Bette is a Librarian

Librarian Alicia Hull (Bette Davis) finds herself in a Storm Center (1956) when she is asked to remove a book, The Communist Dream, from the Kenport Public Library. Torn between her desire to get a new children's wing for the library, and her belief in free access to books, Alicia has to decide what is best for her library and for the community in general.

While one member of our group found the film hard to sit through - specifically the parts that involved young Freddie Slater (Kevin Coughlin) and his meltdown - all members of the group agreed this is an important film, and deserves to be seen and discussed more frequently.

The character of Freddie is included to create one specific scene towards the end of the film. While we salute the imagery that the writers and director were inserting, Freddie is a frustrating character who lessens the impact of the film. The child is badly damaged, primarily by his tentative relationship with a bigoted, unintelligent, and obnoxious father. George Slater (Joe Mantell) bullies his child because the kid is too smart, and wants a boy who will do what he sees as manly things, like play baseball. Mother Laura (Sallie Brophy) encourages Freddie's intellectual growth (she is a talented pianist), but she is undercut by her husband, and weak enough to put up with his nonsense. Why she would marry this neanderthal is beyond our understanding, and is a weakness in the story.

Kevin Coughlin is over-the-top as Freddie; according to this TCM article, director Daniel Taradash was not comfortable directing a child (this was, in fact, Mr. Taradash's only directing credit). Coughlin's mother horrified both Ms. Davis and Mr. Taradash when she pinched her son until he cried, so as to elicit tears for the camera. This was Mr. Coughlin's first film role; he would later play Billy in The Defiant Ones (1958). Most of his career, however, was on television. He died in 1976, at the age of 30, hit by car speeding by his home in Malibu.

Bette Davis was not the first (nor the second) choice for Mrs. Hull (AFI catalog). Originally, the part was intended as a comeback for Mary Pickford, however Ms. Pickford bowed out, ostensibly because the film was not being shot in color. It is believed, however, that she was pressured to withdraw from the picture by Hedda Hopper who was infuriated by the anti-McCarthy sentiments of the movie.  Ms. Hopper's influence may have also had the same effect on Barbara Stanwyck, Irene Dunne, and Loretta Young. Ms. Davis, however, is magnificent as Alicia. She gives Alicia both the strength of character and vulnerability needed to play a woman who is being crucified by the town she loves, simply for being true to her duties as a librarian.

Brian Keith plays councilman Paul Duncan as an innocuous man who is even more dangerous because he seems so personable. Engaged to the librarian Martha Lockridge (Kim Hunter), he uses her collegiality with Alicia to find information that he can use against Mrs. Hull in a smear campaign. Though only one character makes mention of their complicity, it's clear to the viewer that Martha is not averse to the benefits that come from Alicia's dismissal.  There are strong performances as well from other actors in the cast, including Paul Kelly as sympathetic judge Robert Ellerbe, Edward Platt as the Reverend Wilson, Joseph Kearns as Mr. Morrisey, and Kathryn Grant as Hazel.

The story was based on an actual event (though the reason for the firing was altered). Ruth Brown was a librarian in Oklahoma, who was active in local civil rights organizations. In 1950, she was fired from her job ostensibly for being a communist - the actual reason was her involvement in desegregation activities. (The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library by Louise S. Robbins ). 

Daniel Taradash and Elick Moll, the screenwriters, were familiar with the case and saw Storm Center as "a dangerous picture about dangerous ideas." Original titles for the film were: The Library, This Time Tomorrow, and Circle of Fire, but none of them were felt to be strong enough.  The American Library Association, which had supported Ms. Brown through her fight in Oklahoma, hosted an advance screening, during which a letter from Bette Davis was read, saying she hoped she had "reflected accurately their dedicated service and had made communities more aware of the role of librarians"  (Louise Robbins. Fighting McCarthyism through Film: A Library Censorship Case Becomes a "Storm Center". Journal of Education for Library and Information Science Fall, 1998. 39(4) 291-311).

Not surprisingly, there were censorship issues with the film. The Catholic Church's Legion of Decency came up with a whole new category just for this film (The Catholic Crusade Against the Movies, 1940-1975 by Gregory D Black; Transforming the Screen, 1950-1959 by Peter Lev), stating that "the highly propagandistic nature of this controversial film (book-burning, anti-communism, civil liberties) offers a warped and strongly emotional solution to a complex problem of American life."

The New York Times review by Bosley Crowther was reluctantly negative, but Mr. Crowther pointed out:  "This is too bad, because the purpose and courage of the men who made this film not only are to be commended but also deserve concrete rewards. They have opened a subject that is touchy and urgent in contemporary life. It should be presented so adroitly that it would fascinate and move people deeply.Furthermore, they have got from Bette Davis a fearless and forceful performance as the middle-aged widowed librarian who stands by her principles. Miss Davis makes the prim but stalwart lady human and credible."  

While this is not be best picture ever made, it is a significant film, one that is still worth watching. Unfortunately, we still have to deal with communities banning books (American Library Association list of Banned Books) and individuals deprived of their liberties because of the beliefs, place of birth, religion or skin tone.  As a librarian myself, I wanted to stand up and cheer at the end of Storm Center.

We'll leave you with a trailer from the film: