"All My Sons" is a three-act play written by Arthur Miller in 1946. It premiered on Broadway at the Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, and closed on November 8, 1947, after 328 performances. Directed by Elia Kazan, to whom it is dedicated, and produced by Elia Kazan and Harold Clurman, the play won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. The original cast included Ed Begley, Beth Merrill, Arthur Kennedy, and Karl Malden, and the production won both the Tony Award for Best Author and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. The play was adapted for films in 1948 and 1987.
"All My Sons" is set in the Keller's yard in late August 1946. Miller wrote it after his first play, "The Man Who Had All the Luck," failed on Broadway, lasting only four performances. The play is based on a true story that Miller's then-mother-in-law found in an Ohio newspaper, describing how the Wright Aeronautical Corporation had conspired with army inspection officers to approve defective aircraft engines during World War II. This led to a congressional investigation by Harry Truman's board and the conviction of three Army Air Force officers for neglect of duty.
Miller was influenced by Henrik Ibsen's play "The Wild Duck," particularly in the theme of one partner in a business taking moral and legal responsibility for the other. The play criticizes the American Dream, a theme that contributed to Miller being called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. This period was marked by anti-communist sentiment in America. Elia Kazan, who directed the original stage version of "All My Sons," was a former member of the Communist Party who initially shared Miller's left-wing views. However, their relationship soured when Kazan named suspected Communists to the committee during the Red Scare.
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