Jimmy Goes to Washington

Senator Sam Foley has died suddenly, and the governor of his state, Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee) is tasked with naming a successor. The Governor is ordered by local boss Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) to name one of his flunkies, but the citizenry rebel at the appointment of this yes man. The Governor's children campaign for the appointment of local Boy Ranger leader Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), a naive young man who Mr. Taylor finally agrees is the perfect solution. With no political background, Smith will be easily led by Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains) to vote according to Taylor's wishes. And so, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939).

This outstanding film was included as this month's contribution to the TCM Presents series. Originally conceived as a follow-up to Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, the film changed titles and actors when Gary Cooper proved to be unavailable. (AFI Catalog)  James Stewart brings the needed innocence and gravitas to the role in his second film with Frank Capra and Jean Arthur (they had worked together the previous year on You Can't Take it With You).

One problem with Frank Capra films is that he doesn't always know how to end them. It's a big issue with Meet John Doe (1941); it's a smaller issue here. Mr. Capra does seem to back his character into a corner, and then create a deus ex machina to pull him out of his problem. However, in this film the director does set up hints that Claude Rains will be both the problem and the solution to that problem.

Mr. Rains is, of course, excellent as The Silver Knight, the senior senator from Smith's unnamed state. Best friends with Smith's father (a crusading newspaperman who was murdered after he wrote editorials against a mining syndicate), Paine has been in the pay of Jim Taylor for years. But Senator Paine remembers the ideals that brought him to law and to politics. As Mr. Rains looks at Smith, we see his yearning for the purity that he had when he worked with Smith senior.

A favorite villain for Mr. Capra is Edward Arnold. Mr. Arnold is able to be both affable and menacing at the same time. He helps us to understand why a respectable man like Senator Paine would fall into his clutches. He also has looming presence that gives the viewer pause - we know he is capable of any dastardly act to get what he wants. A stage actor at the beginning: between 1919 and 1933, he appeared in 13 Broadway plays, Mr. Arnold started his film career during the silent era. With his booming voice (and wonderful laugh) he was a natural for talkies, and appeared as the leading man in such films as The Toast of New York (1937) (he was billed ABOVE Cary Grant) and Diamond Jim (1935). Listed on the notorious "Box Office Poison" list, Mr. Arnold segued into more character parts, like Anthony P. Kirby, Sr. (James Stewart's father) in Capra's You Can't Take it With You (1938). Though he identified as a conservative Republican (and even ran for Los Angeles County Supervisor - he lost), he served as President of Screen Actors Guild, and was vocal in his opposition to the blacklisting of his colleagues during the HUAC era. Married three times, and divorced twice (he had three children with his first wife), Mr. Arnold died of cerebral hemorrhage in 1956 at the age of 66. His turn as Olivia de Havilland's father in The Ambassador's Daughter was released just after his death.

Jean Arthur (Clarissa Saunders) is picture perfect as the tough as nails assistant, who is sick and tired of the dishonest nature of politics. She's seen Taylor's influence on his state for too long, and is convinced that Jeff Smith is either an idiot or a stooge. When she finds he is a man of ideals, she becomes his staunchest ally. She is ALSO the smartest person in the film. She knows the rules of the Senate by heart, she understands the workings of the government, and she knows the people who work on the Hill. It's hard to imagine anyone other than Ms. Arthur giving Saunders such range.

The film is also blessed with a bevy of magnificent character actors: Thomas Mitchell (Diz Moore), Eugene Pallette (Chick McGann), Capra favorite Charles Lane (Nosey), Ruth Donnelly (Mrs. Emma Hopper), Astrid Allwyn (Susan Paine), and H. B. Warner (Senate majority leader). But leading this group are the always wonderful Beulah Bondi (Ma Smith) and Harry Carey (President of the Senate). Though their parts are small, you remember then. One only regrets that they are not on the screen for longer. Ms. Bondi would end up playing James Stewart's mother a total of five times (TCM article). This was the third outing in that role.

