Classics for Comfort

2020 has been a year of interesting times, and in interesting times, we need comfort. What better comfort is there than a good movie?  So, from May 19-22, the Classic Movie Blog Association (CMBA) is hosting the Classics for Comfort Blogathon, in which we will all discuss those films that bring a smile to our lips or a song to our hearts.  In no particular order, I'm pleased to share with you five movies (and an honorable mention) that I turn to in times of trouble, stress, and/or sorrow that are comfort films for me.

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No comfort film list is complete without something from Ms. Hayley Mills. She is a delight - a wonderful actress with a list of excellent films to her credit. Adding just one to this list was a hard choice - in the running were Pollyanna (1960), which I discussed in a previous blogathon, Summer Magic (1963), and The Moon-Spinners (1964).  But, I ultimately opted to select The Parent Trap (1961), because there are TWO Hayleys to make me glad.  

Sharon McKendrick and Susan Evers live on opposite sides of the U.S. Sharon is in Boston with her mother; Susan lives in California on her father's ranch. They accidentally meet at summer camp, loathe each other at first sight, only to discover that they are "separated at birth" twins - when their parents divorced, each took one daughter, planning to never meet again. It was also decided by the parents that they would not tell their children of her sibling's existence.  Knowing it's the only way to get to know the other parent, the sisters decide to change places.  But when Susan discovers that father Mitch (Brian Keith) is about to marry the gold-digging Vicki Robinson (Joanna Barnes), the girls hatch a plan to get mother Margaret (Maureen O'Hara) back with her ex. 

This was Ms. Mills second film with Disney, and she shines in the dual role. She gives the two sisters distinct personalities. Even when dressed alike, you can tell them apart (amusingly, their parents can't).  Sure, the story is a fantasy, but who cares? The early rivalry episodes are full of tween deviltry and the latter partnership includes deviousness of quite a different ilk - you'll cheer when the twins set their sites on the obviously bad Vicki. And when Ms. Mills sings "Let's Get Together," a dare you to not groove to the music.

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We think of Edward G. Robinson (Martinius Jacobson) as a tough guy, but in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945), he's the gentlest man you could ever meet. A loving husband to wife Bruna (Agnes Moorehead) and father to his daughter Selma (Margaret O'Brien), he works as a farmer in a small Wisconsin town.

In many respects, the film is a series of short stories, about Selma and her adventures (and arguments) with her younger cousin, Arnold (Jackie "Butch" Jenkins), about Martinius and his desire to build a new state-of-the-art barn, and about the budding romance between new teacher Viola Johnson (Frances Gifford) and newspaper editor Nels Halvorson (James Craig). The script hangs together beautifully, as the characters weave in and out of each others lives.

The beauty of the film hinges on the relationship between Ms. O'Brien and Mr. Robinson. There is a genuine tenderness between the two; adding Agnes Moorehead to the mix - an actress who, in my estimation, can do no wrong - only adds to the charm of the family connection. In one biography, Ms. O'Brien said she became very close to Mr. Robinson during filming (Margaret O'Brien: A Career Chronicle and Biography by Allen R. Ellenberger); this is certainly reflected on screen.

Yet the films avoids becoming schmaltzy. The town in which the Jacobson's live is not perfect. The town is poor; most of the young men are gone to the War; there is even a hint of child abuse. Ultimately, though, the film is about family and unity - the Jacobson's live in a community that comes together in crisis, even if it is only donating a calf to a cause.

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When times are bad, you need to laugh, and nothing will make you laugh more than Ball of Fire (1941). Gary Cooper (Bertram Potts) plays an English professor at work with six colleagues on a new encyclopedia. Professor Potts is horrified to discover that his understanding of slang is archaic. How can he write the needed article for the encyclopedia without further research? So he ventures out of the their cloister to learn the language of the day. On his journey, he meets Sugarpuss O'Shea (Barbara Stanwyck), a night club entertainer who knows just a bit too much about gangster boyfriend, Joe Lilac (Dana Andrews). Joe's solution - stash Sugarpuss with Bertram and his colleagues until Joe can marry her and keep her from testifying against him.

The combination of Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck is comic dynamite. She's forward and alluring; he's shy and retiring. But they spark on screen like nobody's business.  With her as the aggressor, Ms. Stanwyck is at her comic best - she needs him to become enamored of her, but there is danger in the air. She's never met anyone as gentle and considerate as him, and she finds herself falling for him (much to the consternation of Joe Lilac!)

There are so many wonderful scenes - Sugarpuss teaching the assembled professors the conga; Sugarpuss demonstrating the new slang to Bertram (in the form of yum-yum); Bertram learning to box. I could go on, but you get the idea.

We discussed this film at more length several years ago. But like so many of the great Ms. Stanwyck's films, it is a movie that cries for rewatching (and will have you in stitches throughout.

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Take two remarkable actors, add in some suspense,  sprinkle it with comedy, write dialog that sparkles and you've got Charade (1963). It's easily one of the most re-watchable and entertaining mystery stories around - even when you KNOW the ending, you really don't care. You want to watch the film again to meet with the charming, intelligent, and witty Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) and the man of mystery Peter Joshua (Cary Grant). They are a combination to be imbibed regularly.

Regina is on vacation at a skiing resort in the French Alps with her best friend Sylvie Gaudel (Dominique Minot) when Sylvie's mischievous son Jean-Louis (Thomas Chelimsky) "introduces" her to Peter. He's intrigued, but she "already know an awful lot of people, so until one of them dies I couldn't possibly meet anyone else." Regina returns to her home in Paris, determined to divorce her always-absent husband Charles, only to find her apartment stripped bare and a message from the police. Charles is dead - murdered and thrown from a speeding train. The appearance of three threatening men, who demand to know the whereabouts of money Charles stole from them, add to Reggie's distress. And then there is the question - just WHO is Peter Joshua?

Cary Grant didn't want to do the film - he thought he was too old to be romantically involved with Audrey Hepburn, so the script was altered - she pursues him, and the effect is magic. After all, what woman wouldn't want to woo Cary Grant? Combine their interplay with an engaging story and you have a film to watch over and over. You'll laugh, you'll gasp, but you will never be bored.

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Sometimes, an inspirational film that brings tears to your eyes is just what you need when you feel blue. The true story of The Miracle Worker (1961) is one that does it for me. Based on the autobiography of Helen Keller (Patty Duke), a blind-deaf woman who lost both senses after a childhood illness, the movie introduces the uncontrollable child to Anne Sullivan (Anne Bancroft), herself almost blind, but as determined to teach Helen to communicate as Helen is to have her own way.

As a child, I was addicted to biographies of famous women. I think I read every one I could find in our local library. The woman that fascinated me most was Helen Keller. Her autobiography, The Story of My Life, was awe-inspiring. So too does this film bring a feeling of warmth and love that few movies are able to do. The strength of these two individuals, along with the unquestioning love of Helen's mother, Kate (Inga Swenson) make this a film of great passion.

Don't get me wrong - this is a film with humor as well, but I defy anyone to get to the end without a tear in their eyes. With Oscar-winning performances by Ms. Bancroft and Ms. Duke (both recreating their Broadway roles), The Miracle Worker is a film to lift your spirits.

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Honorable Mention:   No list of my comfort films is complete without a mention of one of my primary sources of comfort since childhood. Sure, including To Trap a Spy (1964), is a bit of a cheat. It’s a filmed version of two Man from U.N.C.L.E. episodes, but for me it's one of the places I go when I need to feel better.

It was love at first sight when I saw Robert Vaughn in an early episode of the show. My father took me to a double bill of this and another U.N.C.L.E spinoff movie The Spy with My Face (1965). To say I was in heaven is an understatement.  

The show ended up forming the basis of my first close friendship - one that abides to this day. When times are tough, when I’m sad or anxious, it’s Napoleon Solo who can make everything just a little bit better. (And it doesn't hurt to have Illya Kuryakin as well!)

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Don't forget to read some of the other blogs that are participating in the Classics for Comfort Blogathon. You're sure to find some other films that will brighten your days.

Dancing in the Stars

I'm going to spend a little of your time discussing a film from last year.  We just recently saw La La Land (2016) with a live orchestra providing the score, and this second viewing even further solidified my appreciation for the influence of classic cinema on director Damien Chazelle. Let's spend a few minutes looking at some of the references to film's past that appear throughout the movie.

The plot is a simple boy meets girl story. Mia (Emma Stone) is a would-be actress, working as a barista at a film studio coffee shop. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a gifted musician with a passion for jazz music. Their first meetings are problematic, but when they finally get to talk at a party, love grows. Complications ensue when Seb takes a job with a contemporary music group. Making more money than he had ever hoped to see, but playing music he dislikes, Seb is also constantly away from Mia. They begin to drift apart as their lives and careers collide.

The film opens with a a dance number on the LA freeway, as Mia, Seb, and half of the city are caught in a traffic jam. With rich colors and enthusiastic, athletic dancing, the segment is a tip of the hat to the 1967 Jacques Demy musical The Young Girls of Rochefort. The images below will give you a look at the two scenes side-by-side. For an audience unused to a film opening with people singing and dancing (for no good reason!) on a highway or bridge, this must have been a shocking opening. I found it wonderful!  Another Demy film, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, also provides inspiration for La La Land. The endings of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and La La Land are also remarkably similar. This article from PopSugar has a very interesting analysis of the two movies.

La La Land

The Young Girls of Rochefort

Two days after the release of La La Land (December 25, 2016), Debbie Reynolds, the star of Singin' in the Rain, died at the age of 84. In January, La La Land was awarded the Chairman's Vanguard Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.  It  was accepted by Ryan Gosling, whose acceptance speech focused on Ms. Reynolds and the inspiration her performance provided to the cast. (Slate.com). There are several nods to Singin' in the Rain in the film - Seb and Mia strolling through an active movie set, as Don and Cosmo do; Seb swinging around a lamppost, reminiscent of the Singin' in the Rain title number; and the concluding fantasy sequence which summons up images of the "Gotta Dance" number. (Slate)

Other films - both musical and non-musical - make appearances. A fantasy epilogue towards the end of La La Land brings to mind the "Our Love is Here to Stay" number from An American in Paris, as well as the Ballet Sequence in that film. Emma Stone carrying a bunch of balloons in the sequence is a clear pointer to Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. We even see a little boy in that epilogue carrying a Red Balloon.

As Seb and Mia dance in the stars, both the "Begin the Beguine" number from Broadway Melody of 1940 and the "Never Gonna Dance" number from Swing Time are benchmarks. Mia's bedroom contains a large mural of Ingrid Bergman, and her cafe if just across the street from a stage set that was the window of the Cafe Aurore in Casablanca. Seb brings Mia to see Rebel Without a Cause; then the couple visits the Griffith Observatory where much of the action from that film occurs. The Slate article previously referenced and this discussion in New York Times provide an excellent outline of the many classic film references.

La La Land is a film that one can watch multiple times and each time see something new. I'll leave you with a trailer and my favorite song from the film:

Audrey Plays the Field - and the Guitar

The Fathom Events TCM Presents for November was the excellent Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961).  Audrey Hepburn, in a performance that has become iconic, appears as Holly Golightly, a peripatetic young woman who has temporarily settled in a small apartment on Manhattan's East Side.  Holly owns nothing except a bed.  Even her pet, Cat, the "poor no-name slob" who shares the apartment with her does not belong to her.  Holly doesn't work - she parties, and goes out with men who reward her with $50 for the powder room or for a cab.  She also goes to Sing Sing once a week to bring a weather report from Sally Tomato (Alan Reed) back to his gangland ties.  She's trying to save money, to afford a home with her soldier brother, Fred, but can't seem to get ahead, despite her relatively spartan lifestyle.  Her life is changed when would-be author (and gigolo) Paul Varjak (George Peppard) moves into the apartment upstairs.

When we see the images, like the one above of Ms. Hepburn as Holly, it's easy to forget that Holly is not a particularly nice person.   She uses people constantly, she is eminently selfish, and is careless to a degree that in the person of another actress would be unforgivable.  But Audrey Hepburn makes us believe, along with O.J. Berman (Martin Balsam) that Holly is a "real phony" - she truly believes the story that she has concocted about her life. In her introduction, Tiffany Vazquez pointed out that Truman Capote, the author of the novella on which the film is based, openly disliked the film, especially the casting of Ms. Hepburn.  He wanted Marilyn Monroe in the part.  But that's a piece of casting I would find hard to swallow, and would certainly have made Holly a very different character.  Surely, Ms. Monroe was a fine actress, but even at her most naive moments, there is a worldly wisdom that Holly really should not have.  It would be hard to imagine Ms. Monroe as a "real phony".  She just seems to know the world too well.

Nor is Paul Varjak a prince among men.  His apartment is being paid for by his lover, the very married - and very rich - Emily Eustace Failenson (Patricia Neal).  Discouraged by his lack of success as a writer, Paul still claims it as his profession, while pointing to a typewriter without a ribbon.  It's only after Holly gives him a ribbon (and questions his relationship with Emily), that he begins to write again. George Peppard is able to make Paul likeable; he too has an innocence that makes him appealing, and makes his attraction and care for Holly easy to believe.  Mr. Peppard was not the first choice for the role - Steve McQueen was offered the role.  However, Mr. McQueen was currently on the television show Wanted: Dead or Alive, and CBS would not permit him the time off.  This would, of course, have been a very different movie (think about it - McQueen and Monroe.  It's not an easy picture for me).

The one performance in Breakfast at Tiffany's that is totally ignominious is Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi.  Made up as the worst kind of racial stereotype, Mr. Yunioshi is a lecherous fool.  Holly, as selfish as she is irresponsible, can never remember her keys, so she constantly rings Mr. Yunioshi's bell.  He continues to ring her in. Why? Because she has hinted she might pose for him.  It's revolting, really.  Years after the film, both Mickey Rooney and Blake Edwards disavowed the portrayal, saying they wished they had not done it (see this series of TCM articles), though Mr. Rooney said that at the time, he thought the role was funny.  It was after he began hearing that character was actively disliked that he began to see the problem with Mr. Yunioshi (See this article in the Deseret [Salt Lake City] News.)

Regardless of this one characterization, this is a wonderful film.  It's #61 on AFI's list 100 Years, 100 Passions and in 2012 was added to the National Registry of Historic Films.  It has also had tremendous influence on a generation. What woman doesn't own a "little black dress"?  Which of us doesn't want to visit Tiffany's (yes, I've gone - in a hat and sunglasses.  And Holly is right - they ARE very nice in Tiffany's).  And how many people equate the images shown here with Audrey Hepburn?  It's an iconic performance that has stood the test of time.

Also iconic is the song "Moon River."  As this article from Vogue, 10 Things You Never Knew About Breakfast at Tiffany's points out, the song was almost cut from the film!  Luckily, Blake Edwards won, and we get this wonderful moment, with Audrey Hepburn singing Henry Mancini's magnificent song.  It is a moving moment, that gives us an image of a Holly Golightly we see only this once in the picture.  We'll see you next time, with more of our group's discussion.

Audrey Takes a Holiday

TCM's Fathom Events series in November featured Audrey Hepburn's introduction to American audiences with Roman Holiday (1953).  Ms. Hepburn plays the Princess Anya, a young woman born into royalty, but oh so tired, after a long world tour, of the protocols that come with being a representative of her country.  After she has a stress reaction to her duties, her physician gives her a sedative, which only succeeds in making her, to all intents and purposes, drunk.  With her inhibitions gone, Anya makes a break for it, sneaking out of her country's Embassy in Rome.  She's found napping in the park by American correspondent Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), who winds up taking her to his apartment, and dumping her on his sofa.  It is only the next morning that he realizes he has a princess - and a doozie of a story on his hands - as Anne Smith (Smitty) takes a day to explore the life of a commoner.

