooper is much too mature for the role of the idealistic architect, but everyone else in the cast is fine. Cooper and Patricia Neal were supposedly involved in a passionate off-camera romance at the time, and some fans of this movie insist they can detect the sparks on-screen, too. I don't, but then I find Cooper such a bore as an actor that it's hard to tell if he's breathing, let alone excited. His performance here almost ruins what could have been a brilliant adaptation of Ayn Rand's ambitious novel. Howard Roark, the architect who refuses to conform to another man's ideals (or lack of them), does not strike me as an "Aw' shucks" kind of guy, but that's pretty much the way Cooper plays him. Roark will build anything--a public housing project, a townhouse, even a gas station--as long as it's built according to his vision. He will not compromise. Cooper just doesn't possess the fire that this character requires. When he becomes impassioned ("A man who works for the sake of others is a slave"), you can almost see the cue cards reflecting in his eyes. Certainly, he doesn't feel Rand's words in his gut. On the plus side, King Vidor's visual style is imaginative, and despite a lot of pompous sermonizing and Cooper's miscasting, this is a worthwhile film simply because there are so few Hollywood productions that emphasize ideas and a man's philosophy. In a curious way, it brings to mind "Network," and other Paddy Chayefsky films.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
King Vidor scottoro
The irony of this film... Tchoutoye
Modern Casting (Remake of The Fountainhead) pmccann847
Another Irony scarlata1966-2
just awful... dlsmith2
How old do people tend to be when they start asking loaded questions? Kurt-150
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