The film proved to be quite popular, though initially it was reviled by many U.S. Senators and by the Washington Press Corps. (WAMU article). Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkley described the film as "silly and stupid," adding that it made the Senate look like "a bunch of crooks." (U.S. Senate article). The film was also banned in Germany and Italy (they didn't like the fact that the film was about a democratic government, even a government that was having problems); however it did well in England, France (prior to the German invasion) and in the United States. Despite the jabs at journalists, the New York Times review was glowing, calling it "is one of the best shows of the year. "

 

The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences obviously agreed; it was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Picture, Actor (for James Stewart), Supporting Actor (for both Harry Carey and Claude Rains), Director, Art Direction,  Film Editing, Film Scoring, Sound Recording, and Original story (for which it won it's only Oscar). But, in 1939 the competition was fierce, and the juggernaut called Gone with the Wind pretty much swept the awards (winning 9 of the 14 for which it was nominated). Among the other Picture nominees were Dark Victory, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Ninotchka, Stagecoach, Wuthering Heights, and The Wizard of Oz!


The film was added to the National Film Registry in the Registry's first year, and has appeared on multiple AFI lists including: 100 Years, 100 Movies, 10th Anniversary (#26; and #29 on the Original List); the Heroes side of 100 Years, 100 Heroes and Villains (Jefferson Smith is #11) and 100 Years, 100 Cheers (where it is #5). It was even made into a television show with Fess Parker (it only lasted for one season in 1962-63). If you've never seen the film, please try and find a copy. It's certainly an essential. In the meantime, here is the trailer:

Barbara's Christmas

Assistant District Attorney John "Jack" Sargent (Fred MacMurray) knows how to get convictions. He knows that putting an attractive woman on trial for shoplifting a few days before Christmas is going to result in a not guilty verdict. When presented with such a case just before the holidays, he maneuvers to postpone the trial until the new year. Jack is about to take a long-promised vacation to visit his mother and aunt on their farm in Indiana. Thus, he feels sorry for defendant Lee Leander (Barbara Stanwyck), as his actions will force her to be incarcerated over Christmas and he bails her out of jail. When Jack discovers that she is from a town near his home own, he offers to bring Lee to visit her mother.  Remember the Night (1940) is the story of their journey.

I discussed Remember the Night four years ago after seeing it in a theatre, so I was pleased when our Movie Group decided to view it for the holidays. This is a lovely film, blending comedy and drama expertly. With a script by Preston Sturges, and direction by Mitchell Leisen, the movie glides along at a brisk, but engaging pace. This was Mr. Sturges last film in which he only provided the script (thereafter, he would direct his own screenplays), and Mr. Leisen cut the script, much to Mr. Sturges' dismay. (AFI catalog) That being said, it is hard to believe that a longer film would have been half as affective, or that Mr. Sturges' original concept of Jack would have been any better than the one we have today.

In the first of his four films with Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray is sympathetic and engaging as a serious lawyer with a big heart. According to this TCM article, Mr. Sturges originally conceived Jack as "almost heroic". Mr. Leisen, however, felt the focus of the film should be shifted slightly away from Jack, and from the "certain articulate quality" that he felt would not compliment Mr. MacMurray's abilities. Mr. Leisen's vision of "gentle strength" is what remains in the film, and Mr. MacMurray is perfect as a man whose emotions and goodness conflict with this part of his job.

Barbara Stanwyck sparkles a Lee, a woman who has been diminished by her mother and her upbringing (more on that later). She escaped to New York City, and ended up a shoplifter, stealing high-end jewelry to support herself. We know that she has tried to work - she mentions a job as a song plugger (like Jack, she can play the piano, but she is a far better pianist than him). But with no real job skills, and no self-esteem, Lee has become a self-fulfilling prophesy. It would be easy to make Lee either rock-hard or pitiable. Stanwyck does neither; her Lee is genuine. She doesn't like what she has become, but she knows nothing else. When she learns there is another way of life, she embraces it.

The film does a beautiful job in comparing and contrasting the upbringing of Jack and Lee, primarily through the characterizations of their mothers. On the one hand, we have Lee's Mother, expertly played by Georgia Caine as a cruel and unaffectionate woman who has no desire to be a mother to her child. On the other, we have Beulah Bondi as Mrs. Sargent - warm, loving, and understanding of her son, and of Lee. The children, both raised in small towns in Indiana by widowed mothers, both relatively poor, have turned out so drastically different because of their mothers' attitudes. But the film does not present a hopeless view - there is a road to redemption through love.

Georgia Caine has one scene in the film, but she is unforgettable.  Ms. Caine, the child of actors, began her career with a Shakespeare troup. By 1899, she was on Broadway - she had appeared in 28 plays and musicals by 1935, and was at one point called "the queen of Broadway musical comedy". She began her film career in 1930; by the time she retired, she had appeared in 86 films, many of them uncredited. Thanks to her appearance in Remember the Night, she became a part of Preston Sturges stock company, appearing in a total of 8 of his movies, including Hail, the Conquering Hero (1944), where she was the mother of Eddie Bracken. She was married twice - her second marriage to Alphonzo Bell Hudson lasted for 30 years. Ms. Caine died in 1964, at the age of 87. (For more on her life and career, check out Accustomed to her Face: Thirty-five Character Actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood by Axel Nissen).

The film would reappear in a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast in March, 1940 with Mr. MacMurray and Ms. Stanwyck reprising their roles.  In July, 1951 another radio broadcast from the Screen Director's Playhouse starred William Holden and Nancy Gates as the leads.  In May of 1955, television, in an episdode of Lux Video Theatre featured Don Defore and Jan Sterling. And finally, in 1969, Ms. Stanwyck's own The Big Valley had an episode - "Judgement in Heaven" (Season 1, Episode 15) with a plot remarkably like Remember the Night.

The New York Times review by Frank S. Nugent was glowing - he stated that, though it was "a bit too early in the season to be talking of the best pictures of 1940 [the picture was released in January] it is not too early to say that Paramount's nomination is worth considering." (It received no nominations, unfortunately).  Mr. Nugent praised not only our two stars, but also, Ms. Caine, Ms. Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson (as Jack's Aunt Emma) and Willard Robertson (as Lee's attorney, Francis X. O'Leary). He said "In a cast of such unusual competence the difficulty is not in finding players worthy of special mention but in being able to keep the list within a single paragraph." 

If that doesn't convince you, we'll leave you with the trailer from this exceptional motion picture. Happy Holidays!

Nurse Rosalind

We continue our investigation of the view of women in the medical professions with the biography of Sister Kenny (1946).  Elizabeth Kenny (Rosalind Russell) returns from nursing school to her parent's home in Brisbane, Australia, where she begins a career as a bush nurse.  It was a career urged on her by her mentor Dr. Aeneas McDonnell (Alexander Knox) and she finds satisfaction in work, though she intends to continue only until her fiance,  Kevin Connors (Dean Jagger) returns from the military.  Called to the bedside of a seriously ill child, she cables the symptoms to Dr. McDonnell, who responds with a horrible diagnosis - infantile paralysis (polio) and instructions to "treat the symptoms" as no other remedies exist.  Elizabeth does so, and the child fully recovers from the devastating illness - as do five other children likewise afflicted - much to the shock of Dr. McDonnell.  He determines that Elizabeth's treatment must be shared, but when Dr. Charles Brack (Philip Merivale), a leading orthopedist, ridicules and mocks her, Elizabeth determines to begin treating children with her method, regardless of the opinion of the "medical men" who despise her.

While the basic facts presented about Sister Kenny are accurate, by all accounts the story of her "great love," Kevin Connors, was fictitious.  Given all she had to go through to get her work taken seriously, it seems silly that Hollywood felt, that as a woman, she had to give up a man in order for her sacrifice to be truly important.  But, putting that aside, this is a sensitive and  well-acted enactment of work that possibly helped in the efforts to wipe out polio. 

Let's spend a moment talking about infantile paralysis.  When this film was released, it was only 17 months since the death of one of polio's most famous victims - Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Though many Americans were unaware that the disease had left the President in a wheelchair (in the 1930s and 1940s, reporters were willing to help conceal the President's condition), most realized he had been afflicted with the disease years earlier.  Polio, generally a disease of the summer months, affected everyone, regardless of race, creed, income and age,  (children were the primary targets; Roosevelt was 39 when he contracted it in 1921), and there was no way to prevent it.  It wasn't until the Salk and Sabin vaccines of the 1950s that polio could be prevented.  The result: a disease that is virtually unknown in the U.S. today. (I taught a class to junior high school students on doing medical/health research, and I would always ask them about polio. Most had never heard of it.)  For more information on polio, visit the PBS Whatever Happened to Polio? and this New York Times article on polio treatment.  An FYI - both Alan Alda and Martin Sheen, who contracted polio as children, credit the Kenny Method as the reason they can walk today.

Rosalind Russel is magnificent as Kenny, a role that was a labor of love for her.  She became friends with Sister Kenny because of her work with The League for Crippled Children.  Russell's youngster, Lance, was unable to walk, and on a visit to Russell's home, Kenny noted a spastic muscle.  Lance was admitted to the Kenny Institute in Minneapolis, and left able to walk (TCM article).  Sister Kenny was pleased at Rosalind Russell's involvement in the film, and Russell was eager to tell her story.  Though the film did not do well financially, it did earn Russell an Oscar nomination (she lost to Olivia de Havilland in To Each His Own).   Russell would say of Kenny: " If she hadn't gone stamping through the world, stirring people up, we'd have been a whole lot longer getting the Salk vaccine" (Naomi Rogers. Polio Wars: Sister Kenny and the Golden Age of American Medicine, 2013).  One more thing to note: Elizabeth Kenny was not a member of a religious order. In the UK and in Australia, "Sister" is a title given to a nurse manager.  It's a term that may disappear, according to this article in The Telegraph.

An interesting bit of trivia: in a brief hospital scene in the film, Ellen Corby appears as a scrubwoman. The performance is uncredited (but listed in the IMDB).  Years later, when Ms. Corby appeared as Grandma Walton on The Waltons, the Kenny Method is used to treat Olivia Walton (Michael Learned) in the first season episode "An Easter Story".

If there is one downside to the film, it is the fact that there are really no grey areas - Elizabeth Kenny is "good" and right, the most of doctors, like Brack are "bad" and wrong.  But as this biography of Elizabeth Kenny points out, two years after she established her first clinic in Townsville, more Kenny clinics opened in Brisbane.  While the more conservative medical community did not support her, there were physicians who did, and much earlier than we are led to believe in the film.  That "deliberate manufacture of emotional blacks and whites" is the main criticism of this New York Times review.

But, to our minds, what the Times saw as a major failing, we see as a quibble.  As the story of a notable woman, who dedicated her life to a cause she saw as important, we found this an excellent and moving film.  It makes you want to learn more about Sister Kenny and about the cause she was espousing.  As time has progressed, her therapeutic methods became the norm; thankfully, in the U.S., her clinics are no longer needed for the treatment of polio victims.  Today, the Kenny Clinic still exists, as the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, treating people with injuries and disabilities.

We'll leave you with a scene from the film, in which Sister Kenny faces down Dr. Brack. 

Dr. Ronald

Ronald Colman plays a physician with an interest in research in  Arrowsmith (1931).  Dr. Martin Arrowsmith (Colman) knows from early in his career that he wants to do big things.  He wants, he tells his mentor Dr. Max Gottleib (A.E. Anson) to cure cancer.  But when he meets and falls in love with Leora Tozer (Helen Hayes), Arrowsmith decides to set up a clinical practice in a rural area, where he can make some money to support what he hopes will be a growing family.  But research is in his blood, and he begins to work on a finding a cure for Black Leg Disease, a bovine infection that is decimating the area.  His success leads to an offer to join the prestigious McGurk Institute in New York City, where, he hopes, he can begin to cure the ills of mankind.

Based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith is a layered film, though drastically shortened from the novel.   Helen Hayes, whose wonderful portrayal of Leora gives us a strong but insecure woman, alleged that director John Ford excised much of the script in order to shorten the production time - she claimed that as he had promised to not drink during the filming, he was in a hurry to finish the film (this TCM article outlines the story that is included in her autobiography, My Life in Three Acts.  In John Ford: Hollywood's Old Master by Ronald L. Davis, the story is elaborated on to discuss in a bit more detail the affection that resulted between Hayes and Ford.)

In spite of Ford's alleged trimming of the plot, the film still retains a lot of depth and character development.  Martin Arrowsmith is carefully played by Colman, and he makes the relationship between Martin and Leora especially poignant before and after her miscarriage.  While Martin is always genuinely caring of her, once she loses their child and is told she will not be able to conceive again, his attentions shift more towards his work.  Is Arrowsmith afraid of losing Leora, or does he have problems confronting a life without the family for which he sacrificed his early career?  Having married a nurse, it would seem obvious that Leora would become a helpmeet in his research, but, with the exception of one scene, she does not.  In fact, there are no women scientists in this film (it is the 1930s, after all), and often the female characters are given short shrift.  But, regardless, the story and Colman's portrayal document a marriage that is loving, but tenuous at best.  John Ford: The Man and His Films by Tag Gallagher looks briefly at the marriage of Martin and Leora (but be aware, there are spoilers here).

In a brief role is Myrna Loy as Joyce Lanyon.  In the novel, the character of Joyce was much more substantial, and figured heavily in the conclusion of the story.  Though filmed in the pre-code era (see this commentary by my fellow blogger at Pre-code.com), this movie is remarkably tame.  There is a hint of attraction between Joyce and Martin (is there an affair? It's not clear.  In the book, there is some kissing, but nothing more), but the film does not dwell on any possible infidelity.  Still several years away from her breakthrough role in The Thin Man, Ms Loy was still being cast as the vamp or the exotic, so it is not surprising her part is so suspicious.  But even a brief appearance by Myrna Loy is welcome, and she does not disappoint. (For more information on the MPAA and the film, see this listing from the AFI Catalog).

In an even more brief appearance is Beulah Bondi as Leora's mother.  She has all of one scene, and gets to say very little.  Too bad, as Ms. Bondi is an asset to any film in which she appears.  Born in 1889, she began her career at age 7 in her hometown of Valparaiso, Indiana (playing Little Lord Fauntleroy!)  After receiving a master's degree in oratory at Valparaiso University, she began to get roles on Broadway (she would appear in 11 Broadway productions in her lifetime) in plays such as Street Scene and Rain (a part she would reprise in the screen version starring Joan Crawford). One of the first actresses to be nominated in the category of Best Supporting Actress (for her work in The Gorgeous Hussy) by AMPAS, she never won an Oscar (she was nominated one more time for Of Human Hearts).  Interestingly, she played the same character three times, over a span of 18 years, appearing in On Borrowed Time in the 1939 film, the 1953 Broadway production, and a 1957 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV version.  With 86 film and television credits (many of them named Granny or Mom), she is probably best remembered as James Stewart's loving mother in It's a Wonderful Life (though one of my favorite Beulah Bondi moments is her dance with Ginger Rogers in Vivacious Lady!).  Her final role, in a career of 49 years, would be an Emmy Award winning performance in The Waltons.  She died in 1981, at the age of 92.  This TCM tribute to Beulah Bondi is well worth a viewing:

It is important to mention the presence of Dr. Oliver Marchand, as played by actor Clarence Brooks.  Dr. Marchand is of African descent, and is treated by Drs. Arrowsmith and Sondelius (Richard Bennett) with respect and courtesy.  Though a small part, it is a remarkable one, given the time period.  Dr. Marchand is shown a competent doctor, concerned with in the health of his patients, with an understanding of Arrowsmith's need to check his research with a clinical trial.  Marchand is willing to have his patients serve as test subjects, as it means many who would other die will survive.  That a man of color in the 1930s was shown as a knowledgeable professional is something that should be noted.

One interesting aspect of the film is the need for Dr, Arrowsmith to prove his theory on the plague vaccine with a clinical trial.   The film gives us both a population who refuse to be "guinea pigs" (even though the serum may save some of their lives), and another population who willingly participates.  But, like Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940), the clinical trial is shown as something that prevents patients from receiving medication that will save their lives.  In the 21st Century, we have embraced the notion of the clinical trial, but in the era of heroic medicine, the clinical trial was seen as an unnecessary delay in delivering a cure.

We'll leave you with an early scene in the film in which Arrowsmith learns the joys of primary care medicine.

