Ronald Does Dickens

Banker Jarvis Lorry (Claude Gillingwater) meets with Lucie Manette (Elizabeth Allen) to inform her that her father, who she thought was dead, is alive. A prisoner in the Bastille in Paris for over 18 years, Dr. Manette (Henry B. Walthall) has almost lost his mind, but his love for his young daughter helps him to be "recalled to life". On a ship back to England, the Manettes meet Charles Darney (Donald Woods), who is, unbeknownst to them, is the nephew of the man who caused Dr. Manette's imprisonment, the Marquis St. Evremonde (Basil Rathbone).  Our film this week is the David O. Selznick production of Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities (1935).

David O' Selznick became famous for adapting novels for the screen (think Rebecca (1940), Gone With the Wind (1939), David Copperfield (1935), Anna Karenina (1935)). When working on Gone With the Wind, he was quoted as saying "the book is the law, the book is the Bible" (Film Adaptation and Its Discontents: From "Gone with the Wind" to "The Passion of the Christ" by Thomas Leitch), and with one small exception, this is true of A Tale of Two Cities. Based on the novel by Charles Dickens, the story paints a picture of Paris leading up to and during the Terror. 

The one big change from the novel was forced by the casting of Ronald Colman as Sydney Carton.  He is, of course, magnificent in the part; his mellifluous voice provides a perfect ending to the film, as Sydney tells us "It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." (it gives me chills very time I hear it). But Mr. Colman was adamant about one thing - he did not want to play both Sydney and Charles Darney. (AFI catalog).  Though Mr. Selznick was later quoted as saying Mr. Colman "had a dread of dual roles", Selznick would convince him two years later to perform in The Prisoner of Zenda as both the King and as Rudolf Rassendyll. Yet, the casting of two different actors works well, and makes Carton's efforts at the end of the story even more poignant.

It is fair to say that this is a film without any false performances. The supporting cast is excellent, featuring some of Hollywood's greatest character actors. Blanche Yurka, as Madame De Farge gives a frightening performance as a woman obsessed with the demise of the aristocracy. Notorious for her knitting skills, Madame is making a blanket with the coats of arms of all the aristos she plans to execute.  My friend noticed that Ms. Yurka was "throwing" her yarn in the English fashion (and in fact, was not really knitting - the needles never moved), which ended in a discussion about when would a knitter in France have knitted Continental style? The answer was in the early 19th Century (A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt), what we now call the continental style was introduced to the rest of Europe from Germany, so it is likely that, in the 1790s, Madame would indeed have thrown her yarn.

Madame is a good companion to Lucille La Verne as The Vengeance, an odious woman, equally maniacal in her desire to murder. Ms. La Verne was at one point in the running to play Madame De Farge, along with Judith Anderson, May Robson, and Emily Fitzroy. Two years later, Ms. La Verne would be the inspiration and voice for the Queen/Witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You can hear her doing that insane laugh in this film as well. 

Also outstanding is the always entertaining Edna May Oliver as Miss Pross. A determined lady whose life is devoted to the protection of her "Lady Bird," Lucie and Lucie's family, we know from the start that nothing will prevent Miss Pross from seeing the Manettes home to safety in England.  

Basil Rathbone has a relatively small part - that of the Marquis St. Evremonde. He is so totally despicable that you look forward to his eventual death. The only problem is that you don't get to see him any longer and he is so very good in the part, giving just the right amount of swagger and disregard to a horrible man.

Isabelle Jewell has a small but important part of a Seamstress swept up in the madness of the Terror. We see her once at trial, and then again in prison. She plays it well - though only introduced to the woman, you feel for her, and ultimately admire her courage.  Though director Jack Conway was convinced she would not fit the role, David Selznick disagreed, and insisted on testing her.  All parties were convinced by her test, and Ronald Colman got permission to give her the good news. (TCM article)

Colman portrayed Carton again on two Lux Radio Theatre  broadcasts, on 12 Jan 1942  (with Edna Best) and 18 Mar 1946, (with Heather Angel). Orson Welles took on the role for a 26 Mar 1945 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast. The story has been on film multiple times. There was a silent version in 1917; William Farnum played both Sydney and Charles.  In 1958, Dirk Bogarte appeared as Sydney; and a 1980 television movies featured Chris Sarandon as both Carton and Darnay. Two television  miniseries have also been produced - one in 1980 with Paul Shelley in the double role and a 1989 version with James Wilby as Carton.

The New York Times review by Andre Sennwald called the movie "a prodigally stirring production. . . .for more than two hours it crowds the screen with beauty and excitement. . ." We wholeheartedly agree, and leave you with a trailer:

Joan Gets Married

Stood up again by her philandering boyfriend, Sheridan "Sherry" Warren (Robert Montgomery), Marcia Townsend (Joan Crawford) resolves to never see him again. He convinces her to give him another chance, but it turns out to be another another night of Sherry's dalliances, and Marcia leaves. Realizing Sherry is about to lose her, he proposes, and against her own, and her grandmother Fanny Townsend (Edna May Oliver)'s better judgement, Marcia agrees to marry him. But Sherry is no more committed to monogamy than he was before the marriage, so Marcia decides it's time for No More Ladies (1935)

The positives of this film are the excellent cast - Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Franchot Tone, Edna May Oliver, Gail Patrick, Charlie Ruggles, Reginald Denny, and Joan Burfield aka Joan Fontaine (in her screen debut). The negative is it's an awful script. Based on a 1934 Broadway play, which starred Ruth Weston, Lucile Watson, and Melvyn Douglas, the film is long and ultimately boring. (Ms. Weston and Ms. Watson were originally supposed to reprise their roles in the film (AFI catalog)).

