Tyrone's on Trial

Ruta Lee, who appeared in the small role of Diana in Witness for the Prosecution (1957) spoke about her appearance in the film during the TCM Cruise.  Ms. Lee got the part when Arthur Hornblow, Jr. saw her at a Frank Sinatra night club appearance.  Hornblow approached her, and asked her to do a screen test; after which Marlene Dietrich (Christine Vole) insisted that her hair color be changed (so Ms. Lee became a brunette for the film).

Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton) has just returned home from hospital, with his nurse Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester) in tow, when he is approached by solicitor Mayhew (Henry Daniell) to possibly take on the defense of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power) who is about to be arrested for the murder of Emily Jane French (Norma Varden), a wealthy widow who Vole had befriended.  Sir Wilfred finally agrees to take on the case (over the objections of Miss Plimsoll), as he is convinced of Vole's innocence, and the barrister he intended to recommend is not (John Williams as Brogan-Moore).  Complications ensue in the form of Vole's wife, Christine.  Is she really trying to help her husband, or is she using the murder as a means of getting rid of him for good?

I've seen this film dozens of times on television; I always appreciated the humor that floats through this very serious story.  But, seeing it with an audience really impressed upon me how FUNNY it really is - especially the interplay between Charles Laughton and (his wife in real life) Elsa Lanchester, who acts as straight woman for his bon mots.  For example, when Miss Plimsoll checks Sir Wilfred's thermos (to verify no brandy is present), he counters her with "If you were a woman, Miss Plimsoll, I would strike you."  And when she informs him that she was engaged to a lawyer but he died, he responds, "He certainly was a lucky lawyer." But the humor would not work if the audience didn't sense the affection between Laughton and Lanchester, and they easily give you the sense (even before the ending of the film) that these two are now a team.

Based on a short story by Agatha Christie, Witness for the Prosecution was adapted by Ms. Christie as a play which opened on the West End (London) in 1953. David Horne starred as Sir Wilfred and Derek Blomfield appeared as Leonard Vole.  When the play moved to Broadway, Francis L. Sullivan took on the role of Sir Wilfred, with Gene Lyons as Vole.  The character of Miss Plimsoll does not exist in the stage version.

Only one member of the Broadway cast reprised her role in the film - Una O'Connor as Janet McKenzie, housekeeper to the murder victim.  Born in Ireland in 1880, Ms. O'Connor started her career on the stage, in both Ireland and England.  In 1911, she appeared in her first Broadway play (The Playboy of the Western World), and by 1929, she was appearing in films, first in the UK and then in Hollywood.  She's perhaps best remembered as Maid Marian's lady-in-waiting, Bess in The Adventures of Robin Hood, and as Reginald Gardiner's housekeeper in Christmas in Connecticut.    But, even while doing films, she still managed to squeeze in the theatre - she appeared in 11 Broadway plays and 64 films, and ventured into television in the 1950s.  She was 77 when she appeared in this film, and when it wrapped, she retired.  She died two years later.

This was also Tyrone Power's final film appearance. According to these TCM articles, Power was not the first choice for Leonard Vole - William Holden was.  Also considered were Gene Kelly, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, and Roger Moore.  Power, who had at first turned down the role, finally accepted; with this role came the part of Solomon in Solomon and Sheba, which Power started shooting on September 15th, 1958.  But on November 15th, after shooting a dueling sequence, Power complained of arm and chest pain.  Despite being rushed to the hospital, he died of a massive heart attack.

Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth were also considered for the role of Christine, and while Gardner very much wanted to do it, Billy Wilder wanted his friend Marlene Dietrich in the lead.  Without giving anything away (in case you've not seen it), it has often been said that Dietrich lost out on an Oscar nomination because of the secrecy about the film's ending. 

Finally, there is Charles Laughton.  Laughton was nominated for an Oscar for this role, but lost to Alec Guinness in The Bridge on the River Kwai.  Certainly, a notable performance, but my vote goes to Laughton.  A consummate actor, an impressive director (he directed once - the magnificent Night of the Hunter, and Robert Mitchum once claimed Laughton was his favorite director), Laughton won the Oscar once - for his role in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1934), and was nominated twice more - for this and for The Mutiny on the Bounty.  His performance here is layered and substantial.  He's funny, he's businesslike, he's subtle, he's passionate. All in all, his performance is special. 

These  notes from the AFI catalog go into some detail about the changes to the script, including, interestingly, the film's end.  The film got excellent reviews, as is evidenced by this New York Times review, and the AFI named it #6 in its list of Top 10 Courtroom Dramas.  All in all, this is an excellent film, only enhanced by being able to learn some of its history firsthand.

We'll close with this scene, in which Christine Vole is interviewed by Sir Wilfred: two actors at the top of their game.  Unlike her husband in an earlier scene, Christine takes no nonsense in her examination:


This posting is part of the Oscar Snubs Blogathon.

Myrna Gets Caught in the Rain

The arrival of Lady Edwina Esketh (Myrna Loy) and her husband, Lord Albert (Nigel Bruce) in Ranchipur, India creates problems when Edwina becomes attracted to the heir to the throne, Major Rama Safti (Tyrone Power). Though warned to stay away from Dr. Safti by her former lover, Tom Ransome (George Brent), Edwina continues her pursuit, but has the misfortune for fall in love with the handsome doctor.  However, everyone is threatened when The Rains Came (1939).

The Rains Came feels like it should be longer than it is; so much happens, the characters grow so much, that you think it must be of epic length, but director Clarence Brown packs an awful lot into a running time of 103 minutes. Like so many of the movies from 1939, this is both an exceptional film and one that is not always remembered because it had so much competition the year of its release (how do you get noticed when you are up against Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Ninotchka?). It was nominated for six Academy Awards (winning in the newly created Special Effects category), but none of the marvelous cast were even nominated for their work.

Let's start with Myrna Loy. She's cast against type (at least at this point in her career) as a harlot; there was some comment that she was not capable of playing the role (Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood by Emily W. Leider). It's clear that Edwina lived with Tom Ransome before her marriage, and that she left him. It's also quite clear that marriage is no barrier to her bedding any man that intrigues her, and that Major Safti very much intrigues her. While Marlene Dietrich was considered for the part (TCM notes), Fox head Darryl Zanuck eventually borrowed Ms. Loy from MGM (in exchange for Tyrone Power's appearance in Marie Antoinette (1938)). Mr. Zanuck didn't make her life easy, however - Ms. Loy had been under contract to him and he'd let her go; he apparently resented her success at MGM, and was blatantly nasty to her (TCM article). She found support from director Brown, who told her "I think you're giving the best performance of your career." And she is (though she would later outpace herself in The Best Years of Our Lives). She takes a character who starts as a caricature of an avaricious woman, and as the story progresses matures her into a living, breathing person.

George Brent was also borrowed (from Warner Brothers) for the part that was originally intended for Ronald Colman (AFI catalog). Like Ms. Loy, Tom is a careless individual - the son of a noble (and with the possibility of eventually inheriting the title). He's lazing in India, supposedly painting a portrait of the Maharaja (H.B.Warner), but never getting it done. He's got a (well-deserved) reputation as a roué, and is finally being tested both by the tragedy that strikes Ranchipur, as well as the love that the young Fern Simon (Brenda Joyce) feels for him. Mr. Brent does a good job of turning Tom into a grown-up, and makes it an interesting process to watch.

Tyrone Power is exceptional as Major Safti, a dedicated doctor who is next in line for the throne of Ranchipur. Both Charles Boyer and Ramon Novarro were considered for the part (Clarence Brown: Hollywood's Forgotten Master by Gwenda Young). That he is one of the most striking men on Earth doesn't hurt - when he is on screen, you can't take your eyes from him. In the hands of a lesser actor, Rama could be mere eye candy for Edwina to toy with; with a gifted actor like Mr. Power, we respond to him; he uses everything at his disposal to paint a picture of a man who is both attracted to and offended by this obvious - and careless - woman.

This is not just a film of stars. It is an ensemble with a host of gifted character actors. First and foremost is Maria Ouspenskaya (Maharani). An indomitable force, she too is hard to ignore on the screen. Playing a character who is a mix of Eastern and Western habits, she is a powerful woman who has both the strength and determination to lead her people. Born in Russia in 1876, Mme. Ouspenskaya acted with the Moscow Arts Theatre until 1922. While on a trip with the company to New York, she stayed behind, where she worked on Broadway (she ultimately would do 8 Broadway plays) and taught acting and ultimately founded (with Richard Boleslawski) the School of Dramatic Art. When money got tight, she moved to California and opened a dancing school. She also began appearing in films. She was nominated for the Oscar twice, for Dodsworth (1936, her first film), and for Love Affair (1939). She died as the result of a stroke, and a fire - the couch she was on caught fire from her cigarette.

Other notable cast members include Nigel Bruce as Lord Esketh, a totally reprehensible man, and an welcome change from the sweet, befuddled character he was usually forced to play; Jane Darwell as the common sense Aunt Phoebe, loathed by Mrs. Simon (Marjorie Rambeau as the snobby minister's wife), adored by Tom Ransome, and by her husband the Reverend Homer Smiley (Henry Travers as a good and loving man); Mary Nash as nurse Miss MacDaid, who despises Lady Esketh until she is forced to acknowledge her devotion to Rama and the injured of Ranchipur; and Joseph Schildkraut as Mr. Bannerjee, as Westernized India traumatized by the earthquake (and our question - what happened to Mr. Bannerjee??)

The weakest link in the film is probably Brenda Joyce as Fern Simon; she's not a compelling actress, and as a result the character is diminished by the strong performances around her. As a young girl who feels she is being choked by her parents, Ms. Joyce does project the necessary naivety required of Fern. Ms. Joyce worked primarily in B pictures; she succeeded Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane in the Tarzan series, working with Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker in that franchise. She retired in 1949 to raise her three children with husband Owen Ward (the marriage ended in divorce in 1960). She would later work in the Catholic Resettlement Office, assisting immigrants in their new country. She died in 2009 at the age of 92.

According to this article, which looks at the film (and its remake) in comparison to Louis Bromfield's 1938 novel, the novel focused on the effects of the catastrophe on all levels of Indian life. A Photoplay magazine, however, published an article in which Mr. Bromfield commented on the 1939 version of the film. Not surprisingly, given the venue, Mr. Bromfield praised the film.

As previously mentioned, the film was remade in 1955 as The Rains of Ranchipur with Lana Turner and Richard Burton, with a much different ending.  In March 1940, Lux Radio Theatre did a production, which featured George Brent, Kay Francis, and Don Ameche in the main roles.  The New York Times review by Frank Nugent was not satisfied with the film, calling it "the merest skeleton of the Bromfield work, and that not too well reassembled." When the film was included in TCM's Summer Under the Stars day devoted to George Brent, TCM host Dave Karger provided some commentary on the movie and on Mr. Brent.

Regardless of the review, this is a magnificent movie. Sure, it's a romance, but WHAT a romance! We wholeheartedly suggest you give it a viewing. In the meantime, here is the opening of film, with our introduction to Tom, Miss MacDaid, and Rama.

Tyrone Finds the True Meaning of Life

This year's TCM Cruise presented a number of films with Tyrone Power (which is never a hardship for me); not surprisingly, I saw them all.  The third night of the cruise featured The Razor's Edge (1946), based on W. Somerset Maugham's novel, and introduced by Alex Trebek and Robert Osborne, both huge fans of this excellent rendition.  (For those of you who liked the Bill Murray remake, sorry - I didn't care for it, and neither did the evening's hosts).

The story focuses on Larry Darrell (Power), He has physically survived the First World War, but is tormented by the death of a friend, who died saving Larry's life on the eve of the armistice.  Why, Larry wonders, should he live, when this man is dead, and what can he do with his life to make up for that death?  Larry's fiance, Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney) is sympathetic, and agrees that Larry should travel for a while, to try and find the answers to his questions.  But when, a year later, Larry is still determined to continue his quest, Isabel balks - she is not willing to live as an itinerant, with a husband who has no ambitions to anything but the life of a nomad.  So, they separate, only to be reunited years later, when both their lives - and the lives of their friends and relatives - have drastically changed.

This is a complex film, following the lives of a number of central characters over a period of nearly 15 years, all of whom are in some way related to Larry and Isabel.  The characters are real - with faults and flaws.  We admire Larry, but would find him impossible to live with.  We sympathize with Isabel, but gasp at her machinations.  It's a film of greys - there are almost no black and whites.

Elliot Templeton (Clifton Webb) is a prime example of a "grey" character.  Wealthy, selfish, and somewhat arrogant, Elliot is also generous and intrinsically good.  Late in the film, a priest characterizes Elliot as "a good man. His defects were on the surface, but he was generous of heart ...and kindly toward his fellow creatures."  That he is basically good is reflected in the fact that our narrator, Maugham (Herbert Marshall), actually likes Elliot (also calling him "kind and generous"), even though he feels that Elliot " has no friends, only acquaintances."  Elliot's wealth has allowed him to live his life in Europe, hobnobbing with the wealthy and noble, and to look with aghast at his much loved sister, Louisa (Lucile Watson), who has chosen to spend her life in the Midwest.  But, when his niece and nephew-in-law lose all their money in the Stock Market crash, it is Elliot who takes them in, and supports them and their children until they can get on their feet.  Webb paints a picture of a man whom you like in spite of yourself; he allows us to the see the inner Elliot.

Anne Baxter won her Academy Award for playing Sophie MacDonald, a loving wife and mother whose life is shattered after an automobile accident.  Other actresses were considered for the part (Susan Hayward, Betty Grable, Judy Garland, Anabel Shaw, Nancy Guild, and Bonita Granville, according to Ms. Baxter), but it is hard to imagine anyone else doing it.  The character of Sophie floats in and out of the story, as she does in the lives of the other characters.  Sophie's alcoholism becomes a major focus of the film, and it is Baxter's seering portrait of Sophie's problem that more than likely cinched the award for her.   While we sympathize with Sophie, Baxter is careful to make her unappealing in the latter half of the film - again, she is painted in grey tones.  And her alcoholism is not something that just appears because of the accident - early on, Sophie tells us that her husband Bob (Frank Latimore) doesn't like her to drink because of what it does to her.   Of course, Joseph Breen tried to get the alcoholism eliminated from the film - Darrel Zanuck refused to take it out, as essential to the story (for more on this and other casting issues see these AFI notes.)

Gene Tierney was not the first choice for Isabel.  Both Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Haviland were considered, as was Maureen O'Hara.  In her autobiography, 'Tis Herself, Ms O'Hara recalls that the deal was all but completed.  There was one proviso, however: producer Darrell Zanuck told her to keep quiet about her casting.  She didn't - she told her friend Linda Darnell - who was in a relationship with Zanuck at that point, unbeknownst to Ms. O'Hara - and Zanuck fired her later that day for blabbing.  Regardless of the fact she was not the first choice, Ms. Tierney shines (she was nominated for an Oscar - losing to Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce) as Isabel, and creates a character of dimension and layers.  As hideous as some of her actions are, even narrator Maugham cannot dislike her, nor in a sense can we do more than shake our heads at her selfishness.  According to this TCM article, Tyrone Power (newly back from his service in World War II), developed on crush on her.  She privately let him know that, though divorced from Oleg Cassini, she was seeing someone else - future president John Kennedy.  Though Tierney loved JFK deeply, it was not too be.  Kennedy was already looking towards his future in politics, and men married to divorcees just didn't get to be president in the 1940s.

Gray Maturin (John Payne) is the man who has loved Isabel for years, and who ends up married to her when Isabel is unwilling to wait for Larry.  It's interesting that his name is "Gray", because he is perhaps the only non-gray character in the film.  Gray is, in fact, the only really "good" person we meet.  He loves Isabel unquestioningly and he likes Larry, even though Larry is the competition.  It is Gray who has to interact with Sophie on the most critical day of her life - Payne gives us a man who is caring, but unable to do more than just sympathize.  Payne works hard to make Gray a complex, but not weak character;  he mostly succeeds, as we care about Gray and understand how deeply honorable he is. 

One other character of note is that of Miss Keith (played by Elsa Lanchester).  As the private secretary of the Princess Novemali, the part is tiny - at one point, we see her in the background of the action, but finally get to meet her at the film's end.  Like Gray, she is someone who is deeply good.  Though Lanchester only has this one brief scene with Tyrone Power, you will remember her.  Her Miss Keith is a woman of integrity in a world of mere surface.

In the discussion prior to the film, Robert Osborne cited one scene in the film that he thought one of the most beautiful on film.  You can see it below, as Isabel tries to seduce Larry, to keep him from going away again. A magnificent setting, and two of filmdom's most attractive people - this scene does shine.  

We'll be returning to more films from the festival in coming weeks (along with our regular conversations).