National Classic Movie Day 2021

Welcome to our celebration of National Classic Movie Day for May 16, 2021. As part of a blogathon hosted by the Classic Film and TV Cafe, we're going to discuss six films - one from each decade beginning in 1920.  We hope you've seen these films.  If not, perhaps you'll consider giving them a viewing.  All are worth your time.

 

We'll start our discussion right at the beginning of our first decade with Way Down East (1920). Lillian Gish stars as Anna, an unwed mother who is thrown out of her home after becoming pregnant.  Following the death of her infant, she finds work as a servant girl and falls in love with David Bartlett (Richard Barthelmess), the son of her employer.  But gossip reaches the Bartlett farm about her past, causing her to flee out into the storm. What follows is a spectacular scene in which Ms. Gish gets trapped on an ice floe, while Mr. Barthelmess attempts to save her. The scene was actually filmed in the midst of a blizzard and Ms. Gish suffered hand pain for the rest of her life (TCM article).  You can see that scene below.  In the meantime, you get to see some fine acting and an engaging script.  It's a powerful film, primarily because of Ms. Gish's abilities. If you've never seen her in a silent film, this may be the one with which to start.

We'll go to the end of the 1930's for our next film. The Christmas rush over, Polly Parrish (Ginger Rogers) uses her lunch hour to begin job hunting; by Christmas Eve, she'll be unemployed again. She sees a woman abandoning a baby on the steps of an orphanage, and rushes over to make sure the baby doesn't fall - and is mistaken by the orphanage personnel for the mother.  Bachelor Mother (1939) changes Polly's world as she becomes tthe mother of a strange child, and is wooed by the scion of the department store for which she works. Ginger Rogers is delightful as the reluctant unwed mother. 

The beauty of this remarkable film is the way in which all around her treat Polly after discovering she has a child.  David Merlin (David Niven) wants to give her a permanent job; Polly's landlady, Mrs. Weiss (Ferike Boros) volunteers to take on baby-sitting duty, and David's father John Merlin (Charles Coburn) decides the baby is his grandchild. The film circumvents the code by showing sympathy to a mother on her own, by making that mother an adoptive one.  It's a remarkable and genuinely sweet film, and definitely worth viewing.  The trailer will give you a good idea of this lovely movie:

The 1940s was an especially difficult decade to nail down just one film, so I opted to go to the directing master Alfred Hitchcock, and discuss Notorious (1946), which for me is one of his often ignored masterpieces. Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), the daughter of a convicted German spy, is recruited by T. R. Devlin (Cary Grant) to spy on another suspected spy, Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains). Part of the beauty of this film is that Alicia is no innocent - she's been running with a fast crowd since her father's conviction, and knows exactly what comes with her mission, consenting to wed Sebastian to get the needed information. 

The combination of Grant and Bergman is intoxicating. Their's is not so much a love story as a lust story that grows despite the reluctance of the leading man. Mr. Grant makes Devlin a dark and angry man, who finds himself loving a woman he thinks is unworthy of him, only to find that she is a far better person than he. Claude Rains turns the tables on the viewer by making the audience actually sympathize with him, despite the fact that he is a Nazi spy and murderer. It's a world turned upside down, and the viewer is given a wild ride to a tense ending. The trailer will give you a look at this absorbing tale.

The role of women had changed as the 1940s ended, and the 1950s began.  Women who had left the home to work were now been forced back into the home.  In response, Emily Dunning Barringer, a physician in New York, wrote an autobiography about her years as an ambulance surgeon in 1902 (she was the first woman to hold this position). The film that was made of her book is The Girl in White (1952). It's possibly the only biography of a female physician, and gives a clear picture of the kinds of abuse that women who were entering the field had to face.  

June Allyson brings both innocence and strength to the young woman who is bucking the system.  Arthur Kennedy is good as her suitor, who originally wants her to give up her career and become the supportive wife and mother. Without going into detail, the ending of the film is an eye-opener, and not the traditional Hollywood fare.  If you've never seen this before, I strongly recommend it. This trailer will serve as an introduction.

