This week, we watched Princess O'Rourke, a 1943 film
with Ms. De Havilland as the Princess Maria, a refugee from Europe
living quietly - much too quietly - in the United States. When she
passes out (the result of too many sleeping pills) after her flight to
San Francisco is grounded, she ends up hte in home of the pilot, Eddie
O'Rourke (played by Robert Cummings). Maria quickly becomes enchanted
by Eddie, his neighbors Dave (Jack Carson) and Jean (Jane Wyman). Eddie
and Dave are about to be inducted into the army, so there is a certain
urgency as Eddie discovers he is in love with Mary (the name Maria has
adopted). When he proposes, she is forced to reveal to him her royal
status, and he begins to discover the role he will be assuming as the
husband of a princess.
A couple of weeks ago, we complained a bit
about Jack Carson, but he is perfect in this movie. The scene where he
describes his wife's grief at his imminent departure to the armed forces
is truly heartbreaking. Equally affecting are his scenes with Jane
Wyman. Their loving banter is true and ultimately moving as we see them
trying to cope with an impossible situation. Another surprising
performance is that of Robert Cummings. Again, we are not really fans,
but he is wonderful in this. As the rules of being a consort are
explained to him, his reactions are perfect. We stay on his side
BECAUSE of the way Cummings subtly demonstrates the frustration of
Eddie. As always, Olivia is a treat. Warm, sweet, and funny. Her
Maria is a joy, and you will adore her.
On of the images that
recurs in the film is that of the caged bird; Maria is very much that
bird, which is finally released after she falls in love with Eddie. My
friend remembered that the caged bird was also the symbol of France
under the aegis of Nazi occupation. She also recalled an emblem (done
by Cartier)of the freed bird,
symbolizing the French liberation. Though the war is still underway
during the filming and release of the film, we wondered if that image of
the caged France influences the screenwriters as well.
Finally,
we loved the script. So often, writers go for the cheap release. But
these do not. Eddie ONLY rejects his role as consort when he discovers
that he will have to renounce his U.S. citizenship. Every other
"indignity" (being subservient to his wife in public, not being allowed
to serve in the armed services) he is willing to agree on. But even
today, we found the insistence that he lose his very identity as an
American to be just that one step too far.
If you've never seen
this movie, run right out and see it. In fact, set up a reminder on
TCM.com - it is being run in August. This one is a treat! Here's a scene where the Princess is on a plane:
Next time - join us for another visit with the dashing Mr. Flynn, as he rejoins our Olivia for Four's a Crowd.
This week, we turned to a more serious film - The Heiress,
with Ms. de Havilland in one of her Oscar winning roles. And is this
ever a tour de force performance! Olivia stars as Catherine Sloper, a
plain, shy, unmarried woman who lives quietly with her father, Dr.
Austin Sloper (played with grave superciliousnessby Ralph Richardson)
and widowed aunt Lavinia Penniman (Miriam Hopkins). Though we learn
little of Catherine's history prior to this movie, we know that her
mother is long dead, and that her father finds her a huge
disappointment. Her mother was a great beauty, to which poor Catherine
could not hope (in his opinion) to hold a candle; Dr. Sloper mourns his
wife, and bemoans that fact that it was SHE taken from him (and not
Catherine). Catherine is blithely unaware of her father's true feelings,
until she meets Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), a young man who has
spent his inheritance on a long trip to Europe. He pursues Catherine;
professes his love for her, but meets with resistance from Dr. Sloper.
It soon becomes apparent that Dr. Sloper is convinced that Morris'
motives are less than worthy primarily because Catherine is not, in his
opinion, worthy of love. She could not possibly attract (he feels) such
an attractive man, unless the only motive was her money.
We'll
never know if Catherine and Morris would have been happy together. And
that was much of our conversation following the movie. The film is
based on the book Washington Square, by Henry James.
Interestingly, in the book, both Catherine's mother and brother have
died, leaving her an heiress because of her brother's death. Catherine
(in the film) never discusses her mother; we wondered if she had even
known her mother. Mrs. Sloper's death in childbirth would present an
interesting motive for Dr. Sloper's antipathy towards his daughter, but
of course, we can only present this as another way to view Dr. Sloper's
attitude.
The cast is magnificent. Olivia de Havilland's
Catherine is shy, but with a biting wit when she allows it to show;
controlled, but passionate when she finally meets the man of her dreams;
romantic, but caustic when she has to face the truth about Morris.
