Con man Sherwood Nash (William Powell) decides to forgo financial scams in favor of fashion scams when he meets would-be designer Lynn Mason (Bette Davis). Using Lynn's talent for sketching and eye for successful dresses, Nash "borrows" dresses en route from Paris to New York design houses, and sells cheap copies ("designed" by Lynn) to low-end competitors. He then convinces the New York designers to send him to Paris to do the same for them - get the Fashions of 1934 (1934) to them at a lower price. Part of the AFI Silver Theatre's Library of Congress Film Preservation Showcase. Fashions of 1934 was projected with a newly restored 35mm print of this film. Like it's sister film, In Caliente, Fashions of 1934 is an excuse for elaborate musical numbers as well as stunning dresses exhibited in various fashion shows. If you've seen The Women, you are familiar with this kind of scene - lovely, period dresses, but the kind no member of the film audience would probably ever be able to afford. However, add a little Busby Berkeley magic, and you've got production numbers that you will long remember. The biggest number involves human harps - yes, you read that right. The image below will give you just an idea of the piece. The trailer will show you another - lovely ladies with feather fans that are used to create gorgeous shapes. There's no way these routines would ever be on a stage at a fashion show, but I doubt anyone really cared.
William Powell is delightfully suave as the con man extraordinaire "Sherry" Nash. The part is reminiscent of the role he played in Jewel Robbery (1932). Even though he's unabashedly dishonest, the audience roots for him - he's just charming. He also has quite a good rapport with his two female co-stars, Bette Davis and Verree Teasdale (Grand Duchess Alix/Mabel McGuire), two very different actresses with extremely different acting styles. With Mr. Powell there, you don't notice a change of tone.
Not surprisingly, Bette Davis was not thrilled to be in this picture. She wanted meatier parts, and this certainly was not what she was looking for. She stated that she was "all done up like a third-rate imitation of the MGM glamour queens. That isn't me. I'll never be a clothes horse or romantic symbol." (TCM article). Regardless of her discomfort with the part, she acquits herself well (though she is much better looking as a brunette). As for her desire for better parts, she would get her wish later that year, when she FINALLY was given permission to play Mildred in Of Human Bondage (1934) (The Lonely Life: An Autobiography by Bette Davis). Verree Teasdale is amusing as Hoboken native and faux countess Alix. Ms. Teasdale started on Broadway, ultimately performing in 13 plays between 1924 and 1932; she appeared in her first film in 1929, and worked fairly steadily until 1941; thereafter, she did some radio work, often with her husband, Adolphe Menjou. Their marriage lasted from 1935 until his death in 1963 (they had one child). Ms. Teasdale died in 1987 at the age of 83.
In a part reminiscent of his character in One-Way Passage (1932),Frank McHugh plays Snap, a photographer - and con man/thief - who is Sherry's right-hand man. Mr. McHugh makes the most of what he's got, though the part is mostly comedic. It must be mentioned that, as intriguing as his little cane camera is, it's odd that he has to constantly hold it up to his eye to get pictures - resulting in the "secret camera" being not very secret. There is an emphasis on this particular gimmick, and our reaction was that you'd have to be particularly stupid to not figure out what he is doing. Several other character parts are worth mentioning - Hugh Herbert (Joe Ward) is actually not annoying in this film. Reginald Owen (Oscar Baroque) and Henry O'Neill (Duryea) as part of the fashion industries in Paris and New York (respectively) are frankly as dishonest as Sherry and his crew. Arthur Treacher makes a brief appearance as - what else - a butler.
Originally titled King of Fashion (AFI Catalog), this is a pleasant film with some lovely Berkeley numbers. Certainly, it is reminiscent of other films released around the same time, but with William Powell delivering the dialogue, you barely notice that it's typical. I'll leave you with a trailer from the film (and a preview of one of the amazing dance routines.
Magazine editor Larry MacArthur (Pat O'Brien) is in way over his head. He's somehow become engaged to golddigger Clara (Glenda Farrell), he's frequently drunk, and he is making up theatre reviews because he's too drunk to remember what he saw (if he even sobered up enough to the show). His associate editor and friend, Harold Brandon (Edward Everett Horton) decides the only recourse is to pack Larry up while he's drunk, and take him on a month's vacation to Agua Caliente, Mexico. While In Caliente (1935), Larry become smitten with Rita Gomez (Dolores Del Rio), a dancer of whom Larry (while intoxicated) gave a blistering review in the magazine. The AFI Silver Theatre recently hosted the Library of Congress Film Preservation Showcase. In Caliente featured a newly restored 35mm print of this film. The print was gloriously beautiful, and looked as it must have done in 1935 upon release. With numbers by Busby Berkeley, this rarely seen film was a lot of fun to watch. The plot is really a hook on which to hang some musical performances, like this number by the Dancing De Marcos (Sally and Tony, who actually didn't marry until 1944), and a performance by Ms. Del Rio. The film introduced the song "The Lady in Red", as well as featured a previously released song "She's a Latin from Manhattan". There's even a brief comic bit from Judy Canova.
Ms. Del Rio is good as the love interest. It's hard to understand why she would fall for Larry - he's drunk much of the time and he's also insulted her in print by calling her "a bag of bones." But, the story must prevail, and love him she does. After her strong work in the silent era, Ms. Del Rio was finding it hard to get good parts (even when she got the lead a few years earlier in Flying Down to Rio, she was eclipsed by that dynamic dancing duo, Astaire and Rogers); she returned to Mexico in the 1940s (TCM article).
Glenda Farrell has a bit more to work with as Clara, even though it is a relatively small part. Since it's evident that Clara wants a settlement, and Larry's drunken escapades will help her get her money, Ms. Farrell can play broadly; as always, Ms. Farrell is entertaining.
Edward Everett Horton made a career playing dolts. Harold is actually a lot smarter than many of the characters Mr. Horton gets to play. He's smart enough to get his friend away from New York in an attempt to quell his great thirst, but his protective instincts don't seem to work well for himself. He ends up in agua caliente himself because of his desire to help his friend.
Leo Carrillo as Jose Gomez, Rita's uncle and manager is entertaining as the con man who uses his position to cheat anyone who will play cards (or anything else) with him. He's got a lot more screen time than Ms. Farrell, but like her, he plays the part broadly to good comic effect.
Originally titled just Caliente (AFI Catalog), the film at one point was supposed to feature Rita Cansino (Rita Hayworth) in one of the numbers; she was eliminated from the final cut. This is not a film that is in any way deep, but it was a lot of fun. We'll leave you with a trailer from the film.
Peggy Taylor (Jeanne Crain) has a big problem - she needs to find an apartment quickly. The people who lent her the place where she and husband Jason (William Holden) have been living are about to return. But there are issues - Jason is attending school on the G.I. Bill, their allotment is barely enough to keep their heads above water, and Peggy is pregnant. So, when it suggested that Professor Henry Barnes (Edmund Gwenn) has an attic that might be suitable, Peggy leaps at the chance to find an Apartment for Peggy (1948). Note the billing on the posters displayed here. This is not William Holden's movie - it belongs to Jeanne Crain and she runs with it. She does an excellent job carrying the film. She portrays Peggy as an independent woman, who speaks her mind and does what she thinks is best. She worked to support her student husband for as long as she could, and now, pregnant and forced out of the workplace (pregnant women were routinely fired - it wasn't considered seemly for a woman who was showing to be out in public, according to employers), she works to keep her husband from losing his drive. Peggy is a character who thinks ahead and outside the box; she hides nothing, not even her pregnancy (which, before 1948, would have been the norm for films). The result is the audience roots for her. (TCM article)
It helps that she has the always wonderful Edmund Gwenn to bounce off. The previous year, Mr. Gwenn had appeared in Miracle on 34th Street (1947) as Kris Kringle. Like that film, Apartment for Peggy was written and directed by George Seaton, but the character Mr. Seaton created for Mr. Gwenn in this film is far different. Professor Barnes is done with life - he's lost his wife, his son (who died in the war), his job (forcibly retired due to his age), and he is about to finish his book. He feels he has nothing to live for, and that his presence on Earth merely uses valuable resources to no purpose. Yet, Mr. Gwenn plays him as facing death matter-of-factly. He is not self-pitying; he is simply finished. The arrival of Peggy shows him that his life's work is not over.
Though not a war movie per se, like The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), the war is a key focus of this film. Prof. Barnes lost his son to a war, Jason still has nightmares about the friends he lost when his ship was sunk and he survived on a raft. The women, too, are victims of the war; their men have changed, and now their ability to get an advanced degree through the GI Bill is widening the gap further.
Peggy obviously worries that she - like her friend Ruth (Marion Marshall) will find her husband straying as the distance in their educational levels increase. So, she arranges for the wives to be tutored. The women eagerly drink in the lectures. They have sharp minds, and only need help in creating a path for their learning. These are not dependents - these are equal partners to their husbands.
I loved that the women arrived with their knitting - and that it is clear that their busy hands increase their ability to listen to the lecture. As a knitter myself, I appreciate it when films show that knitting increases attention; it's a concept that is hard to get across to the non-knitter.
Lee J. Cobb was scheduled to appear as Dr. Philip Conway, the part that eventually went to Griff Barnett. (AFI catalog). Mr. Barnett is fun as the doctor who is trying to prevent his friend from committing suicide, and who is supervising Peggy's obstetrical care. Gene Lockhart is memorable as Professor Barnes' best friend, Professor Edward Bell. Also in the cast is the always enjoyable Charles Lane as Professor Collins, Jason's chemistry teacher. Mr. Lane had a career that started with uncredited performances in 1930 and continued in film and television until 1995. A founding member of the Screen Actor's Guild, Mr. Lane was married for 70 years to his wife Ruth Covell; they had two children. Mr. Lane died in 2007 at the age of 102.
The New York Timesreview by Bosley Crowther was glowing - he called it "one of the best comedies of the year" and "a delightful and thoroughly heartening estimation of the capacities of modern youth." The review from Variety was also positive.
The story (which was originally titled Apartment for Suzie) was used for four radio broadcasts. Lux Radio Theatre, aired it on 28 February 1949 with Jeanne Crain, William Holden, Edmund Gwenn, and again on 4 December 1950 with Ms. Crain and William Lundigan. Versions were also broadcast on the Screen Directors' Playhouse (again with Jeanne Crain) on 2 September 1949 and on 31 May 1951 as part of the Screen Guild Players. We'll close with the scene in which Peggy tries to rent an apartment from Professor Barnes. Do give this delighful film a viewing!
For the 60th Anniversary of the release of Ben-Hur (1959) TCM Presents featured a big screen re-release through Fathom Events. The story of Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) a wealthy and respected merchant and Prince of Judea, the film is an epic of impressive stature. Following Judah from Judea, to life in a ship's slave galley, to the return of prestige in Rome, Ben-Hur is also the story of the beginning of Christianity. And if any film deserves to be seen on the big screen, it is this one. Charlton Heston won an Oscar for playing Ben-Hur; he's a good actor - not one of my personal favorites, but he is convincing in the part. Judah, for obvious reasons, spends a lot of the film angry, and Mr. Heston is quite convincing as a irate hero; his size alone (he was 6'3" and has an impressive physique) make him an imposing presence and a force to be reckoned with. Stephen Boyd as Messala plays the antagonist to Heston. He too is full of rage, but where Heston's rage shoot out of his eyes, Mr. Boyd plays the character with anger seething under the surface. Messala is ambitious, cruel and without mercy. That he could turn on his friend, and his friend's family without even the blink of an eye is one of the most difficult parts of the drama to absorb.
This brings up a controversy that has been raging for years. In a 1995 documentary, The Celluloid Closet, writer Gore Vidal alleged that he approached William Wyler and suggested a subtext to the action: Ben-Hur and Messala were former lovers, and Judah was unwilling to begin that particular relationship again. Mr. Vidal said that Mr. Wyler agreed: "we'll try it.. you talk to Boyd.. but don't say anything to Heston." Both Mr. Boyd and Mr. Wyler had already died, so there was no one to corroborate the story. While it is apparent that Mr. Boyd has a lot more in his delivery than the politics that supposedly drove the friends apart, I suggest that Mr. Vidal (who was always quite good at blowing his own horn), is taking responsibility for someone else's creativity. It's hard to imagine Mr. Wyler having someone else describe the scene to an actor, and Stephen Boyd is a fine actor, certainly capable of developing his own subtext. One thinks back to Charles Laughton in The Barretts of Wimpole Street; when told that the dialogue had been toned down to minimize Mr. Barrett's incestuous desire for his daughter, Elizabeth, Mr. Laughton stated "They can’t censor the gleam in my eye.” (The Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations by Robert Andrews). For more discussion of the controversy, see Sacred Profanity: Spirituality at the Moviesby Aubrey Malone.
It has always been a surprise to me that neither Mr. Boyd nor Jack Hawkins (Quintus Arrius) were nominated for Best Supporting Actor, while Hugh Griffith (Sheik Ilderim) was. Ilderim is not that big - nor that important a part, while Mr. Boyd and Mr. Hawkins both turn in excellent, complex performances. (In all honesty, I'm still miffed that Robert Vaughn didn't win for The Young Philadelphians.) Only Mr. Griffith and Mr. Heston were nominated in the performance categories (both won), in spite of excellent work from Haya Harareet (Esther), Finlay Currie (Balthasar), Martha Scott (Miriam), and Cathy O'Donnell (Tirzah).
Neither Mr. Heston nor Ms. Harareet were the first choices for their roles. Marlon Brando, Cesare Danova, Kirk Douglas, and Rock Hudson were considered for Judah (TCM article); Ava Gardner and Pier Angeli were in the running for Esther (AFI catalog). Chuck Conners and Leslie Nielsen were tested for Messala.
The film is a remake of the highly regarded 1925 film, with Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman as Judah and Messala. It's been said that the chariot sequence in the earlier film actually surpasses this version. If you're interested in comparing them, you can view both versions below, though I will say that, having just seen the 1954 version on a big screen, it is an experience that is an unfair comparison to this tiny screen.
In addition to winning 11 of the 12 Oscars for which it was nominated (it's currently tied for most wins with Titanic (1997) and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), Ben-Hur also won 4 Golden Globe Awards (including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor to Stephen Boyd), the BAFTA Award for Best Picture, DGA Award for Best Director, and the NY Film Critics Award for Best Picture. It still remains on a number of the AFI lists: It's #100 on 100 Years, 100 Films (10th Anniversary Edition) and #72 on the Original List, #21 on the list of Film Scores, #49 on 100 Years, 100 Thrills, and #56 on 100 Years, 100 Cheers. It was added to the National Film Registry in 2004. I'll leave you with the re-release trailer:
Stood up again by her philandering boyfriend, Sheridan "Sherry" Warren (Robert Montgomery), Marcia Townsend (Joan Crawford) resolves to never see him again. He convinces her to give him another chance, but it turns out to be another another night of Sherry's dalliances, and Marcia leaves. Realizing Sherry is about to lose her, he proposes, and against her own, and her grandmother Fanny Townsend (Edna May Oliver)'s better judgement, Marcia agrees to marry him. But Sherry is no more committed to monogamy than he was before the marriage, so Marcia decides it's time for No More Ladies (1935) The positives of this film are the excellent cast - Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Franchot Tone, Edna May Oliver, Gail Patrick, Charlie Ruggles, Reginald Denny, and Joan Burfield aka Joan Fontaine (in her screen debut). The negative is it's an awful script. Based on a 1934 Broadway play, which starred Ruth Weston, Lucile Watson, and Melvyn Douglas, the film is long and ultimately boring. (Ms. Weston and Ms. Watson were originally supposed to reprise their roles in the film (AFI catalog)). One major problem is the character of Sherry Warren. Sure, Mr. Montgomery is extremely attractive but Sherry is a womanizer, and everyone knows it. He's already broken up one marriage, he uses and dumps women regularly, so what Marcia could possibly see in him is never really clear. She's got the equally attractive Jim Salston (Franchot Tone) pursuing her, so why settle for a man who is never going to be a husband? Tis a mystery.
The actor that stands out in the film is Edna May Oliver. She gets the best lines and as always, has the most fantastic delivery. Born in 1883, Ms. Oliver was already on Broadway by 1916. By 1932, she had appeared in 11 musicals and dramas, including the original Show Boat (1927) in which she played Parthy Hawks. Her film career began in 1923; she would appear in 48 films, including A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) (for which she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress), David Copperfield (1935), and 3 films as amateur sleuth Hildegarde Withers. Quite frankly, she always managed to steal the film, even though her parts were usually supporting roles. She died at age 59 in 1942. We always enjoy seeing Gail Patrick (Theresa German), but she's wasted in this film. She, however, was grateful for the part - she'd been suggested by Ms. Crawford, who looked after her on the set, having her own makeup man work with Ms. Patrick. (TCM article). Why Ms. Patrick is asked to sing and play the ukulele, is beyond our ken. She's a lovely woman and an excellent actress, but she can't sing (and her repertoire seems inappropriate for this society party).
Franchot Tone and Joan Crawford had already appeared in three of their seven films together, and were married the year this film was released. They only have a couple of scenes together, but even with that little screen time, they seem like a better match than Marcia and Sherry. Their marriage would last until 1939, but their (eventual) friendship lasted til the end of Mr. Tone's life, with Ms. Crawford caring for him when he was dying of lung cancer. Charlie Ruggles as Sherry's continually drunken friend Edgar Holden is amusing in the beginning, but the character begins to wear thin after a few scenes. And with the exception of one scene towards the middle of the film (when Edgar is someplace he's not supposed to be), it's a mystery why he is even there. The scriptwriter keeps trying to find ways of incorporating him into the action. All it does is slow the film down further. Arthur Treacher appears briefly as Lord Knowleton - whose unintelligible English accent is shown twice - then he speaks perfectly normally. The question again is why?
Since this is an MGM picture, we also have the benefit of outstanding set direction by Cedric Gibbons, and lovely costumes by Adrian. But it's not enough. The New York Timesreview by Andre Sennwald is dismissive "Out of the labors of the brigade of writers who tinkered with the screen
play, there remain a sprinkling of nifties which make for moments of
hilarity in an expanse of tedium and fake sophistication." Sadly, we agree. So, unless you are a complete-ist for one the actors involved, this is one to pass on. Below is a clip from the beginning of the film.
Thomas Dickson (Walter Huston) runs a successful bank in an unnamed city in 1932 America. His bank survived the beginnings of the Depression primarily because of Dickson's gift for choosing individuals to whom to loan money. Often, Dickson makes loans on the character of the person, regardless of their collateral, yet those to whom he lent money have unfailingly paid it back. But a bank robbery threatens the integrity of the bank when word is leaked that they are broke, starting an American Madness (1932). Shown at the AFI Silver Theatre as part of a retrospective celebrating the works of Fay Wray and Robert Riskin, the film featured commentary by their daughter, Victoria Riskin (who recently published Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir). Mr. Riskin wrote the screenplay - one of eight collaborations with Frank Capra (TCM article). Frank Capra was not the first choice to direct the film - initially Allan Dwan was set to direct, but producer Harry Cohn was dissatisfied with his efforts, fired him and assigned Roy William Neill. Within a day, Neill was gone and Frank Capra, who was just back from a vacation, was pushed into the film. Scenes of the bank run are reminiscent of It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and the character of Thomas Dickson resembles George Bailey, even to his speeches as je attempts to calm the bank panic. It's an interesting opportunity to see the work that would later influence what many consider Capra's masterwork.
Walter Huston is impressive as Dickson, a man of principle facing a crisis of faith. Dickson has spent his life relying on his ability to read people. Now, in an instant he discovers that a climate of fear brings out the worst in his fellow man. The character of Dickson was based on the chairman of the Bank of America, A. P. Giannini (AFI catalog ). Mr. Huston is always an impressive actor - see his work in Rain (1932), Dodsworth (1936), and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) for very different performances. Pat O'Brien plays Matt Brown, an ex-con hired - and promoted - by Dickson. He's in love with Dickson's secretary, Helen (Constance Cummings), and inadvertently witnessed what he thought was a romantic assignation between Dickson's wife, Phyllis (Kay Johnson) and fellow employee Cyril Cluett (Gavin Gordon). Mr. O'Brien has his best scenes when he is (unsurprisingly) accused of collusion in the bank robbery. His anxiety over preserving his boss' marriage (Matt accompanied Ms. Dickson home when he found her at Cluett's apartment) rather than provide himself with an alibi is well played - and an interesting contrast to Gavin Gordon.
Constance Cummings didn't have a big part in this film - her role is to support Matt and Dickson, but she does it well. When she was the Star of the Day in Summer Under the Stars, Michael Feinstein discussed her. Her U.S. film career was short (she'd already had a Broadway career, which would continue until 1979); after her 1933 marriage to Benn Levy (they had two children and were together until his death in 1973), she moved with her husband to England, where she would continue working in films (Blithe Spirit (1945)) and the stage (Long Day's Journey into Night opposite Laurence Olivier in 1971). She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1979's Wings. She died in 2005, aged 95
This is the first film role for Sterling Holloway (Oscar), who would go on to perform numerous character parts, television roles, and voice parts, include Mr. Stork in Dumbo (1941), the narrator of "Peter and the Wolf" in Make Mine Music (1946), and Winnie the Pooh. It's an interesting movie, and if you are a fan of Frank Capra, or would like to see the genesis of It's a Wonderful Life, definitely worth a viewing. I'll close with an early scene, which introduces many of our characters.
Dave Saunders (Tim Holt) and his pal Chito Rafferty (Richard Martin) are looking for work as cowhands when they happen upon a stampede, caused by the drunken shenanigans of Gabe (James Bush), a ranch hand for Fred Warren (Cliff Clark). Mr. Warren summarily fires Gabe (and hires Dave and Chico who helped control the cattle), and is shot by Gabe in retaliation. Gabe escapes, but begins to plot revenge, and steal Mr. Warren's herd. Our film this week is Saddle Legion (1951). This is a B picture, pure and simple. It's 68 minutes long, but it is quite a ride. Blink and you will surely miss something. Tim Holt has just the right amount of sincerity as Dave - a true Western hero who does what needs to be done. And Richard Martin as Chito is silly without being a moron. Though Tim Holt would occasionally escape from Western films (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Magnificent Ambersons, for example), much of his career was spent in B oaters. A decorated war hero (he won the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart for her service in World War II's Pacific Theater of Operations), he would relocate to Oklahoma and life on a ranch the year after this film (TCM article). He made a few more film and television appearances, but by and large, he managed theatres and radio stations, produced rodeos and music jamborees. He died in 1973 of bone cancer.
The reason this movie was selected is a simple one - the presence of Dorothy Malone as Dr. Ann F. Rollins. Dr. Rollins is a competent and trusted physician. Though both Dave and Chito show surprise upon meeting her, their acceptance of her abilities is immediate, and it is clear that Mr. Warren is also confident of her skills. In an early draft of the film, the character of Ann Rollins was to have been a veterinarian, (Tim Holt and the B Westerns). Making her a physician works much better, as she then can question the supposed illness of Mr. Warren's cattle, but still need to seek help in the diagnosis. Ms. Malone is good, giving Ann a self-assured stance and a sexiness that is not usual in B Western heroines. Interestingly, Chito is the one who is wise enough to want to pursue more time with "Senorita Sawbones," probably one of the few times Mr. Holt didn't get the girl.
Also in the cast is Movita Castañeda as Cantina performer Mercedes. She's later be called simply Movita, and would become the second Mrs. Marlon Brando. It's a fairly small part, but she acquits herself well. No one would ever call this an outstanding movie, but we found it enjoyable. If you like Westerns (or movies about women doctors), give it a viewing. It's fun.
It's Maycomb, Alabama at the height of the Depression. Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) is a widower with two children Jeremy "Jem" (Philip Alford) and Jean Louise "Scout" (Mary Badham). He's a lawyer who is surviving the Depression; he receives his payments in kind from his poor neighbors. Well respected in the community, he's asked to take on an impossible case - a local African-American handyman, Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell (Collin Wilcox). Atticus agrees to defend Tom, and the lives of the Finch family are deeply affected. We'll be discussing To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), the most recent TCM Presents: Fathom Events. That To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the all-time great films is not a statement with which most people would argue. A moving portrait of one man's attempts to combat racism in his small town, it is a timeless film. Gregory Peck is incomparable as Atticus Finch, the lawyer who cannot say no when asked to take on a difficult and controversial case. It's a part that won him the Academy Award, and has been voted as the #1 Greatest Heroes in AFI's list of Heroes and Villains in the Movies. I'm not going to discuss Go Set a Watchman (which I refuse to read. It's likely it was a first draft of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, and should not have been published as a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird) or the Broadway play of To Kill a Mockingbird by Aaron Sorkin (which I've not seen, but hope to one day). Suffice it to say, in my opinion To Kill a Mockingbird is a film (and book) that should stand apart from these two later portraits of Atticus.
It's hard to believe that Mr. Peck was not Harper Lee's first choice for Atticus - she initially wanted Spencer Tracy (New Yorkerarticle). In fact, several other actors were approached BEFORE Mr. Peck, including James Stewart ( Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewartby Scott Eyman) and Rock Hudson. Bing Crosby, in fact, campaigned to get the part. Today, it's next to impossible to imagine anyone else in the role, Mr. Peck so makes it his own. His portrait is a series of nuances that build up to a man - a widower who sits on the porch swing with his arm across the bench, seemingly embracing his late wife; a father who gently rocks his sleeping daughter as he carries her from their car; a now-nearsighted man who must toss his eyeglasses on the ground to accurately fire a rifle. According to Mr. Peck, he managed to win over Harper Lee. He recalled shooting a scene in which he noticed the author's "cheeks were glistening" Sure he had moved her with his acting, he asked her about the tears: "Oh Gregory, you got a little pot belly just like my daddy" (AFI interview). She would later say "when Gregory Peck played Atticus Finch, he played himself and touched the world" (TCM tribute by Mary Badham to Gregory Peck). For a substantial biography of Mr. Peck, see the chapter on the film in Why To Kill a Mockingbird Matters: What Harper Lee's Book and the Iconic American Film Mean to Us Today By Tom Santopietro.
Neither of Philip Alford nor Mary Badham had long film or television careers. They are both excellent as the Finch children; Ms. Badham was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker. Mr. Alford would eventually become a businessman (he lives in Mississippi); Ms. Badham was an art restorer. Of late, she has become a spokesperson for the film and it's message of tolerance. She was close to her onscreen father until his death in 2003 (and always called him Atticus). Also remarkable is Robert Duvall as Arthur "Boo" Radley. Though only in the film for a few minutes, it is a characterization you will long remember. Kim Stanley as the adult voice of Scout is also excellent (TCM article).
The film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards (in a year that featured Laurence of Arabia, The Music Man, The Miracle Worker, and The Manchurian Candidate); it won three: Actor, Screenplay for Material from Another Source, and Black & White Art Direction (AFI catalog). Brock Peters was the first African American to receive the All-American Press Association of New York Award for Best Supporting Actor. Mr. Peters had spent the better part of his career up til this film playing villains; his trajectory changed after this - he would appear in several Star Trek movies and played Benjamin Sisko's father in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He died in 2005, two years after delivering the eulogy at the funeral of his friend and colleague, Gregory Peck.
The film opens on a statement that we are about to see the future. The War is over. The Nazis who victimized millions of people are being held responsible for their actions. A trial is being held, and among the accused is Wilhelm Grimm (Alexander Knox). Present in the court are three of his victims who survived: Father Warecki (Henry Travers), the local Catholic priest; Karl Grimm (Erik Rolf), his brother; and Marja Paierkowski (Marsha Hunt), his one-time fiance. The film promises the fate of the criminals: None Shall Escape (1944) I'd not heard of this film until it was aired at the TCM Film Festival last year. A friend went to see it, and suggested I might want to seek it out; unfortunately, it has not been available on any media format, nor has it been aired on any television station. Recently, the film was released to Blu-Ray, and I was able to get a copy. If you've not seen None Shall Escape, try and find a copy (perhaps from your local library). It's a fascinating look into the past. The movies was released in February of 1944 - four months before the D-Day invasion. The Germans had just won two major victories in Italy (at Cisterna and Anzio Beach), and the final outcome of the war was still in doubt. There had been other anti-Nazi films: The Great Dictator (1940), The Mortal Storm (1940), To Be or Not To Be (1942), All Through the Night (1942), but this was the first to attempt to show what was happening to Jews in Europe. It was also doing something else that was unique - looking to the end of the war and assuming the Allies would win - a bold statement in 1943 and early 1944!
The flashbacks which tell the story of Wilhelm Grimm's rise in the Nazi machine begin in 1919. The First World War has ended badly for him: his dreams of German glory have been destroyed, and he has lost a leg. He sees himself as less than a man, not only because of his disability, but also because he has been forced to return to Poland. Grimm despises the people he lived with before the war, including his fiance. He blames his hatred on the fact that the town will only see his injury. That the people of Lidzbark welcome him back, and that a woman like Marja could love him show the audience that, before the war, he seemed a good man. Clearly, he is no longer, and Alexander Knox plays him as one dead inside. The monster that was created by the war is only encouraged by the rise of National Socialism, and Mr. Knox is not afraid to display the evil that must have been buried below the surface.
Marsha Hunt exudes an inner strength as Marja. The man she loved is, for all intents and purposes, dead. And with the beginning of the Second World War, she watches everything that she knows get plowed under by the reign of this horrible man. She plays Marja with dignity; Marja never pities Grimm, but eventually she loathes him, and what he has become. His crimes are horrors, even before he becomes an officer with the Nazis, and Marja must acknowledge that the only way to save herself and her people is to abandon a man she once loved. Also in the cast is Henry Travers as the local priest and Richard Hale as Rabbi David Levin. The two prelates are friends, and work for the good of their populations. It's a nice touch to present the religious leaders as a team, rather than as rivals for converts.
None Shall Escape was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Story (AFI Catalog) for writer Lester Cole (who was later blacklisted as a member of the Hollywood Ten). Columbia chief Harry Cohn wanted Paul Lukas in the part of Grimm, but director Andre de Toth wanted Alexander Knox. It was released as a B movie, and reviews at the time were mixed - Bosley Crowther of the New York Times (of course) hate it, calling it "bombastically directed" and "dishing out thick, dark gobs of anguish;" while the Hollywood Reporter was glowing (TCM article). Regardless, it is an important movie. In her book
Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust, Annette Insdorf
says the film is "revelatory in its inclusion of the genocide of the Jews [and] prescient in its depiction of the postwar trial of an SS leader." As Stan Taffel, in this 2016 interview said "This film is relevant in the 21st Century and it will be relevant in the 22nd Century. As long as people care about who they are and what they are and how they are, this film is relevant."
I'll leave you with a trailer and this discussion of the film by Marsha Hunt:
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This post is part of the Great Villain Blogathon. Go there to read the posts of the #Villains2019 participants.
When Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) literally jumps ship to join her new husband King Westley (Jameson Thomas) - over her father's vehement objections - hell breaks loose. Alexander Andrews (Walter Connolly) hires every detective he can find to search for Ellie, but she has other ideas. She boards the night bus to New York City to reach Westley. Unfortunately, Ellie has no idea of how to be on the lam; she is befriended by reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable) who plans on using her story to get back in good graces with his editor. Our film is It Happened One Night (1936). Victoria Riskin provided an introduction to this film, which was part of the Fay Wray/Robert Riskin Retrospective at the AFI Silver Theatre. Mr. Riskin collaborated with Frank Capra on the film - Mr. Capra read the story Night Bus by Samuel Hopkins Adams, which was published in Cosmopolitan, and approached Mr. Riskin about adapting it for the screen (Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir by Victoria Riskin); they pitched it to Harry Cohn at Columbia. Myrna Loy, Miriam Hopkins, Constance Bennett and Margaret Sullavan were all approached to play Ellie. Finally, Claudette Colbert (who was not enthusiastic) consented to do the part, contingent upon a hefty salary. Similarly, Robert Montgomery was requested for the part of Peter, but Louis B. Mayer decided to send Clark Gable instead; Mayer resented Gable's increased salary demands and decided four weeks at a Poverty Row studio was fit punishment (AFI Catalog). By the film's conclusion, no one was particularly thrilled with the result - except the audiences!
Claudette Colbert is excellent as Ellie. It's a difficult part - Ellie needs to be snooty enough to be believable as a spoiled brat, but warm enough to attract Peter's attentions from the start. Ms. Colbert had not wanted to work with Frank Capra again (there had been some animosity on the 1927 film For the Love of Mike) and she was unwilling to show her legs for the now-famous hitchhiking scene. However, when Mr. Capra brought in a model to be "the leg," Ms. Colbert said, "get her out of here, I'll do it -- that's not my leg!" and did the scene that has become synonymous with the film (TCM article). She left the film convince it was "the worst picture in the world," but by 1982, when Frank Capra received the AFI Lifetime Achievement award, she was much more enthusiastic. (You can see her speech here).
While Mr. Gable had worn a mustache in other films, the reaction to his appearance in It Happened One Night convinced him that he should keep it permanently (Clark Gable: A Biography by Warren G. Harris). He also began wearing a trenchcoat as a lucky charm. Mr. Gable gives Peter Warne just enough arrogance to stand up to Ellie, but he's also warm and gentle. There's a scene in which a woman faints on the bus - Peter's ambivalence in wanting to help her, but knowing that he hasn't very much money, makes you warm to the character. Gable also has the unique ability to play comedy without being silly. Watch him undress in a scene that could have been ridiculous - with him doing it, it's a masterpiece.
The film is replete with some very impressive character performances. Roscoe Karns is decidedly slimy as Oscar Shapeley, the lecherous traveling salesman. Alan Hale seems friendly and innocuous as Danker, the driver who picks up our hitchhikers (but he's not). And finally, there is Walter Connolly as Ellie's beleaguered father, a man who only wants the best for his only child, but isn't always very good at letting her know that.
It Happened One Night became the first comedy to win an Oscar, and the first film to win Oscars in the five major categories: Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Writing (Robert Osborne commentary). It became the model for a subset of the screwball comedy genre (See: The Runaway Bride: Hollywood Romantic Comedy of the 1930's by Elizabeth Kendall). It spawned two remakes (both musicals): Eve Knew Her Apples (1945) with Ann Miller, and You Can't Run Away from It (1956) with June Allyson. It appears on multiple AFI lists: #46 on 100 Years, 100 Movies (Anniversary Edition) and #36 on the original list; #8 on 100 Years, 100 Laughs; and #38 on 100 Years, 100 Passions. In 1993, it was added to the National Film Registry. If you've never seen this excellent film, treat yourself and find a copy. In the meantime, we'll leave you with the scene that nearly bankrupted the men's undershirt industry:
Con man Sherwood Nash (William Powell) decides to forgo financial scams in favor of fashion scams when he meets would-be designer Lynn Mason (Bette Davis). Using Lynn's talent for sketching and eye for successful dresses, Nash "borrows" dresses en route from Paris to New York design houses, and sells cheap copies ("designed" by Lynn) to low-end competitors. He then convinces the New York designers to send him to Paris to do the same for them - get the Fashions of 1934 (1934) to them at a lower price.