 I had to think long and hard in selecting a representative film of the 1960s.  In keeping with my theme of strong women, I selected The Lion in Winter (1968). Katharine Hepburn is dynamic as the power-seeking Eleanor of Aquitaine; she won her third Oscar (tying with Barbra Streisand - the only time thus far the Actress category has resulted in a tie).

The interplay between Ms. Hepburn and Peter O'Toole is dynamic. Sure, the dialog is not period but they film crackles with superb lines. My favorite has got to be Ms. Hepburn musing on her marriage annulment from Louis VII of France: "Good, good Louis. If I'd managed sons for him instead of all those little girls, I'd still be stuck with being Queen of France and we should not have known each other. Such my angels is the role of sex in history." You can see that scene in this discussion of Ms. Hepburn's career by Anthony Hopkins

Peter O'Toole had a discussion about Ms. Hepburn with Robert Osborne which is available here.  He had approval rights for the film, and he wanted Ms. Hepburn. While there was a remake of the story in 2003, with Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close - both marvelous actors and favorites of mine - nothing can top the electricity between all the actors in the 1968 film. 

If you've not seen it - please get hold of a copy. I hope this trailer will serve as an encouragement.

As the 1960s gave rise to more violent films, I admit to not seeing many of the "greats" of the 1970s, so making a selection took some thought.  I decided on The Way We Were (1973). Again, a strong woman attempts to take on the world - or at least her part of it. 

Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand) is a college radical who falls in love - initially over her better judgement - with jock Hubbell Gardiner (Robert Redford).  When they meet again during World War II, their love for each other flames and they decide to marry.  But Hubbell's career takes them to Hollywood, where Katie's radical past becomes a threat to their future.

If there is one thing I regret about this film, it is the fact that a decision was made to cut a scene that explained the real reason for Hubbell and Katie's eventual divorce. You can see that scene and a few others in this excerpt from a documentary about the film. In my humble opinion, the inclusion of the one scene would have made an already great picture perfect.

I had my own personal connection to the movie - they filmed the scenes outside Katie's apartment a few blocks from where I lived in New York, and I got there just in time to see the trucks leave. Sigh.  But it was exciting to see the finished scenes in the film. You can actually see that location in this trailer from the film.

In conclusion, Happy National Classic Movie Day.  Please be sure to visit the other blogs that are posting for the day, and find out about some additional great films.

Ingrid's Bad Marriage

Following the murder of opera star Alice Alquist, her young niece Paula (Ingrid Bergman) is sent to Italy to live and work with Alice's dear friend and former voice teacher Maestro Guardi (Emil Rameau). Ten years later, Paula has fallen in love; her mentor encourages her to follow her heart. After some indecision, Paula elopes with Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer), whom she has known for a scant two weeks. Gregory confesses to Paula his desire to live in London, and Paula decides it is time to re-open her aunt's home and give Gregory his dream. That dream turns into a nightmare for Paula, as Gregory slowly and systematically begins to Gaslight (1944) her.

AFI Silver presented Gaslight as part of a program recognizing Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October).  If you've heard of the term "to gaslight," it originated with the 1938 stage play from which this play was adapted. Gaslighting is defined as " to attempt to make (someone) believe that he or she is going insane (as by subjecting that person to a series of experiences that have no rational explanation)" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). And if anyone is the personification of the gaslighted woman, it is Ingrid Bergman. With merely her eyes, and by changes in posture, Ms. Bergman is magnificent as a woman being continually cowed by the man that she loves. We first see Paula around the age of 12 - and you believe Ms. Bergman IS a child (it helps that she doesn't talk - director George Cukor knows that her voice would reveal her age, and so he lets her tell her story just with the stunned look on her face.  We then watch her become a woman who goes from independence to fearful dependence. It's a phenomenal performance, certainly worthy of the Oscar that was given to Ms. Bergman. (She was up against stellar competition: Claudette Colbert in Since You Went Away; Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington, Greer Garson in Mrs. Parkington; and Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity. Not a decision I want to make!) In an interview of the American Film Institute, Lynn Redgrave focused on Ms. Bergman's expert handling of this role.

Charles Boyer certainly makes a case for citing this film as one about domestic violence. Yes, his goal is to find the jewels that the late Alice Alquist hid somewhere in the house. But Boyer paints a picture of a man who likes the power that his manipulation is providing. When Paula finally rebels against him, Boyer initially cringes as he sees his control ebbing. But then his eyes change - he's discovered a better way to humiliate her; there is triumph, pleasure, and satisfaction in that look. Boyer, like Berman, can do much with just the briefest glint in the eyes. We know there is no reason for him to pull this subterfuge - all he needs to do is tell Paula he would like to prowl through Alice's costumes. But Boyer demonstrates that Anton's actions are about power over Paula and a revenge against Alice for complicating his life. On a personal note, Boyer's wife was pregnant with their only child during the filming of Gaslight. Though it was believed the child would be born after filming ended, Patricia Boyer delivered a few weeks early. The cast celebrated the event with champagne! (TCM articles)

Angela Lansbury, in her first film role (she also appeared as the older sister in National Velvet that same year), was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress. She is marvelous as Nancy Oliver, a servant girl, who has delusions of seducing the master of the house and supplanting her mistress. In the video below, she discusses her experiences on the film, including the celebration of her 18th birthday on the set. Nominated three times for the Oscar (including a nomination for The Manchurian Candidate, which is arguably her finest film performance), Ms Lansbury was not awarded an Academy Award until 2013 when she was (finally) given a Special Oscar. Though her film roles were varied, Ms. Lansbury's greatest impact was felt in the theatre. She currently has 5 Tonys to her credit, with an additional two nominees. She was also nominated 18 times (including TWELVE consecutive nominations for Murder She Wrote) for the Emmy Award. She was married for 54 years to Peter Shaw (until his death in 2003), and has two children. You can see Ms. Lansbury next year, as the Balloon Lady in the remake of Mary Poppins.
Joseph Cotten is also very good as Brian Cameron (in the stage play, the character was named Rough, and there was no romantic attraction between him and Mrs. Anton. In the American production, Angel Street, the part was played by Leo G. Carroll). Mr. Cotton brings just the right amount of gravitas to the role, but there is also a twinkle in his eye as he describes to Mrs. Anton his interest in her and her Aunt Alice. His interactions with Constable Williams (Tom Stevenson) are wonderful, as they converse about both the case and Nancy. And the scene in which he asks Lady Dalroy (Heather Thatcher) to seat him next to Mrs. Anton at dinner is wonderful. It is unclear as to whether he is attracted to Paula, or to the fact that she so much resembles her aunt. But, at the point at which Brian enters her life, Paula very much needs a friend, and Brian has already been shown to be a kind and sympathetic figure.

Is there anyone who can play dotty canniness like Dame May Whitty? The character of Miss Bessy Thwaites was an invention of the film (she's not in the play or the British film), and she is delightful, though a bit scary as a murder stalker. Sure, she adds a bit of comic relief, but multiple viewings help you realize that SHE is a key factor in Paula's marriage to Gregory. Had she not brought up Alice's murder on the train, would Paula have fallen so readily into Gregory's arms? True, she supplies valuable information to Brian about the goings on in the house, but on many levels it is disturbing that she knows so much ABOUT the Antons' lives.

The original play, Gas Light was produced on the West End in 1938; in 1941, it opened on Broadway as Angel Street, with Vincent Price as the Anton character (called Manningham in the play). I was lucky enough to see an excellent 2007 off-Broadway production by the Irish Repertory Company (you can see a review here). There was also a British film, called Gaslight (1940), starring  Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard. It is still available for viewing, despite an MGM's efforts to destroy all copies of the film. There have also been six teleplays of the story (see the AFI Catalog for a listing of the tv versions and their casts) and a 1946 radio version in which Ms. Bergman and Mr. Boyer reprized their roles.

Gaslight was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, winning two (the other was for Cedric Gibbons Art Direction). The other nominees were Best Picture, Best Actor (Charles Boyer; this was his third of four nominations. He never won), Best Writing, Best Black and White Cinematography, and of course, Ms. Lansbury's nomination. (Though not costume design. A shame - Irene's costuming work is impressive in the film).  In the AFI's 100 Years, 100 Thrills, Gaslight placed at #78. 

If you've never seen the film, treat yourself with a viewing (keep the lights on!). In the meantime, we'll leave you with this trailer.

We'll Alway Have Paris

It is the 75th Anniversary of Casablanca (1942) and to celebrate AFI Silver featured the film for several days. I've seen the film more times than I can count on television and home video; I've also seen it several times on a big screen, but when your friend tells you that she's NEVER seen the film, what can you do but go again? The opportunity to see the # 1 film on AFI's list of 100 Years, 100 Passions, not to mention #2 on the AFI 100 Years, 100 Films list with a neophyte is just too good to resist. It really is like getting to see the film AGAIN for the first time.

If you are like my friend, and have never seen Casablanca, a quick plot rundown is in order (then again, if you've never seen Casablanca, stop reading this blog, and go watch the movie!)  It's December 1941, and Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) owns a successful cafe and (illegal) casino in Casablanca. The cafe is inhabited primarily by refugees, trying to get to America. But, on the night when black marketeer Ugarte (Peter Lorre) is arrested for the murder of German couriers (they were carrying non-revocable letters of transit), Rick's past catches up with him, in the form of his lost love, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman).

It's likely that Casablanca is one of the most written about films in movie history - I know of four, one of which was just released: We'll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood's Most Beloved Movie by Noah Isenberg (2017); The Making of Casablanca: Bogart, Bergman, and World War II by Aljean Harmetz (2002), Casablanca: Behind the Scenes by Harlen Lebo and Julius Epstein (1992); and Casablanca: Script and Legend by Howard Koch (1995). As a result, it has a much storied history.

For example, the rumor (fed by a Hollywood Reporter news item) that Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan were to play Rick and Ilsa has been debunked by numerous sources (including Ms. Harmetz). Ms. Harmetz also clarifies the rumor that George Raft was offered the role - his name was suggested, however producer Hal Wallis wanted Humphrey Bogart. Ms. Harmetz also relates Paul Henried's (Victor Laslo) later antipathy for the part of Victor Laslo, and his disregard for Humphrey Bogart. He told the author in 1992 that "Mr. Bogie was nobody.... Before Casablanca he was nobody...he was a mediocre actor." To give him credit where credit is due, he had had a successful theatrical and film career in German before the rise of the Nazis, and had appeared on the New York stage as well.

Though Casablanca is really a fairly simple story of love and loss in time of war, what makes it unique and so thoroughly re-watchable is the dialogue. In AFI's list of  100 Years, 100 Quotes  for SIX of the 100 quotes, starting at #5 with "Here's looking at you, Kid."  The rest of this amazing list is: #20 - "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," #28 - "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'," #32 - "Round up the usual suspects, #43- "We'll always have Paris," and #67 - "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."  It doesn't include the lines like "I was misinformed" (see the clip at the end), or "Are my eyes really brown?" I could go on, but you get the point. Check out these TCM articles for some quote that did not make the film!

Some of the more clever lines are uttered by that master of delivery Claude Rains as Louis Renault. Both my friend and I love "Serves me right for not being musical," said when Louis discovers where Rick hid the letters of transit, or "I'm shocked, SHOCKED to find out that gambling is going on in here," as Louis collects his gambling winnings. As always, Mr. Rains is an amazing actor; it is hard to keep your eyes from him when he is working - even in his stillness there is wit shining through.

The other actor who is impressive (besides our key three players, of course) is Conrad Veidt  as Major Strasser. A star of German cinema (Veidt is perhaps best remembered from his amazing performance as the somnambulist in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)), Veidt left Germany in 1933. His wife was a Jew, and Veidt despised the Nazis. He emigrated first to England, then to the United States, where it seems that his most memorable roles were as Nazis (such as All Through the Night (1942) and Escape (1940)). He donated large sums of money to the war effort (TCM article); Veidt also required that, if he were cast as a Nazi, that character must be a villain (Casablanca: As Time Goes By: 50th Anniversary Commemorative by Frank Miller). Unfortunately, Mr. Veidt did not get a chance to escape from the Nazi typecasting - he died of a heart attack in 1943, shortly after he finished filming Above Suspicion.

Of course, Mr. Veidt was not the only refugee appearing in the film: Madeline LeBeau (Yvonne), S. Z. Sakall  (Carl), Peter Lorre, Marcel Dalio (Emil the Croupier), Helmut Dantine (Jan Brandel), and Paul Henreid were among the actors who escaped from German and the occupied nations to work in Hollywood. (AFI catalog)

In 1944, Casablanca won 3 Oscars in 1944 (Film, Michael Curtiz (Director), Adapted Screenplay (Julius and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch)) and was nominated for 6 others including Best Actor (Bogart), Supporting Actor (Rains), Score (Max Steiner), Editing, and Cinematography. It appears on several other AFI lists:AFI 100 Years, 100 Cheers at #32, AFI's top Heroes, with Rick Blaine at #4, and 100 Years, 100 Thrills at #37. But the true test of the film is watching it again and again (which I have). It's a picture which you decide you will watch JUST this one scene and end up watching the whole movie.  I'll leave you this this conversation between Rick and Louis, and another wonderful Rick quote:

Warner Loves Fay (and Ingrid)

Several months ago, we discussed a film with Warner Baxter, and decided we wanted to view another of his movies.  This week, we watched Adam Had Four Sons (1941), with Baxter as Adam Stoddard, Fay Wray as his wife Molly, and Ingrid Bergman as their governess, Emilie Gallatin. The action opens with the arrival of Emilie, a young woman from Europe, who is immediately accepted - and adored - by her four young charges, Jack (who will grow up to be Richard Denning), David (Johnny Downs), Chris (Robert Shaw) and Phillip (Charles Lind).  The story follows the hardships of this good family, and the woman who becomes an intrinsic part of it, through a stock market crash, the First World War, and interpersonal catastrophes.  Through it all, Adam, his four sons, and Emilie remain true to each other, despite the attempts of the world to break them apart.

The film emphasizes the strength of this family.  Despite everything, the brothers, their father, and even the adopted family member, Emilie, remain loyal to one another.  Torn apart by the world's events, they cope and regroup.  Even when one seemingly insurmountable outside force - Jack's wife, Hester, played with relish by Susan Hayward - tries to fracture the brothers, she cannot succeed.  It is interesting that their home is named Stonehenge,  symbolizing the durability and longevity of those that abide in the home. 

The film features several strong women characters.  Fay Wray's Molly is the heart of the family.  Meeting her, we understand WHY the boys are so good and loyal.  She is the epitome of the good wife and mother.  Yet, she is not cloying or ridiculous.  Ingrid Bergman's Emilie, the adopted mother, begins as a naive girl and grows into a powerful woman.  She comes to the family as an employee, is forced to leave because of Adam's sudden impoverishment, but returns, not as an employee, but as substitute for the mother the boys have lost.  This was only Bergman's fourth film in the United States, but you can already see her skills.  Cousin Phillipa (Helen Westley) is the traditional cagey old lady. She knows more than she says, hides her wisdom behind her relish for a good, stiff drink, but works for the good of her nephews.  Vance (played by June Lockhart) is another innocent.  The childhood sweetheart of Phillip, she does not waver in her love, even when Phillip is severely injured.  And then there is Hester.

Susan Hayward's Hester is quite the conniver.  She enters the story as the wife of David, but the audience knows immediately that she is up to no good.  Of course, while Emilie and Cousin Phillipa are also well aware that she is merely an opportunistic schemer, it takes the men a bit longer to catch on.  Hayward truly makes the part her own; she uses sly glances, and the most subtle of movements to convey who Hester really is beneath all the artifice, she makes you want to slap her silly!

Given the title, one would think this is a film about five men.  But, really, it isn't.  It is about a family, and the women in the family that help the men to remain true to themselves. Here, we see Emilie's return and the introduction of Hester: