Barbara Gives Up Everything

Barbara Stanwyck desperately wanted to play Stella Dallas (1937), despite the fact it that it would be the hardest part she had played up til that point.  In Victoria Wilson's epic biography of Stanwyck, A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940, the author goes into some detail on Stanwyck's remarkable performance as Stella Martin Dallas and Stanwyck's efforts to get the job.  Stella is a working class girl, who lives in the small factory town of Millhampton, Massachusetts.  She is attracted to the new man in town, Stephen Dallas (John Boles), the son of a wealthy family.  His money lost, his father dead, Stephen has escaped to Millhampton, to take a job and try to put his life back together.  In doing so, he has abandoned his fiancée, Helen (Barbara O'Neil).  Stella and Stephen date, eventually marrying.  At first, she says she is eager to become like him, but after a year of trying to live his life, she wants more fun, with the people she understands.  However, the Dallases now have a little girl, Laurel (who will grow up to be Anne Shirley), and though Stella and Stephen bicker constantly, they agree on one thing - Laurel is the center of their world.

It's interesting that the studio originally wanted Ruth Chatterton for the part, and it is not unlikely casting - she had done a similar role in Frisco Jenny.  But Stanwyck IS Stella Dallas.  She takes a woman who could become unappealing and ridiculous and creates a character with appeal and sympathy.  Her Stella is a lonely woman, stuck between two worlds, unable to find her place in either of them. Her only pleasure is her child, for whom she will devote her life, and for whom she wants the best things in life - the life that ultimately only Laurel's father can give her.

 

Also excellent is Anne Shirley as Laurel.  Shirley gives us a portrait of a girl who dearly loves her mother, and while she doesn't have her mother's same way of dressing, she sees nothing odd about this woman who is a fashion nightmare.  It isn't until she hears others ridiculing her mother that she realizes how outlandish her mother appears.  Laurel's desire to whisk her mother away from these people is a mix of embarrassment and the desire to protect Stella from hurt.  Even when Laurel believes that her mother doesn't want her around, there is still a deep love on the child's part.  In her heart, she knows that Stella will never reject her.  Interestingly, the studio originally wanted Bonita Granville for the role, but she was deemed too young for the older Stella. 

Another impressive performance is that of Barbara O'Neil; her character is so idealized - the perfect society woman, perfect spouse, perfect mother - that it would be easy to just make her a caricature, but O'Neil carefully makes Helen genuine and sympathetic.  The scene between her and Stanwyck is magnificent, each accomplishing communication with their eyes and body that hearkens back to the silent era, but still retains the subtlety of the conversation.  It's a truly heartbreaking scene.

We can't forget the men - especially John Boles, who is also not afraid of making Stephen a bit unattractive.  Though Stephen tells Stella not to change, ultimately, that is what he is trying to force her to do.  And while we may not agree with Stella's wardrobe or attitudes, she is correct in her comment to him that SHE is the one who always has to change, not him.  And though this is not a pre-code film, there is the slightest implication that he is living with Helen while still married to Stella. 

Alan Hale as Ed Munn creates a character that is a companion to Stella, but clearly not a romantic interest.  Where Stella is over-the-top in her garb and attitudes, Ed is crude, foolish, and finally, a drunk (Stella, interestingly, never drinks).  We can't really like Ed - Hale doesn't let us, and with good reason - we need to understand why Stella will never be with him.  This TCM article comments briefly on Hale's outstanding performance.

Costumes for this film were by Omar Kiam, and he does a good job of defining the characters of Stella and Laurel through their dress.  The story was reprised by Ms. Stanwyck, Mr. Boles, Ms. Shirley, and Ms. O'Neil on the Lux Radio Theatre in October of 1937. 

I also wanted to bring to your attention this excellent salute of Stanwyck by Laura Dern, in which she comments that this is "one of the great performances of all time".  Be aware (if you've not seen the film before) that you WILL see the conclusion in this clip.  If you've seen the film, it will provide a reminder of how stunning Stanwyck is as Stella's story concludes.

We will leave you with the film's opening.  Next time, more Stanwyck! 

Peeping James

TCM Fathom Event recently aired the magnificent Rear Window (1954), and we were quite delighted to be able to attend.  Starring James Stewart as L. B. "Jeff" Jeffries and Grace Kelly as Lisa Carol Fremont, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and with a supporting cast to die for, this is  unarguably a Hitchcock masterpiece.  For those unfamiliar with the plot, here's a brief rundown of the premise.  Jeff Jeffries, a highly regarded international photographer has been laid up for 5 weeks in a cast up to his hip, having broken his leg trying to get a photo of a race car in action (he got the picture).  During a hot New York summer (it's the 1950s - there's no in-home air-conditioning), with one week of immobility left (stuck in a walk-up apartment he's not left since his injury), Jeff is bored, so he stares out his window, peering into the lives of his neighbors.  He's got nicknames for all of them, and he imagines their life stories from his "rear window" view.  Then, one hot night, as he dozes in his wheelchair, he thinks he sees a murder.

Some years ago, I attended a class on Hitchcock's film.  The class was taught by Donald Spoto, author of many books about Hollywood, but most especially, the author of The Art of Alfred Hitchcock. One of the points he made was that, as Jeff looks into the windows of his neighbors, what he sees are alternate versions of his own life and that of Lisa, the woman he loves (but is determined NOT to marry).  He sees a pair of newlyweds, a satisfied older couple doting on a beloved dog, a couple who bicker constantly (with Raymond Burr as the husband, Lars Thorwald), a lonely middle-aged woman (Judith Evelyn as "Miss Lonely Hearts"), a young woman surrounded by suitors, and a composer (played by Ross Bagdasarian), who can't seem to get his work noticed.  Which life will Jeff get? We'll never know (hopefully not the Raymond Burr thread!), but Lisa has own ideas, and is a pretty determined lady!

I don't think there is a movie on earth that has Thelma Ritter (Stella) in it that is bad.  Her very presence moves the film up a notch, in my humble opinion.  Ritter's part was not in the original short story by Cornell Woolrich (neither was Grace Kelly's), and according to one of the TCM articles you'll find here, Ritter's part was enlarged after the initial script was completed to provide some humor and humanity to the part of Jeff.  The film needed, according to writer John Michael Hayes, some comedy to get the audience immediately engaged with the character.  He knew that Hitchcock had cast Ritter, and there is no better mouthpiece for the human condition than the phenomenal Thelma Ritter. 

And then there is the other lady in Jeff's life, the ever-glorious Grace Kelly.  A woman of jaw-dropping beauty, Hitchcock, perhaps more than any other director, was able to make her a woman of parts - beautiful, fashionable, smart, daring, passionate.  Her Lisa is unexpected - Jeff leads us to expect she is only a fashionplate - interested in clothing and nothing else.  And while her entrance - twirling around the room in a dress that I would give my eye-teeth for - seems to support that, it isn't long before we realize that Jeff is an idiot - as Stella told him - Lisa is a jewel beyond price.

 

Seeing Rear Window in a theatre is a treat beyond compare.  While it is good on a television, it's even more magnificent when you can see the framing the way Hitchcock meant it to be seen. Filmed in wide-screen and Technicolor, the movie still manages to convey the claustrophobic atmosphere that has become Jeff's life, as he goes from a boundless world, to a confined, one-room apartment.  It is a film you can see again and again, and each time see something new and exciting.

Grace Kelly's marvelous wardrobe was designed by Edith Head.  Every one of her dresses is glorious, but I'm going to leave you with a clip that contains my personal favorite dress.  Meet Lisa Carole Freemont!:

Barbara Wants an Inheritance

We return to the work of one of our favorite actresses, Barbara Stanwyck, in The Man With a Cloak (1951).  Ms. Stanwyck plays Lorna Bounty, a former actress who now serves as the housekeeper and mistress of M. Thevenet (Louis Calhern), a wealthy reprobate who is close to death.  Lorna and her associates  (Mrs. Flynn, played by Margaret Wycherly and Martin, played by Joe DeSantis) are impatiently waiting for Thevenet die, so they can lay claim to his fortune.  Unfortunately for them, the arrival of his grandson's fiancee, Madeline Minot (Leslie Caron) appears to be throwing their plans into a cocked hat.  So, when they try to prevent her from seeing the old man, Madeline seeks help from a stranger, Mr. Dupin (Joseph Cotten), a hard drinking reprobate, who thinks nothing of bilking the local tavern owner, Flaherty (Jim Backus) of his liquor. 

 

Barbara Stanwyck is just magnificent as Lorna Bounty.  She is gorgeous, sexy, and marvelously evil.  Her dislike of Thevenet shines from her eyes, yet she is like a cobra - her eyes draw you in, even as you realize she is going to bite you.  It's amazing that she was given second billing to Joseph Cotton, because, good as he is, SHE is the picture.  And her character is so much smarter than the others in the house.  It's hard not to admire Lorna, Stanwyck is that good.  This commentary from TCM doesn't agree with us.  They feel that she "doesn't quite succeed".  We beg to differ (caution - we're going to avoid revealing the ending, in case you've not seen the film.  The TCM article does have spoilers).

The costumes are by Walter Plunkett, and he does Ms. Stanwyck proud.  Her gowns are  lovely and lavish, appropriate for the way Lorna Bounty sees herself.  Plunkett was a gifted designer who worked in films such as Alice Adams, Adam's Rib, and a little movie called Gone With the Wind.  He worked steadily until his retirement in 1966; he died in 1982, aged 79. 

The Man With a Cloak was released only a few months after Leslie Caron's introduction to American film in An American in Paris. Ms. Caron does not dance here; she is quite effective as the innocent, thrown headlong into a world she does not understand.  Ms. Caron would continue her career, both during her years at MGM, and after, going from musicals to dramas and comedies.  She still continues working in film, has appeared on the Paris stage in Sondheim's A Little Night Music, and has written her autobiography, Thank Heaven.  For many years, she owned a bed and breakfast in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne.  She also has the distinction of having danced with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Rudolf Nureyev.  It's easy to class her only as a dancer, and forget that her dramatic work far outweighs her musical films.

Louis Calhern's performance as Thevenet is also spot-on.  He creates a character who is known to be disreputable, but Calhern is able to make him somewhat sympathetic.  A portion of Calhern's performance is silent, hearkening back to his beginnings in film, and his roots stand him in good stead.  A remarkable actor, with an exceptional career, he had already appeared in The Gorgeous Hussy, Frisco Jenny, and The Magnificent Yankee.  Still to come were wonderful performances in Executive Suite, Julius Caesar, and High Society - his final film.  He died in 1956 of a heart attack on the set of Teahouse of the August Moon.

Is this a great film? Probably not, but it is enjoyable, with a cast worth watching, and performances that are notable.  We leave you with a trailer from the film.  It is worth a look:

Ann's Apples

Eve Knew Her Apples (1945) tells the story of radio singer Eve Porter (Ann Miller).  Eve's managers have been pushing her hard; she's tired and she has finally put her foot down, demanding a three month vacation.  Her radio sponsor is willing; her managers (Steve and George) are not, and her fiance Walter W. Walters II (played by John Eldredge) is a weak jerk who agrees with the managers.  So, when Steve and George  follow her to her vacation spot, and announce she'll need to leave immediately, to star in a new film.  Eve bolts, hides in a car, and next thing you know she is on a road trip with reporter Ward Williams (William Wright) who thinks she is the Singing Murderess (and hopes to get a story and the reward).

As it happens, the film is a musical remake of It Happened One Night.  Two episodes are taken word-for-word from the original: a scene in which a rather obnoxious man wants to turn Eve in for the reward, and Ward convinces him that Ward is a mobster who's kidnapped Eve; and a very late scene in which Ward goes to one of Eve's managers for reimbursement for the trip.  Like most films in which the original is so well known and loved, it is hard to watch it and appreciate it in a vacuum.  You end up comparing it to the original, and of course, the remake suffers by comparison.  But, with an 11 year gap between the two pictures, it is unlikely that the average viewer made that fatal comparison. 

 

It's worth noting that Ann Miller dances not ONE step in the film.  Her lovely singing voice is used to good advantage, but her legs are not (we don't even have the famous hitchhiking scene.  Perhaps it was felt that was TOO familiar).  She's quite good as an actress, and her Eve is endearing.  It's actually rather nice to see Ms. Miller as purely an actress, rather than as a expert dancer (which she was - and gloriously so).  

Though we had seen William Wright before (he played Scott in A Night to Remember), we didn't remember him. He's quite funny as Ward, but it's hard to not compare him to Clark Gable, and frankly, he is no Gable. He began his film career in 1936, and often worked in small roles, with larger roles coming during the war years. He died in 1949, age 38, of cancer.  When he was cast in this film, he had already done three films with Miller; in two of them he was her leading man.  This TCM article provides more detail on Wright and Ann Miller. 

A quick note on John Eldredge.  As children who grew up on The Adventures of Superman, it was enjoyable to see this actor who was an occasional guest star (as a villain).  Another actor with a long supporting career, he was a handsome man who was not quite leading man material.  He easily segued into television, though his career there was not long - he died in 1961 of a heart attack.

Since we can't show you the wonder Ms. Miller dancing, we'll leave you with her singing "I'll Remember April".  She has a lovely voice, and it's a nice way to say goodbye to this little film.

 

Rita's on Broadway

We see a suicide note.  Charles Engle (John Qualen) has decided to end his life after his wife runs off with another man, taking with her $3,000 Engle embezzled from his employer.  His boss, Mr. Hopper (George Watts), tells him he has until 6am to retrieve the money and return it. So, Charles goes out to jump in the river, but the police by the waterfront scare him into away from the pier and into The Pigeon Club.  In his ennui, Charles throws what money he has around, raising a number of eyebrows, including those of an unusual trio.  Bill O'Brien (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), in some senses the narrator of the film, is a con man who hopes to make a bit of money off this new mark.   Nina Barona (Rita Hayworth), is a would-be performer looking for someone to cast her in a stage play, or provide a few bucks til she finds a producer.  Gene Gibbons (Thomas Mitchell) is a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright who has just had a play fail miserably, and his girlfriend leave him; he would like to find an angel for his next play, and he thinks Charles is the answer.  So begins Angels Over Broadway (1940).

Angels Over Broadway shows great promise as it opens; it is witty and interesting.  Even the double meaning of the title - the Broadway "angel" (or financier) being sought by all three of our characters, framed in comparison to the angelic deed that the three agree to perform in order to save Charles' life - shows imagination.  By the end, however, the plot begins to implode, and we felt that the writers just didn't know how to end it.  Some of the plots just seem to stop (Gene Gibbons, for example), and the ending given to Nina and Bill has an artificial feel to it.  It's too bad, really, because there are some great characters that showed a lot of promise.

We particularly enjoyed Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.'s small time con man.  He's properly smarmy, but is also attractive. Fairbanks is always a dynamic actor, and he tries hard to make his character realistic.  But, there are problems even a talented actor can't overcome.  For example, though he and Nina bicker, and he denies an attraction, he seems protective of her.  But there is little chemistry between him and Rita Hayworth, and her character is really a riddle. Hayworth doesn't get to do very much, and her character's actions are contradictory.  It doesn't feel like Nina has an awakening; the character does a complete about-face in her attitudes and actions, and its not clear why.  But she is not given a lot to work with - the screenplay is much more interested in Fairbanks and in the always wonderful Thomas Mitchell.

Also given short shrift is John Qualen, a great character actor with a sizeable part in screen time, but no real opportunity for character development.  Qualen gives the appearance of sleepwalking through the film, and while in other films he is often portrayed as an everyman, he is rarely weak in his portrayals.  Here, he is not so much nebbishy as he is a non-entity.  Qualen had a lengthy career, working in films and television from 1931 to 1974. Many of you will remember him as Vera Miles father in The Searchers or as the expectant father in Whipsaw.  His career started on Broadway; he went to Hollywood to recreate his stage role in the screen version of Street Scene and became a favorite of director John Ford.  Qualen appeared in Ford's films over a thirty year period.  John Qualen died in 1987 (aged 87) having been married to his wife since 1924.

Ben Hecht was actually nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Angels Over Broadway (it lost to The Great McGinty), and it was well received critically.  Audiences, however, did not warm up to the film.  This TCM article goes into more depth on the film and on Rita Hayworth.

Having recently seen the film Raffles, we were amused when Gene steals a brooch, and his ex-girl friend announces "You're no Raffles".  All in all, we were sorry that we didn't enjoy Angels Over Broadway more.  It showed such promise!  It might be worth a look, just for the beginning of the film, and to see Fairbanks in top form.  

We'll leave you with a scene from early in the picture, as Bill begins his flirtation with Nina:

Kay's Velvet

Kay Francis is again our star this week, co-starring with another of our favorites, George Brent in Living on Velvet (1935).  George is Terry Parker, a flyer who is en route, with his mother, father and sister, to Newport for a family event, when the plane is trapped in fog.  Try as he might to break into clear skies, Terry is thwarted, until his plane runs out of fuel.  The plane crashes - and Terry's entire family is killed.  Terry walks away from the plane with some scratches, a headache, and a great deal of survivor guilt.  From this point, Terry lives his life wildly - he is "living on velvet" - he should be dead, but is not, so he will live life to the fullest, and not worry about the consequences.  But then he meets Amy Prentiss (Kay Francis), the love of his friend Walter "Gibraltar" Pritcham (Warren William).  For Amy and Terry, it is love at first sight; but the problems that ensue as they try to live within each others lives is the focus of the film.

The film remarkably is able to stay true to its theme; it doesn't throw in artificial agents (like, say, a pregnancy) to force character growth.  It is the story of a marriage, full of love, but one in which the persons involved have very different views of life.  Amy understands that Terry's apparent immaturity is not that, but a grief so deep it is hidden from all but those who know the man intimately.  George Brent is able to make Terry understandable and relate-able.  Terry is not whiny or morose; regardless, you feel his pain.  Brent is able to throw a cast to his eyes that remind you of the deep pain the rules his life.

Richard Brody's video analysis of the film, from the New Yorker, is worth a few minutes of your time.  In it, he talks about the serious tone of the film, and the conflict between Amy, a woman from a well-to-do family who sacrifices a life of comfort for the man she loves, and Terry, who wants to spend his gift of life dipping into his ever growing bucket list.  Amy wants a family, a nice home, and no pending bills.  Terry wants to do what he wants, when he wants, and hang what comes after.  After all - life is short, and he wants to do it all.

Though the film has funny moments (we'll talk about one of them a little later), this is NOT a comedy.  Oddly, the advertising (as seen above), seems to imply that it is, showing Kay Francis in a lovely evening dress and a top hat.  And in the image below, a funny love triangle is implied.  While we do have a bit of a triangle, Gibraltar is a friend to the couple, once  he realizes that he is an afterthought to Kay.  There are no amusing fights.  One wonders if the public felt tricked when they realized the serious theme of Living on Velvet.  Certainly, Kay Francis had already appeared in comedies (like 1932's Trouble in Paradise), but she was best known for women's pictures, or "weepers" - and she is the name above the title - so it's hard to fathom. The New York Times review from 1935 makes no mention of the advertising, but it was not positive, They liked the beginning of the film, but felt that the ending was unconvincing.

We were very impressed with the way the film portrays the moment when Terry and Amy meet.  Certainly, it's highly romantic, but it is a lovely enactment of love a first sight.  Ms. Francis, especially, shows the intensity of her reaction (a clip is below).

An image that is particularly jarring is the newspaper headline which informs us of the death of Terry's family.  We get to meet them, if only for a few moments.  That the film used known character people of the caliber of Samuel S. Hinds and Maude Turner Gordon makes the headline even more surprising.  In much the same way that Janet Leigh's abrupt death in Psycho is a surprise because of who is playing the part, we had a similar reaction when we realized that the characters were indeed dead.

There is one very funny scene that has to be mentioned.  Terry and Amy are on a bus, in their first flush of love, and he asks her to just talk.  She complies: "Thirty days has September. Apwil, June...".  He stops her and asks her to repeat: "Thirty days has September. Apwil".  And he begins to tease her about her lisp, asking her to say "Around the rocks, the rugged rascal ran", which she gamely tries - and, of course, fails to say with the dreaded "W" sound.  Finally, she repeats her first line, and when she gets to it, carefully says APRIL, then, grins happily.  As fans of Ms. Francis and her delightful lisp, it was a hoot to see her not only acknowledging it, but laughing with us about it.

For those who would like more background information on one particularly scandalous aspect of the film, this very brief  TCM article is worth a look.  Our Kay, it seems, had a very busy vacation just before the filming started, resulting in an abortion, and a long recovery process.

Warren William as Gibraltar is absolutely terrific, as a man who loves, but who won't settle for less than the real thing.  Once Gibraltar realizes that Amy will never love him the way she does Terry, his every action is to facilitate their marriage.  Mr. William started his career on Broadway, appearing in 22 plays (primarily in supporting parts.  Once in Hollywood, he worked steadily - appearing mostly as lawyers and businessmen - throughout the 1930s and into the early 1940s, but by the end of the war, he was only in 3 films.  He was quietly married to the his great love, Helen Barbara Nelson from 1923 until his death at age 53 of multiple myeloma in 1947.  His beloved wife died a few months later.

We also enjoyed Helen Lowell as Amy's Aunt Martha, the nay-sayer in the marriage of Amy to Terry.  Aunt Martha doesn't like Terry one bit, and isn't adverse to saying it; Ms. Lowell makes her a force to be reckoned with!  She was 69 when she appeared in this film; she would die two years later, having appeared in 31 films.

Before we go, we want to mention again the costuming by Orry-Kelly.  There is a gorgeous dress with a cameo belt that we were lusting after (a couple members of the group are big fans of cameo jewelry).  As promised, we leave you with a portrayal of love at first sight:

Kay Loves the Desert (and Errol)

In 1936, the Chicago Daily Tribune quoted Kay Francis as saying "I don't do much in it,  Things just happen about me. I am just a wife who has been unfortunate in love, as usual."  She was speaking about Another Dawn (1937) in which she plays Julia Ashton, a woman who has turned her back on love after the death of her aviator fiance.  But, when Colonel John Wister (Ian Hunter), who she likes and admires, proposes marriage, she agrees.  His deep love for her convinces her that they can be happy together, and she is ready for an adventure - his post is in the Sahara.  The presence, however of Captain Denny Roark (Errol Flynn), creates a problem, as Julia and Denny fall deeply in love, with neither of them willing to hurt John.

The fairly conventional ending is probably the weakest part of the film.  Nevertheless, the movie is worth watching for the interplay between Kay Francis and Errol Flynn.  As the wife who is unwilling to betray her husband, Ms. Francis is beautifully stoic.  And Flynn, as the loyal officer is - well, just beautiful.   This article from TCM sums it up nicely:  "Even if Another Dawn doesn't reach the heights of some other Errol Flynn vehicles, it is still a treat to see this iridescent specimen of masculinity at his peak in his mid-twenties, handsome and dashing in a British Army uniform."  And while this is no Adventures of Robin Hood, Flynn is very good as the conflicted officer.  Flynn can act, and act well - the fact that this film holds up at all is really due to him - he makes you believe that Denny cannot be dishonorable.

Frieda Inescort has a relatively small role as Grace Roark, Denny's sister.  We've seen Ms. Inescort before in a very different role - as the rather bitchy older sister in The King Steps Out.  But in Always in My Heart. she not only appeared with Kay Francis, she also was in the similar role as the "other woman;" for Grace claims to be in love with John.  One strange thing about the way Ms. Inescort plays the role occurs early in the film.  As John is about to leave for his holiday, he asks Grace if he can kiss her.  She looks rather uncomfortable, and as he leans over to lightly kiss her on the lips, she turns her head so the kiss lands on her cheek.  It's rather a shock when she later confesses her deep love to her brother (close as they are, he doesn't know either).   Is Grace so deeply in love that she fears his touch will unlock her reserve, or is it something else? It's hard to know, but Ms. Inescort makes Grace a more interesting character.

Also in the cast is Herbert Mundin as Wilkins, John's aide-de-camp - a soldier who has been accused of cowardice by his comrades.  Naturally, part of the plot of the movie has to demonstrated that he is not, in fact, a coward.  We've seen Mundin before in The Adventures of Robin Hood, as Much.  He was also in David Copperfield as Barkis.  After a stint in the Navy during World War I, Mundin appeared on the London Stage and on Broadway, then landed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox in 1931.  After a successful career, in which he played a variety of character roles, Mundin died in a car crash, aged 40, in 1938.

The film took awhile to be released, and was not really the first choice for either of our lead actors.  Kay Francis, due to her schedule, became exhausted, so there was a filming delay while she recuperated.  Errol Flynn found the script uninteresting; his dislike of director William Dieterle compounded his disregard for the film.  And other actors also were unimpressed with the script.  First considered for the role of Julia was Bette Davis, but she accepted a suspension rather than take the part.  Tallulah Bankhead was also considered as Julia, but that idea was discarded.

One of the impressive aspects of the film is the music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.  The militaristic air hits at the men's love for the military and their lives.  He'd only scored a few films, and his English was not strong, so Korngold was surprised and distressed that the whole of his score for the film wasn't used. But, he used the music (the love theme) for his Violin Concerto in D Major, and in 1995, the full score was reassembled and recorded by Naxos.

And we can't have a Kay Francis film from this period without magnificent costuming, here by Orry-Kelly.  A nice job is also done with the special effects.  One does feel the desert in the film.

All in all, this is a good film about good - and very British - people.  Colonel Wister especially has a very progressive view of world politics - he is hoping that he can help the process of seeing the native population of the Sahara region ready for self government within a few years. 

We leave you with the trailer for Another Dawn, which features Korngold's glorious score.

Hester Street

The Washington Jewish Film Festival was held at AFI Silver in late February - Early March.  We attended a screening of Hester Street (1975), directed by Joan Micklin Silver, and starring Carol Kane as Gitl Bogovnik, a Jewish immigrant from Poland.  We were fortunate to have Ms. Kane participate in an interview session after the film.

Hester Street is a story of immigration and assimilation.  Jake (Yankel) Bognovnik (Steven Keats), has been living in America for several years, working in garment sweatshop.  Jake lives as an American, not as a Jew; he has changed his name, shaved his beard, no longer wears a yamaka, sees women when he feels like it, and generally lives a secular life.  Though he cannot read or write, he has learned to speak English.  He looks down on his fellow immigrants who have not learned English, or who still cling to the old ways.  He's very attracted to Mamie (Dorrie Kavanugh), a young woman who is a frequent visitor to a local dance hall.  Mamie is very Americanized - dresses well, and, it turns out, is carefully saving her money to open her own dance hall.  But, just as Jake is getting to know Mamie better, he discovers that his father in Poland has died.  It becomes imperative that he bring over his wife Gitl, and their small son, Yossele (Paul Freedman).

 

Jake is horrified when he sees Gitl and Yossele.  She wears a sheitel, and conservative clothing.  Her son has a pais.  Jake's embarrassment is immediately obvious - he slaps Yossele for stroking his face (the child has never seen a man without a beard), and cuts off the pais the minute they arrive home.  He scolds Gitl for her garb, and demands that she remove her sheitel; she agrees to don a kerchief, but is horrified at the idea of showing her hair - she is a married woman - it would shame her to show her hair.

Just how much assimilation is required to make a home in a new world? For Jake, it is total, to the detriment of his religion and his culture.  To Gitl, a more moderate course is required.  She will learn English, she will adjust her garb to better fit into her new environment, but she will not give up her religion.

Gitl's mentor in change in played by Doris Roberts.  Her Mrs. Kavarsky is now a woman of New York, but one who understands the  collision of cultures that Gitl is trying to circumvent.  Mrs. Kavarsky is also aware that Jake is more interested in starting a new life with Mamie than in learning to accommodate his wife's needs.  Roberts is wonderful in the role.  She is strong and protective; she is also cagey.  She understands the workings of this marriage - Ms. Roberts gives the impression that perhaps Mrs. Kavarsky has lived through a similar problem.  Regardless, she comprehends the need to adapt, and carefully educates her new charge in the ways of the city.

The other influence on Gitl is Mr. Bernstein (Mel Howard), the boarder in the Bognovnik apartment.  Mr. Bernstein is an educated man, who in his youth wished to be a rabbi, but found he did not have the temperament for the job.  He now works in the garment factor with Jake, but his evenings are devoted to his studies, as he reads and comments on the Torah.  He also begins to tutor young Joey in Hebrew, something his father is unwilling - and unable - to do.  Thus, Gitl is able give Joey his culture, while still allowing him to adapt to a new land.  And Joey will get the education his parents do not have - he will also be able to read and write.

The performance that is most impressive is that of Carol Kane.  Much of her dialogue is in Yiddish (we learned in the Q&A that accompanied the film that Ms. Kane learned the script phonetically), and she must convey her story with her eyes.  Below is the scene in which she arrives at Ellis Island.  Watch her as she tries to comprehend the confusion around her, as she first sees her husband, and as she begins to understand that the man that she married is gone.

Filmed at a miniscule budget of $400,000 (it was filmed in New York City in 34 days), the film was only seen by the public thanks to the tenacity of producer Raphael Silver (the husband of the director), who brought it to the Cannes Film Festival.  The word of mouth allowed them to open it in New York, and finally to a wider audience.  This TCM article goes into greater detail on the trials of getting the film produced and out to its audience.  This glowing review from the New York Times provides a glimpse into the reception the film received at the time.

As promised, we leave you with Gitl's arrival at Ellis Island:

Barbara Shoots (at a Target)

Annie Oakley (1935) stars Barbara Stanwyck as the legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley.  The story is loosely based on Annie's early years in the entertainment industry, when she broke into the business by competing against a male rifleman, here named Toby Walker (Preston Foster).  And while the film does get a lot of the information right, it takes many liberties with Ms. Oakley's life, not the least of which is that it changes the name of her partner and husband from Frank Butler.  Nevertheless, it's an entertaining film, as long as you realize it is "FILM history".

Young Annie Oakley is the main support of her family - her mother and younger siblings.  Annie is a crack shot; she hunts quail for an upscale Cincinnati hotel; as she able to hit the bird directly in the head, so no buckshot ruins the meat.  When Toby Walker, the new attraction for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show stays at the hotel, the hotel manager, Mr. MacIvor (Andy Clyde), suggests a shooting match between Walker and the person who is supplying him with his game.  MacIvor, however believes his supplier is a man.  Annie is able to match Toby shot for shot, but when her mother overhears a discussion that Annie's win might cost Toby his position with Bill Cody, she encourages Annie to lose the match.  Annie, who finds Toby quite attractive, purposely misses her next shot. Regardless, her talent with a rifle is noted by Jeff Hogarth (Melvyn Douglas), who hires her for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show.  Soon, Annie is the star of the show, with Ned Buntline (Dick Elliott) hinting at a bitter rivalry between Annie and Toby (for publicity), while Toby secretly teaches Annie showmanship, and while Toby and Annie fall in love.

Barbara Stanwyck as Annie Oakley

The real Annie Oakley

Let's start with a look at the real Annie Oakley.   She was born Phoebe Ann Moses in 1860, and following her father's death in 1866, she lived a life of privation.  After being sent to a foster home (she would only identify the people as "the wolves"), she eventually returned to her mother; she began hunting and was able through her work to pay off the mortgage on her family's home.  That same year (1875), she competed against Frank Butler in a Cincinnati challenge match, and won.  Butler was instantly fascinated by her, and the following year, they wed.  By 1882, she joined Frank's act - she was so popular that Frank became her manager and publicist, leaving the shooting to Annie.  After a long career, both with the Wild West Show and on stage, Annie retired.  The Butlers lived in retirement until her death in 1926.  Frank died 18 days later.   For an in-depth biography of the real Annie Oakley, as well as an analysis of Annie Oakley on Stage and Screen, visit: Annie Oakley (The American Experience).

What is really successful in this film is their ability to catch the romance between Annie and Toby.  The audience and Annie never question that the couple are deeply in love.   Surely, it plays fast and loose with the facts, but neither are demeaned.  Annie is clearly Toby's equal, and even after he is told (by her) that she let him win, he is not intimidated by her, but respects her abilities.  Stanwyck is especially vibrant in the role of Annie.  She is sweet when she needs to be, but proud of her abilities and not one to hide her light.  One scene especially shows Stanwyck at her best.  Alone in her room, Annie longs for Toby, whom her colleagues believe has purposefully injured her hand.  She knows the injury was accidental, but Toby has been fired by Bill Cody (Moroni Olsen), and Annie is unable to prevent it or even go to Toby.  Her pain radiates from her; the scene is done in silence.

This was Stanwyck's first film at RKO. She had been appearing in films at Warner Brothers and was dissatisfied with the parts she was receiving their.  She'd already ventured over to First National for The Woman in Red and to Edward Smalls (Reliance) for Red Comrade.  Her next film, A Message to Garcia, would be at 20th Century Fox.  In A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940, Victoria Wilson stated that Stanwyck was "outside the protection of a single studio" (full quote at Rogerebert.com).  Perhaps this is why she never won an Oscar.  Regardless, it gave her the ability to control her own career to a degree that other actresses probably envied.  For more detail on Stanwyck's move to RKO, see this TCM article.

 

We focused a bit of our discussion on the male leads.  Melvyn Douglas appears in a secondary role with Preston Foster in the lead.  We wondered what the film would have been like had the roles been switched.

We've only seen a few films with Preston Foster, and in most of them he had a supporting role (for example, The Harvey Girls (1946) in which he plays the evil Sam Purvis to John Hodiak's heroic Ned Trent); he was briefly discussed when he appeared opposite Carole Lombard in Love Before Breakfast.  Foster had a long career, appearing in film and television til 1967. He had started on the Broadway stage, appearing in five plays between 1929 and 1932.  After that, he was Hollywood bound.  He also had a career as a vocalist and songwriter, appearing in trio consisting of himself, his wife Sheila Darcy (to whom he was married from 1946 until his death in 1970) and guitarist Gene Leis.  When Foster retired from acting, he took on the role of executive director of the El Camino Playhouse, where he wrote, directed and acted in plays (the Playhouse closed in 1966).  Preston Foster died in 1970, at the age of 69.

Also in the small role of Vera Delmar is Pert Kelton, whose distinct speaking voice is instantly recognizable. We've mentioned her before in our discussions of Cain and Mabel and Bed of Roses (wherein she plays the hooker, Minnie) - in this film, she plays a character much closer to that of Minnie.  Vera is a bit of a tramp; she's interested in Toby, and doesn't really care what she has to do to get him.  Kelton makes the most of her short screen time to create a memorable characterization.

Pert Kelton had a very varied career.  Her film career, in which she was generally the wisecracking buddy or a floozy, only lasted from 1929 to 1939.  After that, she seems to have moved back to the East Coast, where she appeared in radio.  In the 1950s, she appeared in short sketches the Cavalcade of Stars as Alice Norton - sketches that would give birth to the television show The Honeymooners.  Kelton, however would not continue on to the series - her husband Ralph Bell had become embroiled in the McCarthy Era blacklist, which led to her being dropped from the show. She did continue in small roles on Cavalcade, and it has been suggested that Gleason attempted to keep her working for as long as he could.  He, in fact, invited her to appear in The Color Honeymooners as Alice's mother (since, by that time Audrey Meadows had assumed the role of Alice). Ms. Kelton died in 1968 at the age of 61.  Though many of the episodes from Cavalcade are lost, here is a short bit with her that survives:

We leave you this time with a short clip from Annie Oakley - the shooting contest between Annie and Toby.  We'll be back soon with a discussion of a more recent film, as well as our evaluation of a Kay Francis film.  

Barbara Demonstrates Yum-Yum

When Professor Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper) discovers that his seven years of relatively isolated research have led to a complete lack of understanding of current American slang, he ventures out of the confines of his enclave.  In his quest, he meets Sugarpuss (Katherine) O'Shea (Barbara Stanwyck), an entertainer who is currently on the lam from the cops - seems her boyfriend, Joe Lilac (Dana Andrews) is suspected of murder and wants her out of the way, since she could link him to the victim.  Sugarpuss arrives on Bertram's doorstep, and within an hour has his research colleagues eating out of her hand, as well as a room in their headquarters.  Meanwhile, Joe is planning a wedding - since a wife can't testify against her husband.  And Bertram is falling in love with his sexy house guest. 

Ball of Fire (1941) is another one of those madcap films that show Barbara Stanwyck's gift for comedy, as well as her chemistry with co-star Gary Cooper.  They had worked together earlier that year in Meet John Doe, and Cooper suggested her for the part of Sugarpuss when other actresses turned it down - among those approached were Virginia Gilmore (Sam Goldwyn's first choice, as she was under contract to him at the time), Ginger Rogers (who thought the role beneath her), Carole Lombard, Jean Arthur, Betty Fields, and Lucille Ball.  Goldwyn and director Howard Hawks were thrilled at having Stanwyck in the role, and their confidence paid off.  (This TCM article gives a little more information on the casting woes of the production).  

Stanwyck carefully balances the greedy showgirl against the young woman who falls in love - against her will - with a man who "looks like a giraffe", "gets drunk on a glass of buttermilk," and "doesn't know how to kiss".  Without the fine hand of Stanwyck, the film could have easily imploded, as it did with the remake (A Song is Born).  Stanwyck gives us a Sugarpuss who glows with love and with sexuality, and who is finally bested by an innocent man who loves her with all of his heart.  She is intelligent, though uneducated, but she is someone who hungers for love AND for knowledge.  And though clearly Joe has gotten her a job in a classy joint, Stanwyck shows us Sugarpuss' roots - watch her walk on the stage as she performs - Sugarpuss started as a stripper.  

As always, Stanwyck is impeccably dressed by her favorite costumer Edith Head.  She has some lovely street clothing, as well as a splendid costume for her act, that is both breathtaking and cheesy at the same time.  And watch how it sparkles in the dull environs of the professors' apartment house - Head makes Sugarpuss the real bright spot in the lives of these sequestered intellectuals.

Equally perfect is Gary Cooper as Bertram.  It would be easy to make Potts merely a jerk, rather than an innocent, but Cooper carefully walks that line.  Certainly Potts is naive, but he is eager to learn and to experience new things.  His enthusiasm for the slang he is discovering is palpable. He is a man dedicated to his scholarship - though much younger than his scholarly colleagues, he hasn't had the opportunity to interact with the opposite sex, but when he does, his inhibitions take a back seat to his passion.

It's interesting to see Dana Andrews in a supporting role.  His Joe Lilac is an egomaniac, surrounded by Yes Men, who is quite sure he can tame Sugarpuss with a large diamond and a marriage certificate.  Given that Andrews has very little screen time, he makes the most of what little time he is provided.  You don't forget Joe - Andrews makes him just sinister enough to keep the comic background, but still have a character that is a threat to our lovers.

This is a film that is blessed with an amazing supporting cast.  We have the always excellent Allen Jenkins as the neighborhood garbage man, who wants to enter a "quizzola" (he's got all the boxtops he needs.  What he needs are the answers).  Dan Duryea as Duke Pastrami, Lilac's lead henchman is delightfully oily, with his rather disturbing laugh is put to good use.  Watch for the scene when he licks his thumb to clean his gunsight - thus tipping his hat to co-star Gary Cooper (who did the same maneuver in Sergeant York).  "I saw this in a movie," Duryea quips. (Interestingly, a few days after seeing Ball of Fire, I was watching Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955), and my husband noticed that Fess Parker (as Crockett) does the same maneuver while fighting Santa Ana at the Alamo. Coincidence? I think not.)

And let us not forget the "seven dwarfs" (Yes, the film is loosely based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Professor Potts colleagues in research.  Among the superb actors gracing the cast are Oscar Homolka as Professor Gurkakoff (Mathematics), Henry Travers as Professor Jerome (Geography), S. Z. Sakall  as Professor Magenbruch (Physiology), Leonid Kinskey as Professor Quintana, and Richard Haydn as the appropriately named Professor Oddly (Botany).  Sugarpuss calls them a bunch of "squirrelly cherubs", a most apt description.  But rather than just have them there for laughs, they are intrinsic to the plot - it is their combined brain power that will save the day for our couple.

One other note of interest, actress Mary Fields, who plays Miss Totten, is the only actor to appear in the remake, A Song is Born. She plays the exact same character in the remake, though there was a seven year gap between the films.  

Ball of Fire was well received at the time of its release, as is evidenced by this New York Times review.  In 2007, it was selected as a TCM Essentials pick (as well as a 2012 Essentials, Jr. selection).  AND it is number 92 on the American Film Institute's 100 Funniest American Movies Of All Time list.   If you've never seen it, treat yourself to a viewing - and if you have seen it, curl up on a cold evening and watch it again!  We leave you with the scene in which Sugarpuss demonstrates "Yum-yum".  We'll be back soon with more Barbara!