Barbara Goes to Court

The final film in the AFI Silver tribute to Barbara Stanwyck was Remember the Night (1940), certainly an appropriate film for the holiday season.  It's a few days before Christmas.  John [Jack] Sargent (Fred MacMurray), a New York City Assistant District Attorney has been requested by his boss to delay his vacation for one day, in order to prosecute a shoplifter.  It doesn't sound like it should be all that hard, but the DA knows that it is difficult to convict a woman, and Lee Leander (Barbara Stanwyck) is very much a woman.  Rather than deal with the holiday spirit of the jurors, John forces a delay to the trial, then feels guilty when he realizes Lee will have to spend the holidays in jail. He bails her out, then discovers she has no where to go. As she was brought up in Indiana, only a few miles away from Jack's family home, and her mother still resides there, Jack proposes he bring her with him for a visit to her family.  So, off they go, each intending to spend the holidays with his or her mother.

In the past, we've complained about films that don't seem to know if they are comedy, tragedy, or romance.  Remember the Night has a little bit of each, yet holds its course beautifully. The film starts in an almost comedic tone, building the humor until our couple is arrested for trespassing in a pasture (and theft.  Jack decided to milk a cow for a cup of milk).  However, once Jack and Lee reach Indiana, the mood of the film begins to change.  Our encounter with Lee's mother (Georgia Caine) and her cold husband, who will not even tell Jack his name, quickly reveals WHY Lee's life went wrong.  The mother, who's love and regard Lee still craves, despises her daughter, who is "just like her father."  Lee was forced out of her home as a young teen; she is still not welcome there, so Jack brings her to his family to spend the holiday.

The film now counterpoints the dark, almost evil tone of Lee's childhood home with that of Jack.  Like Lee's mother, Mrs. Sargent (Beulah Bondi) is a widow.  She raised John alone, but with love and encouragement.  We discover that there is much about the young lives of Jack and Lee that are similar:  like Lee, Jack once "borrowed" the egg money, but Jack's mother talked to him about it.  Lee's mother condemned her as a life-long thief.  It is that one difference - the attitude of the mothers towards their children that have shaped their adult lives.

Of course, this is a stellar cast.  Stanwyck is amazing as Lee.  Watch the scene where she absorbs the love in the Sargent house.  Her eyes display her amazement at the family's love and intimacy, and yearning for a similar memory.   MacMurray is quite convincing as Jack - one is even willing to overlook the fact that it is illegal for Lee to leave the state while out on bail, thanks to the honesty of MacMurray's portrayal.  And then there is the always magnificent Beulah Bondi.  Her character is all warmth and understanding - even when she has to do something unpleasant, her kindness shines through.  Will she accept Lee in the end? One suspects she will, and that one day in the near future Lee and Jack will be back home again in Indiana to stay.   A quick nod is also due to Sterling Holloway (Willie), who it turns out has a lovely singing voice.  Certainly, his quirky voice and appearance have always typecast him, but Willie is a character you look forward to visiting.

To supplement your enjoyment of this film, here is a posting from the Movie Morlocks blog, which talks a bit about the film's author, Preston Sturges.  As I mentioned, this film is full of the spirit of Christmas, but with a bit of humor thrown in.  With Christmas coming, why not give it a look?  In the meantime, here is a clip for your enjoyment:

Historical Joan

The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) is an unusual film, in that it feature Joan Crawford playing an historical person and is set in the 1820s and 1830s.  Never before, nor again, would Crawford tackle a period piece, which makes this a fascinating diversion.

Crawford plays Margaret "Peggy" O'Neal Timberlake Eaton, an innkeeper's daughter who becomes influential in the Andrew Jackson (Lionel Barrymore) White House, following her marriage to Secretary of War John Eaton (Franchot Tone).  Her common birth, her forthrightness, and her earlier marriage to John "Bow" Timberlake (Robert Taylor) make her an easy target for gossip.  And then there is her relationship with John Randolph (Melvyn Douglas). She loves him, he claims not to love her, but then he realizes too late that he does have feelings for her.

It's hard to imagine a studio other than MGM  being able to assemble this much talent in one movie. Besides the already mentioned Crawford, Tone, Taylor, and Douglas, we also have James Stewart  as "Rowdy" Dow,  Lionel Barrymore as Andrew Jackson, Beulah Bondi  as Rachel Jackson, Sidney Toler as Daniel Webster, and Louis Calhern as Sunderland.  With the exception of Crawford and Barrymore, the supporting actors have minimal screen time.  Certainly, Taylor and Stewart had not yet achieved the level of stardom that we are familiar with (Taylor's breakout in Camille was 4 months away, while Stewart would wait another 2 years before You Can't Take it With You.); yet Taylor gets second billing under Crawford, in spite of being in only about 1/3 of the film (no spoilers here; you have to watch the film to find out why).  We particularly enjoyed a scene in which Peggy and Bow are sewn into adjacent beds so there will be no hanky-panky.

Crawford's Peggy is very sweet; and also quite bright - she does the accounting for her father's inn, and she is shown as being quite savvy about business.  As always, Crawford creates a strong and feminine character (with the assistance of Adrian, in his creation of some spectacular period dresses).  Despite this, Crawford felt that the audience - always her career arbiter - did not like her in costume roles, and so she opted to not appear in an historical drama again.  This TCM article discusses the public reception - or lack thereof - of the film. 

The article also discusses the personal life of Lionel Barrymore in some detail.  Barrymore's severe arthritis had already become a problem.  He could still stand, though doing so was painful; walking was next to impossible.  He was also dealing with his wife's illness - an illness that would claim her life 4 months later.  Barrymore's relationship with the always wonderful Beulah Bondi - in her Oscar-nominated role - is warm and loving; acting as a counterpoint to the blustering, somewhat abrasive politician.  One particularly funny scene with Barrymore involved an unnamed character actress - the mother of one of the cabinet wives - who congratulates Jackson for his successful put-down of her daughter.

The character of John Randolph is, however, a frustrating one.  While his reluctance to become involved with a girl he'd known since she was a child is understandable, Randolph seems hell-bent on being unhappy, and making Peggy unhappy as well.  Even when it seems that love is within their grasp, he is unable to compromise to unite them.  Certainly, Jackson is equally to blame for Peggy's eventual unhappiness, but it's easier to blame Randolph, with his easy assumption that Peggy's beliefs should take second place to his own. It's not one of Douglas' better roles; a bit too angst-y for our taste.

We found it interesting that the author of the book The Gorgeous Hussy, Samuel Hopkins Adams, also wrote the book The Harvey Girls and the story Night Bus (which became It Happened One Night).  An article in the American Journal of Public Health discusses his career as a "journalist and muckraker".

Ms. Crawford was likely correct to eschew historical pictures after this. Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable film and worth viewing.

Joan Needs an Umbrella

1932's Rain most assuredly falls into the Pre-code era.  Ms. Crawford starts as the notorious Sadie Thompson, a woman with a shady past, who is traveling through the Pacific.  Trapped on Pago Pago with a reformer (Walter Huston as the creepy Alfred Davidson), his snooty wife (Beulah Bondi), and Sgt "Handsome" O'Hara (William Gargan), Sadie immediately befriends O'Hara.  But when O'Hara is placed in the brig, she finds herself under attack from the other hotel residents.  Davidson convinces the governor to deport Sadie on the next departing ship, which happens to be going to San Francisco. A terrified Sadie begs for a reprieve, but to no avail; instead she finds herself the latest victim of Davidson's reform efforts.

Nowadays, we would recognize Sadie as a victim of Stockholm Syndrome.   Rain does a good job of showing Sadie's transformation from good-time girl to missionary.  Frankly, we thought Crawford was GORGEOUS once the heavy Sadie makeup was stripped off to reveal her true face.  The reformed Sadie IS almost saintly in appearance, with her long-sleeve, flowing robe, while Davidson resembles something along the line of an old-testament prophet. Without giving too much away, the ending is jarring, and one that would not be permitted once the code was strictly enforced.  Here is the scene where Davidson goes to work to demoralize Sadie:
 
Beulah Bondi is just wonderful as the prissy Mrs. Davidson, a part she originated on Broadway; It is also nice to see Guy Kibbee as Joe Horn, the resident hotel owner. He is sympathetic to Sadie, but powerless, if he is to be allowed future residence in Pago Pago.

There is an excellent article on the TCM website that will give you some further insight into this interesting film.  We hope you will join us next week for another early Crawford.

Olivia Enters the Asylum

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.

Here, we see a trailer from the film:

Next time, our final Olivia picture.