‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn:’ Finding Beauty in Squalor

A family finds the strength to stay together and care for each other.

The Nolans: (L–R)  Katie (Dorothy McGuire), Neely (Ted Donaldson), Francie (Peggy Ann Garner), and Johnny (James Dunn), in “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” 20th Century Fox

NR | 2h 2m | Drama, Family, Romance | 1945

The silver screen frequently reeks of cheap spilled whiskey, sour breath, and broken promises. Films like “The Lost Weekend” (1945) showed the brutal reality of an alcoholic destroying nearly everything within reach. “Days of Wine and Roses” (1962) followed the bottle into marriage and watched it turn affection into a daily hazard.