We begin today a series of viewing devoted to the films of Joan
Crawford. We are rather bound to what is in our personal collections,
but I think we can promise you some interesting choices.
We begin with one of her odder films - 1954's Johnny Guitar.
First off, it is rather strange to see Joan in a Western. I don't
believe she had ever done one before, nor did she ever do another one.
As directed by Nicholas Ray, this is also a very peculiar western. For
one thing, the lead protagonists are two women: Vienna,
as played by Joan Crawford has opened a gambling saloon just outside
town, as she waits for her land's value to appreciate with the arrival
of the railroad; and Emma Small, a local rancher who loathes Vienna for a
number of reasons, not the least of it is Emma's attraction to The
Dancing Kid (Scott Brady), who rather has eyes for Vienna. In this scene, Johnny and Emma hint at their past:
The
whole movie is centered around the conclusion, the battle between
Vienna and Emma. More than a simple catfight, it is the kind of battle
one normally expects of the male rivals in the film. In fact, for the
most part, the men are rather weak. Sure, Vienna has hired Johnny Guitar
(Sterling Hayden) to work for her - he is a reformed gunfighter and her
former lover - but he revolves within her orbit, not she around his.
Vienna and Emma are clearly alpha females. The men do their bidding.
The
personal antagonism of Ms. Crawford and Ms. McCambridge has become the
stuff of legend. On screen, they spit fire at one another. The film is
both electric and fascinating for its oddness. It verges on film noir,
yet it isn't quite.
Costuming is an important feature in Johnny Guitar.
Witness Vienna, posed in her flowing white dress, positioned next to
Emma in her black mourning weeds: Even when Vienna switches to clothing
that is less conspicuous, she puts on a blazing red shirt - matched
precisely to Ms. Crawford's bold red lipstick. Crawford
looks tall and stately (though she was only 5'4"), next to the "tiny"
Mercedes McCambridge (who was 5'3"). Even Ms. McCambrige's name in the
story - Small - speaks to her personal and physical attributes. As a
result, Vienna always stands out. Ms. Crawford makes sure of that!
Next time, we'll go on to a much earlier Crawford film. Please join us.
We close our Olivia de Havilland film festival with a film that is a personal favority of mine, 1962's Light in the Piazza. Margaret Johnson (Olivia) and her daughter Clara (Yvette Mimieux) are traveling in Italy, when they meet Fabrizio
Naccarelli (George Hamilton), a young Florentine who is immediately
besotted by the dazzling Clara. Unfortunately, Clara has a secret:
injured as a child, she has the mental capabilities of a 12-year old.
Though Margaret initially discourages the growing connection between the
couple, as Clara falls more deeply in love with Fabrizio Margaret finds
her opposition weakening.
I think
this is a beautifully romantic movie. Ms. de Havilland's role is a
tricky one. You have to believe, with Margaret, that her choices are
the best ones for both Clara and Fabrizio, not merely the romantic
imaginings of a delusional mother. Most of this is achieved by the genuine caring that Ms. de Havilland shows for her child. But a great
deal is accomplished by her co-star, George Hamilton, who portrays
Fabrizio with such beauty and sensitivity. Watch the scene where Clara
becomes hysterical, and look at the way Fabrizio gently pulls her back
from her attack. And then there is the final scene. In both cases, it
is Margaret's commentary that provide the complement to Hamilton's
caring scenes. In this scene, the lives of Clara and Margaret Johnson change forever:
We all thought that Barry Sullivan (as Clara's father, Noel) is the weak link
in the movie. Sullivan plays Noel as rather cold and distant towards
his child. We felt that we should understand his frustration with
his wife's obsession towards his daughter, but that some of the lines
(like his comment "Don't skip, dear" to his naive daughter) just made
him distasteful. You almost would rather the lovely Margaret would
remain in Italy, and find herself a nice guy (though NOT Fabrizio's
father, Rossano Brazzi. He's a bit of a cad - and married).
Light in the Piazza
was made into a Broadway musical some years ago. Though engaging, it
is not comparable to the movie. Somehow, the musical did not really
portray the romance of this film.
Next week, we'll begin a new series with another Hollywood lady. Please join us.
As we near the end of our Olivia de Havilland Festival, we have saved
the best for next to the last (we have one more to go after this one).
It's The Snake Pit - Olivia's Academy Award nominated performance as the tortured Virginia
Stuart Cunningham, whose mental collapse lands her in a mental
institution. This is truly a tour-d-force performance. What Ms. de
Havilland does with a brief glance, other actors could not do with their
entire bag of tricks. Watch her reactions change from ignorance to
disbelief to suspicion to anger in the briefest second - it is truly
magnificent. That Ms. de Havilland did not win the Oscar for 1948 is
due perhaps to the fact that her competition was fierce - she lost to
Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda.
This
film is full of wonderful performances, and features some of the
premiere actresses of the day. Let's start with Celeste Holm and Betsy
Blair as Grace and Hester, the bookends to Virginia's confinement.
Holm's Grace cares for Virginia as she begins her confinement; as
Virginia heals, she becomes mentor to the disturbed Hester (Blair).
Other patients in the hospital are portrayed by Beulah Bondi, Ruth
Donnelly, Lee Patrick, and Isabel Jewell. Though their parts are small,
each adds to the atmosphere of the hospital in their own unique way.
Another interesting performance is that of Natalie Schafer as Virginia's
mother, certainly high on the list of dysfunctional parents! On
the distaff side, we have Leo Genn as Dr. Kik, Virginia's psychiatrist,
Mark Stevens as her husband Robert, and Leif Erickson as her one-time
boyfriend, Gordon. The men however, merely serve as window-dressing.
It is the women who rule this picture. It is their performances you will
remember.
The Strawberry Blonde from 1941 is one of those wonderful
movies that I think people just don't know about. Here our Ms. de
Havilland plays Amy Lind, a gutsy nurse whose best friend is Virginia
Brush (Rita Hayworth), the titular Strawberry Blonde. Olivia is just a
delight as she attempts to shock James Cagney (as T.L. "Biff" Grimes)
with her suffragette ideas and outspoken manners. One of my favorite
scenes is Virginia, laying out her plan to entice Biff and Hugo Barnstead (played as a complete slime by Jack Carson) over, without looking forward. "That will show them we're good girls and they can't trifle with us" asserts Virginia. "What did we come for if not to be trifled with?" questions Amy with some indigence. Here is part of that scene:
It
is rather a shame that Olivia and James Cagney did not get to do more
pictures together. They are a quite delightful pair. And again,
combined with the stellar character actors that inhabit this movie, this
movie is a lot of fun. Rita Hayworth, in what is essentially a
supporting part, is excellent as the at first naive, and later
hard-as-nails Virginia. Watch her in the final scene. Her very voice
will make you cringe. George Tobias as Nick, Biff's best friend Nick, is
adorable. And then there are the always wonderful Alan Hale (as Biff's
father) and Una O'Connor (as a next door neighbor to Mr. Grimes). Oh,
let's not leave out George Reeves as the obnoxious college man who lives
next door to Biff and Amy.
The movie is told in flashback, a
technique that works beautifully here, as we see the growth of Biff and
Amy. We know something really awful has happened to them, but not what
or why. We know that Biff has reached a crossroad, but not how he will
deal with it. The ending is satisfying, and we come to love these two
people, who discover their love for each other though adversity and
conflict. If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and try to catch
it the next time it is on. I think you will like it.