 As is outlined in one of these TCM articles, Gregory Peck, whose contracted stipulated sole star billing, called the powers that be at the studio and insisted that Audrey Hepburn be given star billing with him.  Ever the gentleman, Mr. Peck would later claim that it was merely enlightened self-interest - that he would look ridiculous being labeled as the only "star," when Ms. Hepburn so clearly dominated the film.  But it is also a mark of his total professionalism and dedication to his craft that he so quickly recognized the birth of a new star. 

For dominate she did - has any actress ever looked more radiant in her first starring role?  Of course, she had the magnificent William Wyler as her director - Wyler guided her (along with Bette Davis, Barbra Streisand (also in her first film role), Greer Garson, Teresa Wright - a grand total of 14 actors) to an Oscar in the acting category.  Hepburn is glorious here - she conveys both the innocence and strength of Anne.  Especially effective is a scene at the end of the film, which counterpoints a similar scene at the beginning.  In both, Anya meets with her courtiers, but the results of each scene are quite different.  Hepburn effectively grows the character before your eyes, and you believe in Anya's development as a future monarch.

Hepburn was not the first choice for the part - it was considered as a role for Jean Simmons, Elizabeth Taylor (the first choice of the Frank Capra, who at one point was going to direct), and Suzanne Cloutier (who was screen tested by Wyler).  Cary Grant (who declined the part) was the first choice for Joe Bradley (thankfully - he and Ms. Hepburn would work together FINALLY in Charade.  They were a match made in heaven!).  For more detail on the background of the film, see this extensive article in the AFI Catalog.

Eddie Albert plays photographer Irving Radovich, Joe's friend and conspirator in the quest to get a story about the runaway princess.  Mr. Albert gets to show off his acrobatic side - he was at one point a trapeze performer - becoming the victim of a number of "accidents," as Joe is continually trying to prevent him from spilling the beans about one secret or another (and Joe has lots of them).  Mr. Albert was working as a radio host when was offered a contract with Warner Brothers.  His first film role was Bing in Brother Rat, a role he had originated in the Broadway production.  He, in fact, appeared in 9 Broadway productions, including The Music Man (as a replacement for Robert Preston), and The Seven Year Itch (replacing Tom Ewell).  With a film career that started in 1938 and continued until 1994, he has a large body of work, including film such as My Love Came Back (1940), The Sun Also Rises (1957), and Oklahoma (1955).  His career might have been even more substantial had he and his wife, the actress Margo (they were married from 1945 until her death in 1985), not been caught up the Hollywood Blacklist.  Eventually, Albert segued into television - most famously in the series Green Acres, but also in Switch and a daytime variety show called The Eddie Albert Show.  He lived til age 99, dying in 2005 of Alzheimer's disease.

Eddie Albert wasn't the only person on this film touched by the Blacklist.  In 1992, AMPAS finally awarded to Dalton Trumbo his Oscar for Best Motion Picture Story, which had previously been credited to Ian McClellan Hunter (who himself was later blacklisted) as sole author.  Having just seen Roman Holiday, it was interesting to also see Trumbo, which goes into some detail about the help Hunter provided in getting Trumbo's screenplay to film.

Roman Holiday has been included in the Library of Congress's National Registry of Historic Films as well as being number 4 on the AFI's 100 Years, 100 Passions list. It's a lovely film, with a visualization of true emotions and adult responsibilities. I'm going to close with perhaps the most famous scene in the film, the Mouth of Truth.  Allegedly, Mr. Hepburn didn't know that Gregory Peck was going to pretend his hand had been bitten off, and her quite convincing scream was real.  Regardless, it's a joy to watch, and expertly done.  Enjoy!