Backdrop fallback

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Share

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

"Each heart-warming character comes alive on the screen!"

1945

2h 8m

7.5(107 votes)

Drama

Overview

In Brooklyn circa 1900, the Nolans manage to enjoy life on pennies despite great poverty and Papa's alcoholism. We come to know these people well through big and little troubles: Aunt Sissy's scandalous succession of "husbands"; the removal of the one tree visible from their tenement; and young Francie's desire to transfer to a better school...if irresponsible Papa can get his act together.

Links & Resources

Social & External

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

The people behind it

Cast & crew

10 featured cast members

Starring

Dorothy McGuire

Dorothy McGuire

Katie Nolan

Joan Blondell

Joan Blondell

Aunt Sissy

James Dunn

James Dunn

Johnny Nolan

Lloyd Nolan

Lloyd Nolan

Officer McShane

James Gleason

James Gleason

McGarrity

Ted Donaldson

Ted Donaldson

Neeley Nolan

Peggy Ann Garner

Peggy Ann Garner

Francie Nolan

Ruth Nelson

Ruth Nelson

Miss McDonough

John Alexander

John Alexander

Steve Edwards

B.S. Pully

B.S. Pully

Christmas Tree Vendor

Creative team

Directed by: Elia Kazan
Written by: Tess Slesinger
Frank Davis
Produced by: Louis D. Lighton

Similar Movies

Three Days in August

Three Days in August

An adopted Irish American artist confronts her past when both sets of parents come together over a weekend for her to paint a family portrait.

Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.

The 400 Blows

The 400 Blows

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.

Desert Hearts

Desert Hearts

While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.

The Godfather

The Godfather

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

Rebecca

Rebecca

Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.

The Godfather Part III

The Godfather Part III

In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.

Wir sagen Du! Schatz.

Wir sagen Du! Schatz.

Oliver doesn’t have a family so he steals one.

The Killing

The Killing

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

Pocketful of Miracles

Pocketful of Miracles

A New York gangster and his girlfriend attempt to turn street beggar Apple Annie into a society lady when the peddler learns her daughter is marrying royalty.

Night on Earth

Night on Earth

A quintet of cabbies in five cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.

Head-On

Head-On

With the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.

I Rarely Watch the Stars

I Rarely Watch the Stars

Larry and Mel embarks on a quiet camping trip under the vast skies of Cagayan. What begins as a simple escape becomes a heartfelt journey of rediscovery—of family, perspective, and the beauty of the present moment.

Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing

Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.

Das Boot

Das Boot

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

Inside Man

Inside Man

When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.

12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men

The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.

Chocolat

Chocolat

In the winter of 1959, a single mother and her young daughter arrive in a rural French town, where they open an unusual chocolate shop that disrupts the moral fiber of the strictly Catholic townsfolk and mayor.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

A history professor and his wife entertain a young couple who are new to the university's faculty. As the drinks flow, secrets come to light, and the middle-aged couple unload onto their guests the full force of the bitterness, dysfunction, and animosity that defines their marriage.

Recommended Movies

The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle

A young girl is raised in a dysfunctional family constantly on the run from the FBI. Living in poverty, she comes of age guided by her drunkard, ingenious father who distracts her with magical stories to keep her mind off the family's dire state, and her selfish, nonconformist mother who has no intention of raising a family, along with her younger brother and sister, and her other older sister. Together, they fend for each other as they mature in an unorthodox journey that is their family life.

East of Eden

East of Eden

In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.

Small Things Like These

Small Things Like These

In 1985, while working as a coal merchant to support his family, Bill Furlong discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers truths of his own; forcing him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church.

House of Strangers

House of Strangers

Ruthless Italian-American banker Gino Monetti is engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business practices. Three of them take over the business but kick their father out. Max, a lawyer, is the only son that remains loyal.

The Dead

The Dead

After a convivial holiday dinner party, things begin to unravel when a husband and wife address some prickly issues concerning their marriage.

Goodbye Christopher Robin

Goodbye Christopher Robin

The behind the scenes story of the life of A.A. Milne and the creation of the Winnie the Pooh stories inspired by his son Christopher Robin.

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables

At the turn of the century on Prince Edward Island, Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla decide to take on an orphan boy as help for their farm. But they get an unexpected jolt when they're mistakenly sent a girl instead: Anne Shirley.

Avalon

Avalon

A Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.

Passing

Passing

In 1920s New York City, a Black woman finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

A year after his father's death, Oskar, a troubled young boy, discovers a mysterious key he believes was left for him by his father and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock.

Sounder

Sounder

The oldest son of a loving and strong family of black sharecroppers comes of age in the Depression-era South after his father is imprisoned for stealing food.

Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck

The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.

The Cider House Rules

The Cider House Rules

Homer is an orphan who was never adopted, becoming the favorite of orphanage director Dr. Larch. Dr. Larch imparts his full medical knowledge on Homer, who becomes a skilled, albeit unlicensed, physician. But Homer yearns for a self-chosen life outside the orphanage. What will Homer learn about life and love in the cider house? What of the destiny that Dr. Larch has planned for him?

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden

A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.

C'mon C'mon

C'mon C'mon

Johnny and his young nephew forge a tenuous but transformational relationship when they embark on a cross-country trip to see life away from Los Angeles.

Fatima

Fatima

In 1917, outside the parish of Fátima, Portugal, a 10-year-old girl and her two younger cousins witness multiple visitations of the Virgin Mary, who tells them that only prayer and suffering will bring an end to World War I. As secularist government officials and Church leaders try to force the children to recant their story, word of the sighting spreads across the country, inspiring religious pilgrims to flock to the site in hopes of witnessing a miracle..

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden

Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a wondrous secret garden lost in the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor.

Mr. Church

Mr. Church

A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.

Homestead

Homestead

A nuclear bomb is detonated in Los Angeles, and the nation devolves into unprecedented chaos. Ex-Green Beret Jeff Eriksson and his family escape to The Homestead, an eccentric prepper’s fortress nestled in the mountains. As violent threats and apocalyptic conditions creep toward their borders, the residents of The Homestead are left to wonder: how long can a group of people resist both the dangers of human nature and the bloodshed at their doorstep?

Dad

Dad

A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.