Death of a Salesman (1951 film) to lose his grip on reality and slips between the past and the present, frantically trying to find where he went wrong. The cast consisted mainly of the Broadway cast, with the addition of Kevin McCarthy from the original London Cast. However, Fredric March replaced Broadway actor Lee J. Cobb after concerns arose over Cobb's alleged past with leftist politics. Just before the film was about to come out, Arthur Miller threatened to sue Columbia Studios over the short which was to appear before "Death of a Salesman". This short film, "Career of a Salesman", showed what the producers believed
Death of a Salesman his standards. The models of business success provided in the play all argue against Willy's "personality theory." One is Charley, Willy's neighbor and apparently only friend. Charley has no time for Willy's theories of business, but he provides for his family and is in a position to offer Willy a do-nothing job to keep him bringing home a salary. (Bloom 51) "Death of a Salesman" first opened on February 10, 1949, to great success. Drama critic John Gassner wrote that “the ecstatic reception accorded "Death of Salesman" has been reverberating for some time wherever there is an ear for theatre,