One major problem is the character of Sherry Warren. Sure, Mr. Montgomery is extremely attractive but Sherry is a womanizer, and everyone knows it. He's already broken up one marriage, he uses and dumps women regularly, so what Marcia could possibly see in him is never really clear. She's got the equally attractive Jim Salston (Franchot Tone) pursuing her, so why settle for a man who is never going to be a husband? Tis a mystery.

The actor that stands out in the film is Edna May Oliver. She gets the best lines and as always, has the most fantastic delivery. Born in 1883, Ms. Oliver was already on Broadway by 1916. By 1932, she had appeared in 11 musicals and dramas, including the original Show Boat (1927) in which she played Parthy Hawks. Her film career began in 1923; she would appear in 48 films, including A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) (for which she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress), David Copperfield (1935), and 3 films as amateur sleuth Hildegarde Withers. Quite frankly, she always managed to steal the film, even though her parts were usually supporting roles. She died at age 59 in 1942.

We always enjoy seeing Gail Patrick (Theresa German), but she's wasted in this film. She, however, was grateful for the part - she'd been suggested by Ms. Crawford, who looked after her on the set, having her own makeup man work with Ms. Patrick. (TCM article). Why Ms. Patrick is asked to sing and play the ukulele, is beyond our ken. She's a lovely woman and an excellent actress, but she can't sing (and her repertoire seems inappropriate for this society party).

Franchot Tone and Joan Crawford had already appeared in three of their seven films together, and were married the year this film was released. They only have a couple of scenes together, but even with that little screen time, they seem like a better match than Marcia and Sherry. Their marriage would last until 1939, but their (eventual) friendship lasted til the end of Mr. Tone's life, with Ms. Crawford caring for him when he was dying of lung cancer. 

Charlie Ruggles as Sherry's continually drunken friend Edgar Holden is amusing in the beginning, but the character begins to wear thin after a few scenes. And with the exception of one scene towards the middle of the film (when Edgar is someplace he's not supposed to be), it's a mystery why he is even there. The scriptwriter keeps trying to find ways of incorporating him into the action. All it does is slow the film down further. Arthur Treacher appears briefly as Lord Knowleton - whose unintelligible English accent is shown twice - then he speaks perfectly normally. The question again is why?

Since this is an MGM picture, we also have the benefit of outstanding set direction by Cedric Gibbons, and lovely costumes by Adrian. But it's not enough. The New York Times review by Andre Sennwald is dismissive "Out of the labors of the brigade of writers who tinkered with the screen play, there remain a sprinkling of nifties which make for moments of hilarity in an expanse of tedium and fake sophistication."  Sadly, we agree. So, unless you are a complete-ist for one the actors involved, this is one to pass on. Below is a clip from the beginning of the film.

Interlude: Lydia

As several members of our group were missing, we held off on our next Carole Lombard movie and instead watched Lydia, a little gem from 1941.  Told in flashback, the movie is the story of Lydia Macmillan (Merle Oberon), who was a much sought after belle in her youth, who became an unmarried philanthropist.  At a party celebrating her good works, she meets one of her youthful romances, Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick (Joseph Cotton).  The son of her grandmother's butler, Michael had once had hopes of marrying Lydia, but, alas, it was not to be, because Lydia lost her heart to Richard Mason (Alan Marshal), a cad who seduced our heroine and then abandoned her.  Michael throws a party for Lydia, and invites her three romances: Mason, Frank Audry (Hans Yarah), a blind composer, and Bob Willard (George Reeves), a college football hero.  All are present, except for Mason, and the party of four begin to reminisce about the past.

Ms. Oberon is lovely as the youthful Lydia, but her makeup in the old-age scenes is rather odd (the men look SO much better; so much more realistic). We all enjoyed seeing George Reeves as the egotistical Bob (his drunk scene is quite funny), and of course, Joseph Cotton is always a pleasure to watch.  We really could not understand WHY Lydia would prefer Richard to Michael.  Michael is much more appealing; Alan Marshal is rather a non-entity compared to the much more dynamic Cotton. Also fun to watch (always) was Edna May Oliver as Granny. From the minute she shows up, Ms. Oliver is a delight.

Released in 1941, in many ways this film is shocking, in that it discusses a woman who has a two-week affair with a man who is probably married, yet her only punishment is to be single. Then again, one assumes in 1941, that was a fate worse than death for most women. But one can't help but thinking that Lydia made a huge mistake in abandoning Michael, no matter how profound her life was as a philanthropist (heck, Michael would have let her do both, even in 1941).

Next time, we promise another Carole Lombard movie!!