Home › Books made into movies › A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945): Film vs Book
Film · 1945 · Directed by Elia Kazan · Starring Dorothy McGuire, James Dunn
About the film
A girl grows up in a poor Brooklyn family, dreaming of books and a better future.
How close is it to the book?
Close to the bookThe film follows the novel's tender story, though it softens some of the harder parts of life in the tenements.
Read or watch first?
The book has the longer sweep of childhood and the neighbourhood.
What the book gives you
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
A heartfelt, hopeful story of a girl and her family, rich with city life and feeling.
Who will like it: Readers who love warm, vivid stories of growing up with big dreams.