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.

Peter Visits Arabia

Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) is working in the map division in the Arab Bureau in Cairo, when he was assigned by Mr. Dryden (Claude Rains) to evaluate Prince Faisal's (Alec Guinness) war against the Turks. Lawrence's interest in Arab culture and his eagerness to form a united Arabia impresses Faisal; when Lawrence comes up with a plan to cross the Nefud Desert with 50 men and attack the Turks in Aqaba, Faisal supports it. Lawrence's daring impresses his troops who make him one of their own -  Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

The recent TCM Presents: Fathom Events presentation of this film was a must-see. Jon Stewart was right - you have to see this movie wide-screen (and not on a cellphone!). The heat of the desert and the glare of the sun are visceral in the film - even in an air-conditioned theatre, you are hot and thirsty. With commentary by Ben Mankiewicz, this was an exceptional TCM Presents.

Albert Finney was originally approached for the lead role of T.E. Lawrence; he was even given an extensive, expensive screen test (costing £100,000), but Mr. Finney balked at a five-year contract with Sam Spiegel. (TCM article). At some point, Spiegel tried to interest Marlon Brando, but that raised a row in the U.K., and Brando pulled himself out of consideration (AFI Catalog). Anthony Perkins was also considered (but his appearance in Psycho made him less appealing to Spiegel).  Director David Lean was more interested in an unknown actor, and had seen Mr. O'Toole in The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960). Halfway through O'Toole's screen test, Mr. Lean stopped the cameras - "No use shooting another foot of film. The boy is Lawrence."

It is hard to imagine anyone but Peter O'Toole in the part. He embodies Lawrence, even resembling him a bit, as you can see from the photos below (though at 6'2", Mr. O'Toole would tower over the 5'5" Lawrence). Mr. O'Toole captures the whimsy as well as Lawrence's personal and emotional conflicts. Lawrence was born to unmarried parents (though his father was not an absentee one); he was well educated and lived fairly well, but he was also teased and tormented about his bastardy. In his book Hero: The Life & Legend of Lawrence of Arabia, Michael Korda states that Lawrence was tortured by the pleasure he found in pain. That he also took pleasure in killing is not discussed in this book - in fact, he was a vegetarian (PBS) who professed his gladness that "nothing had to be killed to feed us." His death on a motorbike was the result of his need for speed - he was probably going nearly 100 miles per hour. Mr. O'Toole did an interview for TCM about his work on the film here. His tale on the filming of the scene where Lawrence is given his white robes is fascinating.

Alain Delon was originally cast as Sherif Ali iben el Karish, but David Lean wanted Ali to have brown eyes, and Mr. Delon was unable to wear the contact lenses required to turn his blue eyes brown. So, they hired Maurice Ronet for the part - but his eyes were green. Director Lean, already in Jordan, asked to see photos of Arab actors - he was sent a photo of Omar Sharif, resulting in a collaboration that would result in Mr. Sharif getting the lead in Dr. Zhivago (1965). Mr. Sharif and Mr. O'Toole became great friends on the shoot, learning to do The Twist together; as a result of their dancing prowess,  Mr. O'Toole called Mr. Sharif "Cairo Fred" because "No one in the world is called Omar Sharif." Mr. Sharif won the Golden Globe for Supporting Actor for his work in this film.

The list of actors who almost appeared in the film is breathtaking - Cary Grant, David Niven, Gene Kelly, Kirk Douglas, Horst Buchholz were all considered or approached at one time or another. Even so, the list of actors in the cast is spectacular: Anthony Quinn (Auda Abu Tayi) is strong as a desert chiefan; Jack Hawkins (General Allenby) is both tough and sly as a British officer looking out for the best interests of his country; Alec Guinness is a cagey prince looking for the best deal for his nation; Anthony Quayle (Col. Harry Brighton) portrays an officer who cannot comprehend the man that is Lawrence; Jose Ferrer (Turkish bey) gives us a fiendish enemy to the Arab nation - and to Lawrence. Last, but by no means least, is the wonderful Claude Rains (Mr. Dryden), initially Lawrence's benefactor, but in the end, a pragmatic official using the best man at hand for the job.

Jackson Bentley (Arthur Kennedy) was to have been played by Edmund O'Brien, but he left three days into the shoot. Kennedy is excellent as an opportunistic reporter who builds his reputation - and Lawrence's - with the articles he publishes about the conflict. The character of Bentley is based on Lowell Thomas; the name of the character was changed because Mr. Thomas did not wish any association with the film (Beyond the Epic: The Life and Films of David Lean by Gene Phillips). Mr. Thomas would later state that "the only true things in it [the film] are the sand and the camels." Though initially friends, Lawrence became disillusioned with Thomas when Thomas toured with film footage he had shot of Lawrence in Arabia (PBS); Lawrence felt himself exploited, while Thomas claimed "[Lawrence] had a genius for backing into the limelight."

To say that you should see this film if you have not already done so is redundant. Though Bosley Crowther's New York Times review was unenthusiastic, it has since garnered much praise. Janet Maslin discussed the beauty of the movie when it was restored in 1989 (New York Times). It won 7 Oscars (Picture, Director, Cinematography, Art/Set Direction, Sound, Film Editing, and Score), and was nominated for 3 other (Actor: Peter O'Toole; Supporting Actor: Omar Sharif; Writing: Robert Bolt & Michael Wilson - Mr. Wilson's contributions were finally acknowledged in 1995). It also won best film awards from the Golden Globes and BAFTA, with David Lean taking the Director's Guild Award and Sam Spiegel winning the Producer's Guild Award.  It was added to the National Film Registry in 1991. It's also on five American Film Institute lists: #1 in the Ten Top Ten for Epic; #7 in the 100 Years, 100 Movies Anniversary Edition (#5 in the Original List); #3 in Film Scores; #23 in Thrills; #10 in Heroes.

Even if you can't see it on a big screen, do seek this remarkable film out. We'll leave you with the trailer to this amazing work of cinema:

Peter Swashbuckles to an Oscar Nomination

Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) works as a junior writer on the comedy series Comedy Cavalcade starring Stan "King" Kaiser (Joseph Bologna). He has a crush on K.C. Downing (Jessica Harper), but she's not interested. Benjy's life takes a dramatic change when a guest star on the show has to be minded, Benjy is required to keep an eye on Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), an actor famed for his swashbuckling roles, and his deep regard for alcohol and women. Benjy spends the next several days trying to keep Swann sober and out of trouble, while being tutored by Swann about life and love. This week, we'll discuss My Favorite Year (1982).

Allegedly based on Errol Flynn's appearance on Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows, this is a film chock-full of wonderful performances. However, the film rises and falls on Peter O'Toole, who he is wonderful as the conflicted actor. He manages to give the character just the right amount of pathos (his lack of interaction with his young daughter is a source of embarrassment and regret to him), but never wallows in it. Albert Finney was also considered for the part (AFI catalog).

This was Mr. O'Toole's seventh (of eight) Oscar nominations (he lost to Ben Kingsley in Gandhi). I suspect even Mr. O'Toole didn't expect to win this one - despite the fact that "dying is easy, comedy is hard" (attributed to Edmund Kean on his deathbed and repeated by Alan Swann), actors just don't win for comedies (TCM article). The role for which he should have won - T.E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia (you can see him discussing the film in this TCM commentary) - was released in the wrong year. Mr. O'Toole lost to Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird (and it's hard to argue that selection).  That he lost the Golden Man to Cliff Robertson (for Charly) the same year his co-star, Katharine Hepburn, won for The Lion in Winter, is doubly sad. He was enthralling as King Henry II, a role for which he'd been nominated four years earlier in Becket.  Ultimately, the Academy tried to make up for his record of most nominations by an actor without a win (Entertainment Weekly) by awarding him an honorary Oscar in 2002. You can see him accepting the Award here, (and let me just add how furious I am that the Academy no longer gives due credit to the Honorary Award winners, relegating them to a separate ceremony and allowing them no opportunity to share their win - usually one long overdue - with their fans and colleagues). Robert Osborne provides a very lovely overview of Mr. O'Toole's impressive here in this video which introduces an interview at the TCM film festival.

The film boasts an amazing ensemble of character actors.  Selma Diamond as Lil, the costume designer is a beyond funny, especially in her one scene with Mr. O'Toole (in which they discuss his presence in a Ladies Room. Her reaction to him is spot on). Ms. Diamond had been a comedy writer on Your Show of Shows and was the inspiration for Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show (Jewish Women's Archive).

While one spends a lot of time shaking one's head (and laughing) at Belle Steinberg Carroca (Lainie Kazan), it's clear that Alan Swann admires her honesty. They clearly like one another, and Swann is both impressed and humbled when Belle scolds him for avoiding his child. Ms. Kazan is over-the-top, as is Belle, so it works.

Many of the other characters are based on real people: Rookie Carroca (Ramon Sison) was based on a Filipino sailor that lived in Mr. Brooks Brooklyn neighborhood; Herb Lee (Basil Hoffman) resembled Neil Simon, a writer on Your Show of Shows; Benjy Stone is a combination of Mr. Brooks and Woody Allen; Boss Karl Rojeck (Cameron Mitchell) was Jimmy Hoffa (Mr. Brooks personally asked Mr. Mitchell to do the part while both were eating lunch at the MGM commissary); and of course, King Kaiser (the always excellent Joe Bologna) was Sid Caesar, The King of Comedy!

Make sure you take a look at the actress who dances with Alan Swann in the Stork Club - that's Gloria Stuart, 15 years before her Oscar-nominated performance in Titanic.  Adoph Green - the songwriter with partner Betty Comden of musicals like Bells are Ringing and Wonderful Town - appears as producer Leo Silver (based on Your Show of Shows producer Max Liebman). Mr. Green was himself nominated for two Oscars - screenwriting for The Band Wagon and It's Always Fair Weather.

So, was this really based on Errol Flynn's appearance on the Sid Caesar variety show? Two opinions seem to exist. According to this Los Angeles Times article, Flynn's appearance on the show was uneventful, and the writers had little interaction with him. However, in 1997, Brooks stated that "I was locked in the Waldorf Towers with Errol Flynn and two red-headed Cuban sisters" and that Flynn kept trying to get the 20 year old Brooks drunk (The Baltimore Sun; Ben Mankiewicz intro). Which is true? Who knows.

I was looking forward to viewing this film with my group; it's a favorite of mine, and I was expecting they would all like it. I was wrong. One person disliked it; one said it was okay, but no more than that. The other members really enjoyed it. It did do well on release - the opening weekend, it earned over $2 million. The New York Times review was quite positive. The story was remounted as a Broadway musical (with Lainie Kazan reprising her role) which didn't do particularly well - it only ran for 45 performances. Here is a trailer from the film and a suggestion to visit the films of the always impressive Peter O'Toole:

This post is part of the 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon, 2019.