Miriam Hopkins' Aunt Lavinia walks a fine line (successfully) between
matchmaker and pander; Ralph Richardson is cold, aloof, and ultimately
cruel as Dr. Sloper. And finally, Mongomery Clift, who creates a Morris
that it is hard to dislike, but easy to distrust.
A hearty thumbs up for this movie. You should run right out to see it. In this trailer, we not only see Ms. de Havilland accepting her Oscar from Ray Milland, we see a few clips from the film:
Next week, we'll be looking at a comedy - Princess O'Rourke. Hope you'll join us then.
Our film this week was Santa Fe Trail, with Olivia de
Havilland as Kit Carson Hailliday, the love interest of J.E.B. Stuart
(Errol Flynn) and George Armstrong Custer (Ronald Reagan). The three
are caught up in the terrorist activities of John Brown (played here
with great gusto by Raymond Massey), a provocateur who is attempting to
being a war to eliminate slavery in the United States. Most of the plot
in this film has to do with Stuart and Custer trying to catch Brown, as
he travels through Kansas wreaking havoc.
There is quite a bit
of rhetoric in the movie - how Stuart and Custer only need to obey the
law, and the evil of slavery will EVENTUALLY be realized and eliminated,
and the history in this movie is so weak as to be nearly laughable. For
example, J.E.B. Stuart never married (sorry Olivia), and the real
Custer wed Elizabeth Clift Bacon - a brunette, not the blonde Charlotte
as is implied in this movie. Never mind the fact that Custer graduated
from West Point in 1861, a Stuart graduated in 1854 (he actually did end
up in Kansas, while Custer went right out of the Point into service in
the Civil War). They certainly were not classmates. They weren't even in
the school at the same time. Did they even ever meet? - maybe on the
field of battle at Bull Run. They were on opposite sides, though.
Like
our film last week, Olivia is window-dressing to the bromance between
Flynn and Reagan. She flirts with her two suitors, eventually deciding
on Flynn as her love interest (and are we really surprised?). Her best
scene is not with Flynn, however, it is with Gene Reynolds as Jason
Brown, John Brown's drying son. Her kindness radiates through as she
listens to the boy describe the horror of his life with his father. Here's the film's trailer:
Next week, we'll be doing a movie with a little more meat for the talented Ms. de Havilland. Hope you'll visit us then.
This week, we watched a comedy from 1942, The Male Animal.
Ms. de Havilland (playing Ellen Turner) stars with Henry Fonda, who
portrays Professor Tommy Turner, an English teacher in a small college,
caught in the middle of school turmoil. When a young college radical
publishes in his newspaper that Professor Turner is going to read a
letter by Bartolomeo Vanzetti in class, he finds his job threatened.
Add to that, the return of his wife's former boyfriend (Jack Carson), a
football hero named Jack Ferguson.
Olivia's part in this is
relatively small. She gets to be patient and loving with Fonda, and
emulate a tiny bit of hero worship towards Jack Carson (never our idea
of a sex symbol, but it's all a matter of taste). The surprising thing
about the movie, though, is the movie's topic. Let's put this movie in
perspective. It is 1942. War has just broken out in America (even if the
film was made before December of 1941, the rest of the world was
already deeply embroiled). The names of Sacco and Vanzetti, just brief
blips in history in 2010, would have been VERY familiar to a 1940's
audience. Convicted and executed for murder, many felt they were put on
trial for their political beliefs (they were considered to be
anarchists) rather than the crime for which they were accused. For a
country reeling from an attack by a foreign nation, the reminder of
Sacco and Vanzetti would have been controversial at the very least.
The Male Animal
is based on a Broadway play by James Thurber and Eliot Nugent (who
played Tommy Turner in the original production AND in two revivals),
that ran for several months in 1940. It was revived in 1952 and 1953
(with Robert Preston appearing as Joe Ferguson). The college board's
willingness in the play to suppress freedom of speech and essentially
blacklist must have also rang very familiar in 1952, as the HUAC
investigations continued in Washington.
All in all, we enjoyed
this movie a lot, and highly recommend it. It is not Olivia's best
movie, but Henry Fonda is wonderful, and the thoughtfulness of the
subject is worth your time (and it is funny too. Here's a trailer:
