Guffy McGovern (Paul Douglas) is the foul-mouthed, angry manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team is in last place in the National League, and his players loathe him. Sports writer Fred Bayles (Keenan Wynn) hates him - Guffy got him fired from his announcing job with the team - and Bayles is doing his best to return the favor. Then, one evening, Guffy hears a voice, which tells him that, if he can refrain from blaspheming, there will be Angels in the Outfield (1951) to help his team to a pennant. When this film was suggested to the group, one of the members was reluctant to include it. She's not a baseball fan, and was sure the film would bore her. She later admitted that she enjoyed the film a lot. The beauty of this movie is that, if you are a baseball fan, the film resonates with the enjoyment of the game, and the passion of the fans. If you don't like baseball, it really doesn't matter. Guffy's journey is one that could be anyone - he's a man who has shifted his life into one of anger and misanthropy. The movie is about him searching for the joy that can be present in anyone's life. Baseball is just the jumping off place. Paul Douglas is excellent as this very conflicted man. From his first appearance, his portrayal makes apparent that his conflicts are very deep. He dislikes everyone - no one on his team is exempt from his fury, not even players like Saul Hellman (Bruce Bennett) who used to be his friend. It's not just that the Pirates aren't winning; Guffy is pushing them into loss. His antagonism results in so much stress that the players freeze, and are unable to get past their anxiety (much like we saw with Pat Pemberton in Pat and Mike). It's enjoyable to see Guffy gradually relax and relate to those around him; we see the man beneath the acrimony and find he can be a pretty nice person. Mr. Douglas was not the first choice for the part - originally, Clark Gable was to have played Guffy (AFI catalog).
While it is true that Janet Leigh (Jennifer Paige) is rather young to play Paul Douglas' love interest (Mr. Douglas was 20 years her senior), she is very convincing as the household hints reporter who is sent to the ballpark to do a human interest piece on the Pirates and McGovern. It's made quite clear that Jennifer has no knowledge of baseball, but she has an inquiring mind, and quickly absorbs the niceties of the game. Ms. Leigh was on the verge of marrying Tony Curtis when she was filming this picture. A photo of her being carried from the ball field by Pirate outfielder Ralph Kiner hit the newspapers, intimating a relationship between the two. Mr. Curtis was assured by Ms. Leigh that it was all a fabrication (Janet Leigh: A Biography by Michaelangelo Capua)
This was Donna Corcoran's (Bridget White) first screen appearance. She comes from screen stock - her siblings Hugh, Brian, Kelly, Noreen (Kelly on Bachelor Father), and Kevin (Moochie from Spin and Marty) were all actors. She's winning as the little girl who summons the angels to assist her beloved Pirates, and you can well believe the growing affection of the two adults for this winsome child. Ms. Corcoran had a brief acting career; by 1963 (at the age of 21) she had retired from television and film. There are several other performances of note. The always enjoyable Spring Byington (Sister Edwitha) is fun as the baseball-loving head of the orphanage. Lewis Stone (Arnold P. Hapgood) as a judge tasked with deciding Guffy's competence gets one satisfying segment. Keenan Wynn is appropriately despicable as a nasty sports writer. There are brief appearances by Ellen Corby (Sister Veronica) and Barbara Billingsley (Hat-check Girl); by Bing Crosby (an owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates (TCM article)), Joe DiMaggio, and Ty Cobb. But the standout in his small role is Bruce Bennett. His portrayal of Saul fairly oozes with the exhaustion of a man who is in his last season in a game he loves. Mr. Bennett doesn't often get strong parts, but this is one in which he makes the most of a minor, but crucial role.
Because the marketers thought the overseas market would not understand the word "outfield", the name of the film in Europe was The Angels and the Pirates. In April, 1953, Ms. Leigh and Ms. Corcoran reprized their roles on the Lux Radio Theatre (with George Murphy as Guffy). In his book Mr. Deeds Goes to Yankee Stadium: Baseball Films in the Capra Tradition, author Wes D. Gehring discusses the influence of Frank Capra on this film. And certainly this is true. There is a certain Capraesque quality to the film. The New York Timesreview was primarily positive (though the reviewer wanted the New York Giants to win. I can sympathize). In short, this is an amiable movie well worth watching. We'll leave you with the trailer.
Told in flashback after the death of Philip Bosinney (Robert Young), That Forsyte Woman (1949) introduces us to Irene Herenford Forsyte (Greer Garson). Irene's husband, Soames Forsyte (Errol Flynn) decided he wanted Irene as a wife - she was beautiful and dignified, and Soames is a man who gets what he wants. So, despite the fact that she is honest and tells him she does not love him, Soames cajoles her that love will come and she consents. But love does not come, primarily because Irene feels controlled by Soames: he picks her clothing, tells her where to go and when, and who to meet. For this Man of Property, Irene is one of his treasured possessions - she is a fine piece of art that he has purchased and now displays with pride. Irene's one joy is her relationship with her niece June (Janet Leigh), who is madly in love with architect Philip Bosinney. The problem - Irene is falling in love with Bosinney as well. This is an excellent film with a great deal of nuance. The script, which is taken carefully from John Galsworthy's first novel in The Forsyte Saga, The Man of Property, deals only with the marriage of Soames and Irene (whereas the 1967 and 2001 BBC series covered The Man of Property (1906), Indian Summer of a Forsyte (1918), In Chancery (1920), Awakening (1920) and To Let (1921), and A Modern Comedy (1928)). The story of Irene and Soames' marriage is fraught with problems in the novel - Irene has an affair with Philip, and Soames rapes Irene - issues the film could only suggest (or raise the ire of the censors!). But the hints are there; it only takes a little imagination to understand exactly what is going on.
Errol Flynn was borrowed from Warner Brothers to play Young Jolyon Forsyte (the role that ultimately went to Walter Pidgeon). (In exchange, Jack Warner got William Powell for Life with Father (AFI catalog). Once at MGM, Flynn refused to play young Jolyon. He was then offered the role of Bosinney; again he refused. Flynn wanted to play Soames - a drastic change from his usual swashbuckling roles (TCM article). MGM finally agreed, and Flynn gave an impressive performance as a man who is involved only with the financial value of everyone and everything in his life. Once finished with this film, he was back to Warners, again making westerns and swashbucklers. It's amusing that he ends up in the video of the MGM 25th Anniversary Lunch, chatting happily with Greer Garson. Jack Warner must have been furious! Greer Garson is intriging as a woman who is torn between an unhappy marriage and financial security. Irene is down to her last cent - she can only survive teaching piano, and her only client is her landlady. Soames' campaign to win her (he enlists the help of the landlady) catches her at a low point in her life and she succumbs. Likewise, Philip catches her as she begins to doubt her decision to marry Soames; it seems that her love for Philip really is a remembrance of the love she lost many years before. She comments that Philip is much like that idealist and untidy young man. Irene is a woman who wants to be strong, but often lets herself be led, against her better judgement.
Philip, however, comes off as thoughtless, at the least, and insincere at most. He pursues June when he first meets her; likewise, he is hot on the heels of Irene after their first encounter. We felt that, once Irene accedes to his advances, he will fall in love with someone else. We found it difficult to believe Philip, much less sympathize with him, he is so flighty. Janet Leigh is lovely as June. She plays a genuinely nice girl, who is blasted into anger by betrayal. The character certainly deserves better than Philip! Ms. Leigh literally burst into stardom after Norma Shearer saw her photo on her father's desk at the ski resort where he worked. Her first film, The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) starred her opposite MGM heartthrob Van Johnson, and she starred in a succession of films afterwards, including Little Women (1949), Holiday Affair (1949), Angels in the Outfield (1951), and Scaramouche (1952). But it was Psycho (1960) that most people remember today. Among my personal favorites is her performance in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). (In a recent discussion of the film, William Friedkin posited that Rosie is a double agent. I'm never going to watch that movie again in the same way!) Ms. Leigh was married 4 times, most famously to the father of her daughters Kelly and Jamie Lee, Tony Curtis (the marriage lasted 11 years). She wrote four books (two novels, a memoir, and a book about Psycho). By the 1960s, she was making frequent television appearances (including another of my favorite, the sadistic Miss Diketon in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode, The Concrete Overcoat Affair). She died in 2004, aged 77, three years after the death of her fourth husband, Robert Brandt - they had been married for 38 years.
This was the last filmed performance of Harry Davenport (Old Jolyon Forsyte), a remarkable character actor who is probably most remembered as Grandpa in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and Dr. Meade in Gone with the Wind (1939) [Two films would be released after this: Tell it to the Judge (1949) and Riding High (1950)]. The descendant of a long line of actors, Mr. Davenport began his career at the age of five (he was born in 1866). By 1894, he was appearing on Broadway. By 1934, he had appeared in 37 Broadway plays. His film career began in 1913; he transitioned from silents to talkies, and spent much of his sound film career playing kindly grandfathers and professional men. In 1913, he co-founded (with Eddie Foy) the Actors' Equity Association. When his marriage to his first wife ended after three years, he married actress Phyllis Rankin - they were together for 33 years, until her death in 1934. They had three children together (Harry also had a daughter with his first wife, and Phyllis had a son - who would become the father of Arthur Rankin, Jr.). Mr. Davenport died of a heart attack in 1949, at the age of 83 - he was in the process of securing a new screen role when he died.
With exquisite costumes by Walter Plunkett (for the women) and Valles (for the men), lush technicolor photography by Joseph Ruttenberg, and art direction by Cedric Gibbons and Daniel Cathcart, this is a truly beautiful film. While the New York Timesreview was not kind to anyone but Ms. Garson, we enjoyed the film immensely. (It opened at Radio City Music Hall - definitely a prestige venue!). We'll leave you with the trailer, for a quick look at this lovely film.
The Movie Night Group had the wonderful opportunity to join Robert Osborne and Angela Lansbury for a screening of the 1962 The Manchurian Candidate
in New York City. Like most of the attendees, we had never seen this
film on a big screen, and what a knockout. The story of a Korean war
troup that is kidnapped by the enemy, with one member programmed to be a
stone-cold killer, it features outstanding performances by Frank
Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, and Angela Lansbury. As Ms.
Lansbury pointed out in the introduction, none of the actors was afraid
to look bad, and all (except Ms. Leigh) have scenes in which the tension
and horror of the movie is reflected in their face. In particular is a
scene towards the end of the film in which Ms. Lansbury's face seems
distorted, bloated, and truly ugly (if one could believe that!).
If you have never seen The Manchurian Candidate (big
screen or small), it is one that you owe to yourself. It has a script
that will keep you on the edge of your seat til the conclusion. However,
if you have seen it before, you will see new things with each new
viewing. On our way out of the theatre, we heard a woman mentioning that
she had seen the film before, but this time noticed the constant
references to Abraham Lincoln (something I don't believe I had picked up
on during my many small screen viewings).
So thanks again to TCM
for a remarkable opportunity to see classic movies the way they should
be seen. And thanks too, to Mr. Osborne and Ms. Lansbury for sharing
their insight into the film with an eager audience. For those of you who have never seen this magnificent film, here is the trailer (there is another scene on YouTube, but it gives away too much of the ending. We'll put that at the bottom. DON'T watch it if you are new to the movie)
More Joan Crawford
soon, but we felt our "readers" might like to join us for a few minutes
at the special event.
