Fifty Years of Film in 50 Weeks, #23: For Whom the Bell Tolls, 1943

For Whom the Bell Tolls, 1943

Director: Sam Wood
Writers: Dudley Nichols, from the novel by Ernest Hemingway
Cinematographer: Ray Rennahan
Produced by: Buddy G. DeSylva and Sam Wood for Paramount Pictures
Starring: Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff, Katina Paxinou, Joseph Calleia, Arturo de Cordova, Vladimir Sokoloff

Why I chose it
Having recently viewed Ken Burns' documentary about Ernest Hemingway, I put this film on my short list when it was also included on Filmsite.org's list of best 1943 films. It won my Twitter poll by just a few votes.

'No-spoiler' plot overview 
American expatriate Robert Jordan (Gary Cooper) is fighting on the side of the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. His commanding general assigns him to a dangerous mission to blow up a bridge strategic to the Fascists. To do this, he joins up with a group of guerilla fighters led by the squabbling couple Pilar (Katina Paxinou) and Pablo (Akim Tamiroff). Among them is a young woman Maria (Ingrid Bergman) recently rescued from being a political captive. Through a series of alliances, betrayals, and re-negotiations, the plan to demolish the bridge inches forward. In the meantime, Robert and Maria fall in love and pledge to join their souls for eternity. 

Production Background 
Production began soon after the book had become a sensation, and Hemingway, who earned $150,000 for the film rights, was actively involved in the planning process. He counted Gary Cooper among his friends, and modeled the character of Robert Gordon on the actor. It was easy then to cast Cooper in the film. Paramount struggled casting the two primary leading female roles, but eventually settled on Hemingway's pick Ingrid Bergman, who had coveted the role of Maria, and Greek stage actress Katina Paxinou as Pilar. 

There were some tricky issues for the Production Code Administration censors. First, on the political side, Paramount was nervous to be too explicit in naming the 'Fascists' as the enemy here, especially since they were the victors in Spain, and kept the two sides' identities a bit fuzzy. (The film was ultimately banned in Spain and only released there after Franco's death). The other big issues were the "sex" scene between Robert and Maria and the revelation that Maria had been gang-raped by her captors. In the film, it wasn't clear to what extent the physical relationship between the lovers progressed, although they did show the two in a partial shot with a sleeping bag, and it also included a bit of dialog about the rape.

The film garnered several Oscar nods for its actors, including Cooper and Bergman, but only Paxinou won as Best Supporting Actress in her first and only nomination.

Some other notable film-related events in 1943 (from Filmsite.org):

• 20th Century Fox began distributing three million pinups of leggy actress Betty Grable, in her famed white swimsuit photo (with her hands on her hips and an over-the-shoulder smile), mostly to GIs serving in armed forces overseas. She was declared their favorite pinup. 
• 50 year-old British actor Leslie Howard, famous for his role as Ashley Wilkes in Gone With the Wind (1939), was killed when onboard a DC-3 plane that was shot down by German Luftwaffe fighters over the Bay of Biscay near Lisbon, Portugal (considered a war zone).
• The precursor of Italian neo-realism was Luchino Visconti's gritty Ossessione (1943, It.), the Italian director's first film. Loosely adapted from James M. Cain's pulp novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, it enraged fascist censors and inspired the term neo-realism. The movement would really take hold from the mid-40s to the mid-50s, with its main exponents being Visconti, Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica.
• Supported by the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG), Olivia de Havilland filed a far-reaching lawsuit against her studio, Warner Bros, eventually winning in a 1945 ruling called the DeHavilland Law. It declared that a studio could not indefinitely extend a performer's contract. It imposed a 7 year limit on contracts for service unless the employee agreed to an extension beyond that term. The decision ultimately limited the oppressive contract-power of studios over their performers.
• Controversy was engendered when 54-year-old Charlie Chaplin wed 17-year-old Oona O'Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill (who cut ties with her and disowned her following the marriage). 

My Random Observations

• This is the first film in my 50 Years of Film in 50 Weeks series that I actively disliked. It plodded along for its nearly three hours running time; various European actors with different accents were made up with brownface to look gypsy or Spanish (all except Ingrid Bergman that is); and the romance was telegraphed and overwraught from the moment Bergman showed up on screen. I was desperate for the bridge to blow up already and end everyone's misery.

Akim Tamiroff (center), his band, and Gary Cooper (right)

• The rugged mountain scenery (filmed in California) was quite impressive at times -- which stands to reason as the great William Cameron Menzies was the production designer.

• When Ingrid Bergman cried out "Roberto!", I couldn't help but think about her marriage to Roberto Rossellini, then still a few years in the future.

  

  Ingrid Bergman and Gary Cooper in For Whom the Bell Tolls

  
  
• Katina Paxinou was really my favorite actor in the film; she seemed to own the camera and her fellow actors. However, Paxinou's features and dark hair reminded me of Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West (all she needed was green face makeup and pointed hat).
  
  
  
• It's time I revisit the novel, which, as opposed to the film, is a true classic.

Where to Watch

The film can be streamed for a small free on many platforms.

Further Reading
Critic and writer James Agee's review here offers some of the reasons why I didn't like the film, but also praises some performances.

Planning my schedule--sort of--at the 10th Annual TCM Film Festival

Well, it's that time again and the annual Turner Classic Movies Film Festival will explode in Hollywood bigger than ever in under two weeks now. (It's the 10th anniversary of the Festival and the 25th anniversary of the TV channel, and all passes have sold out for the first time.) While I'm excited to be attending, I so far haven't succeeded in building my complete schedule ahead of time, because with up to five different films showing in every time slot, and great guests appearing, my decision-making abilities have vanished--I need help, people!

In any case, I've captured my thoughts here as my festival planning is still very much a work in progress. Perhaps it's good not to get too committed, as it's inevitable that things change at the last minute. So, here goes:

Thursday, April 11
So for opening night, I can eliminate a few films pretty quickly: When Harry Met Sally (1989) (only for higher-level passholders), Dark Passage (1947), (seen it recently), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) (seen it recently on the big screen), Mogambo (1953) (sorry, no interest). The remaining films are all up for grabs.

Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell

Option 1: I'll admit my first instinct was to head to the Egyptian Theater for Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1953) because it would certainly be fun to get the festival started with a rousing, fun musical with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell--that, plus I've not seen the entire thing. If I did that, I could stick around and see another fun film, or at least I believe it's fun as I haven't watched the entire thing ever -- The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947). (Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and an adolescent Shirley Temple star).

Option 2: I'm also tempted to hang out by the pool for the outdoor screening of Ocean's 11 (1960). Angie Dickinson will be there, and outdoor screenings are usually a blast -- unless it's uncomfortably cold. In which case, it's best to be inside a warm cinema. This one ends late, so if I choose it, there will be no time to get to any other.

Gary Cooper as Sergeant York

Option 3: Sergeant York (1941) is screening at the Legion Theater (a new venue for the festival) and here's another Gary Cooper classic I haven't seen. In addition, members of the York family will be there to provide perspective to film-goers. What an amazing opportunity! If I choose this one, though, the timing is such that it will be my only film for the evening.

Friday, April 12
Morning Schedule: The first film of the day was an easy one for me: Merrily We Go To Hell (1932): it's a pre-code and who can resist a title like that? Fredric March plays a drunk and I'll be interested to see how it compares to his Norman Maine in A Star is Born (1937). After that, I may do something I've never done before: go to the Grauman's Chinese Hand & Footprint Ceremony for Billy Crystal, one of my favorite entertainers who so deserves this honor. For the second slot of the morning, my inner film geek will likely take over as I head over to the Legion Theater for What's Not To Love About Republic Serials? which promises film clips showcasing behind the scenes of the low-budget sci-fi/action short films from Republic pictures.

Afternoon schedule:  For the early slot, for me it's a choice between My Favorite Wife (1940),  (another Cary Grant classic) and the seminal silent film Sunrise (1927). I absolutely LOVE Sunrise, and it was one of the films that awakened my classic film obsession. However, my first view of this one was on the big screen with a new score performed live by the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra, so this screening wouldn't be a novelty for me. My Favorite Wife is a film new to me, and Jennifer Grant, Cary's daughter will be on hand to share her insights about her famous dad. It's a tough choice. Also, tugging at me will be the Hollywood Black Backlot meetup at 3:30, with a chance to meet author and film historian Donald Bogle, and get a free copy of his book.

Evening Schedule: For the later afternoon/early evening slot, I'm tempted to hang out near the Chinese cinema #6 for Vanity Street (1932) and Open Secret (1948). These are low-budget "discoveries" and are new to me. The former stars one of my favorites, Charles Bickford, in a rare leading man part. I'd be tempted to attend Steel Magnolias (1989) with the original playwright, Robert Harling, and star Shirley MacLaine in attendance (Wow!). The only thing is, this film will come to a local cinema later this year as part of the TCM/Fathom Big Screen Classics Series, and I will no doubt catch it then with our newly-minted TCM Boston Backlot chapter. The final and best option for me may be to head to Day For Night, a 1973 Truffaut film starring Jacqueline Bisset, with Ms. Bisset in attendance to offer her thoughts. I've not even heard of this one, (!) so a pleasant surprise may be in store for me here.

Late evening: Here it's a toss up between Road House (1948) and Winchester '73 (1950). The former, a film noir starring Richard Widmark and Ida Lupino, has been on my watch list for a while. And, it'll be shown in gorgeous black-and-white on nitrate. If I'm in a Western sort of mood, I'll head over to the Jimmy Stewart classic, to check another one off my watch list. And oh by the way, no midnight movie for me -- just can't do it!

Saturday, April 13

Barbara Rush in
When Worlds Collide

Morning schedule: It doesn't get much easier on Saturday. My first choice will be between All Through the Night, a comedy-thriller starring Humphrey Bogart from 1942, and When Worlds Collide (1951), a sci-fi "discovery" in which star Barbara Rush will be at the screening. The morning's dark horse is The Little Colonel (1935), a classic Shirley Temple film. Since I've not seen any of her films from her golden age--childhood that is--this is an opportunity to rectify that. For the second slot, I'm pretty much decided to see the classic British comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949); it's new to me, plus young Alec Guinness, people!

Afternoon Schedule: For the early slot, I'm tempted by A Raisin In the Sun (1961), which is universally acclaimed and stars the great Sidney Poitier. Alternatively, there is a double feature starring silent cowboy star Tom Mix -- with live piano accompaniment from Ben Model. I could be very happy there! For the second slot, it will come down to one of these two: 1) Nashville (1975) -- this one is considered a Robert Altman classic and I've yet to see it. And as far as special guests--there is huge list for this one, including Jeff Goldblum, Keith Carradine, and (gulp!) Lily Tomlin! 2) The other option is It Happened Here (1964) a documentary-styled war drama from film historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow. Mr. Brownlow will be there also to receive the 2nd annual Robert Osborne Award, and I would love to see him be honored that way.

Acclaimed Western star of the
early cinema, Tom Mix

Late evening Schedule:  If there is time after Nashville lets out, I'll plan Indiscreet (1958) with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. It's directed by recently-deceased Stanley Donen. If I've decided I've had my fill of Cary Grant already, (I know, right?!) If I don't make it to that and still feel like continuing my film-watching, I'll probably go for Samson & Delilah (1949), shown in nitrate with Victoria Mature, daughter of star Victor Mature, there for the screening. Hmm...on second thought...maybe that should be my #1 selection!

Sunday, April 15
Morning Schedule: The last day of the festival is always bittersweet, but still full. There is also the issue of all the 'TBA' slots -- these get announced the day before when festival planners assess how many popular films from earlier in the weekend had to turn away attendees, and thus deserve another shot on the big screen. Assuming none of the TBAs is a huge draw for me, the day still starts out with a really difficult choice: Mad Love (1935), Peter Lorre's first U.S. film, The Defiant Ones (1958), which earned Sidney Poitier his first Oscar nod, or Holiday (1938), the Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn romp? I've not seen any of them, and all will be great, so...dear reader, any suggestions?? It may all depend on how many of these stars' other films I've seen so far at the festival.

After this, I'll likely take a little break before the TCM Backlot Members' Meetup starting at 1:30. Since our Boston chapter just formed, with yours truly as co-chair, I want to meet other members and get ideas from established chapters.

Evening Schedule: Before the closing night party, I'll need to make at least one more choice for a late afternoon/early evening film. I expect I'll be strongly tempted by The Dolly Sisters (1945) starring Betty Grable and June Haver. It's a technicolor musical to be screened on nitrate, so I expect it'll be a fun way to close out the festival. No epics (Gone with the Wind, Godfather II) for me!

And that will be a wrap, folks! I'd love to hear your thoughts. The full schedule can be found here. Check back for my summary of my actual experiences!

December Classic Film Screenings in Greater Boston

November turned out to be a much busier month than I had originally thought, and my blog output dropped off precipitously.  I fear December will be the same way, although my goal will be to pick up my game just a bit.  On to the main attraction, which features both holiday and non-holiday themed films to punctuate your cold days and evenings in the cinema this month.

Harvard Film Archive

The HFA is once again offering an intriguing blend of offerings.

Sunday Dec 4, 4:30 PM -- the theatre's 8th Annual 'Vintage Holiday Show' of short films 'from the HFA vault' celebrating all things holiday.  It's billed as 'family friendly' and is likely to be much better than your average walk down holiday nostalgia lane.  And, its total 96 minutes of running time is completely free! These films were originally part of the Boston Public Library's circulating collection.   If I didn't already have a commitment I would attend this -- something very different and sure to be a delight.  Included in the list of films, both animated and live action, are:

From 'A Figgy Duff Christmas' (HFA Website)

The Great Toy Robbery (Jeff Hale, 1963); Six Penguins (Asporoah Panov, 1973);  Max's Christmas (Michael Sporn, 1988); The Cop and the Anthem (Peter Mark Schifter, 1982); The Cherry Tree Carol (Gardner Compton, 1968); A Figgy Duff Christmas (William Gough, 1978); Animal's Best Friend (Hermina Tyrlova, 1973); A Charles Dickens Christmas: From the Pickwick Papers (John Barnes, 1958); The Night Before Christmas (John Wilson, 1968).

Busby Berkeley

'Busby Berkeley Babylon'

Busby Berkeley was a giant in early film musical choreography; his visuals are still stunning today.  He turned big musical numbers into dazzling kaleidoscope-like frenzies of costumes, props, and bodies, especially those of the female variety.  The HFA is presenting an extensive retrospective of Berkeley's films 'Busby Berkeley Babylon' during December and January.  It's worth your time to read the HFA write-up of Berkeley's life and career (did you know he spent some of his earlier years Boston area doing stage direction for the Somerville Stock Company?!), and descriptions of all the films.  Here are the ones that are most exciting to me:  

From 'Gold Diggers of 1933' 

Sunday December 11, 7 PM.  King of Jazz (1930), a 'rediscovery' that I missed at Capitolfest in August, a 'lavish production' in 2-strip Technicolor, celebrating bandleader Paul Whiteman. 

Friday, December 16, 9 PM Dames (1934) starring pre-code superstars Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, and Ruby Keeler.  It's apparently a celebration of sexuality only slightly veiled, flaunting the restrictions of the upcoming Production Code that would prohibit overt references to sex, among other sinful (!) activities.

Saturday, December 17th 7:00 PM Roman Scandals (1933, D. Frank Tuttle), a wild farcical romp through ancient Rome via an extended dream, starring Eddie Cantor, Gloria Stuart, and Edward Arnold.  It's known also for the 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' first film appearance of Lucille Ball as a 'Goldwyn Girl' with long blond locks.  I saw it at Capitolfest in 2014 and it was quite the experience.

Barbara Stanwyck giving Gary Cooper
More that he bargained for. 

Coolidge Corner Theatre
Monday, December 5, 7:00 PM: Barbara Stanwyck and a young, hot Gary Cooper in the classic screwball comedy Ball of Fire, directed by Howard Hawks and written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. (I can't help but think of Jerry Lee Lewis whenever I hear the title of this movie!)  It's about a group of lexicographers and their collision with a high-spirited young woman mixed up with the mob.  I've not yet seen this film and unfortunately can't attend this screening, but otherwise I would most certainly be near the head of the queue for this one!  Adding to the fun is a special guest appearance -- Ben Zimmer, award-winning language columnist for the NY Times, will speak before the film about the science of studying slang, and how it's evolved over the decades.  A regular feature of the Coolidge's fun Science on Screen Series showcases expert speakers talking about an aspect of science related to the film in some way.  

Monday, December 12, 7:00 PM: Bogey & Bacall send sparks across the celluloid in one of their most heralded noirs -- The Big Sleep, screened in 35 mm as part of the Big Screen Classics Series.  The narrative of this film, also directed by Howard Hawks, is nearly impossible to follow, but heck, the plot's not the main pleasure of watching this one!

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall form an uneasy alliance in
The Big Sleep (photo from imdb.com)

Kirk Douglas in his prime

Brattle Theatre

Sunday, Dec 25 - Thurs Dec 29 (Christmas week) the Brattle is programming films of Kirk Douglas to celebrate his 100th birthday (actually on Dec 9).  Happy birthday, Kirk!
Check out the whole series, but if you are free on Dec 26th, check out a double feature of  'rarities' from 1951:  Detective Story, a noir directed by ace William Wyler; also starring William Bendix, Cathy O'Donnell, Eleanor Parker.  That's followed by Ace in the Hole, directed by Billy Wilder, and also starring Jan Sterling and Robert Arthur.



Sunday, January 1, and Monday January 2:  While technically a new month, it deserves a mention here: ring in the New Year with the Marx Bros!  The Brattle's presenting a marathon of films from these pioneers of early film comedy, betting on once you see one, you can't stop until you've seen them all!  All are new restorations of the old favorites, all of which are the early, pre-code Paramount films, so if you attend the whole festival you'll see the style of the brothers evolve over a four year period, from The Cocoanuts (1929) to Duck Soup (1933).  My favorite of theirs is Horse Feathers, which I got to see at the 2016 Turner Classic Film Festival. 

Zeppo, Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx are up to no good in 'The Cocoanuts'

Highlights from Capitolfest 2016

For the second time in three years, on a muggy August weekend I made a road trip to Rome, New York to attend the very unique classic film festival known as 'Capitolfest', after the Capitol Theater, the old movie palace downtown playing host to the event.  The festival's tag line is "a vacation, not a marathon!" Well, with just two and a half days to watch over two dozen movies, and with assorted special presentations mixed in, if that doesn't meet the criteria for a marathon, I'm not sure I share the same working definition of the word. That said, here in Rome the experience was relaxed, and lacked major downsides of bigger festivals, such as rushing from one theater to another, standing in lines, fighting to secure a seat in smaller venues, and choosing between eating and seeing a film.  Here, it was also a great pleasure to spend many hours exploring film history in the presence of other classic film enthusiasts and in such an historic place.

The Capitol Theatre on W. Dominick St.. in Rome, NY

This was the 14th annual edition of the film festival, and it is one of the most unique around, because it concentrates on hard-to-find films from the silent and early talking era.  (This is NOT a greatest hits parade of classic film.)  Yet, festival organizers, led by Art Pierce, theatre Executive Director, and Assistant Manager Jack Theakston, look at the critical reviews of the time and ensure they are generally positive before choosing a film to screen at Capitolfest.  The films are often coming off restoration projects by the George Eastman House & Museum or the Library of Congress, and many haven't been seen since their original run in the 1920s or 30s.  The festival also includes special presentations highlighting developments in film history.  Tremendously affordable, a weekend pass (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) will put you out exactly $60. 

Interior view of the Capitol Theatre, from www.romecapitol.com

About half the films screened are from the silent era, and accompanying them live on their original restored theater organ, were musicians Dr. Philip C. Carli, Avery Tunningley, and Bernie Anderson.  And in the 'can it GET any better?' category, the 'featured star' this year was Gary Cooper, who was at his most smoldering and attractive early in his career. 

Young Gary Cooper -- it may not get any better than this, folks.

The FilmsAs a relative newbie to film history appreciation, I really enjoyed the special presentations of the Dawn of Technicolor, by James Layton, and a sampling of Edison Kinetoscope shorts (with recorded soundtracks) from 1913, presented by George Willeman, .... these proving that color film didn't just emerge in the late thirties, or that sound films didn't just magically appear in 1927.  Film history is much more complicated, with trials, errors, hard work, and more trials.  I also wonder what the stars of those 1913 shorts would think if they knew, 103 years later, that live audiences would re-discover their work.

I'm proud to say I saw every film presented at the festival (!)  While I can't claim I was completely awake for every last minute of them, I was there.  The late film on Friday evening was the sci-fi-adventure-comedy mash-up JUST IMAGINE (1930), which could have garnered the award for oddest film possibly ever made in the 1930s.  With it's look at what life might be like in the (gasp) 1980s (!) we all had fun with this one wondering what the heck was going on and I'm sure festival organizers did too.

The cast of JUST IMAGINE.  Yeah, most of us didn't quite get this one, either.

My favorite films were, in no particular order:

Beautiful  Florence Vidor

DOOMSDAY (Rowland Lee, 1928) opened the festival on Friday at 11:30 AM.  A silent love triangle set in England with Cooper as the lower class rival for Florence Vidor's hand.  While she loves him she balks at the hard farm work she'd be required to do.  Complications ensue.  Despite the somewhat anti-feminist themes in the film, I enjoyed it because it was my first exposure to Florence Vidor, and she was a fascinating, strong actress who was a good match for Cooper.  Her career was launched thanks to her husband, director King Vidor, who cast her in many of the films he produced in the era.  She eventually divorced him, and retired from films at the end of the silent era.  She also later married violinist Jascha Heifetz. 

WOLF SONG (Victor Fleming 1929):  This was the concluding film of the festival, a silent Western melodrama directed by Victor Fleming with a script written by John Farrow.  Cooper plays a rugged 'mountain man' who in his travels meets and falls in love with beautiful Mexican ingénue Lupe Velez. The struggle to maintain their relationship in face of Cooper's character's reluctance to be tied down creates the primary drama.  This one had terrific acting by the leads, and solid support comes from Louis Wolheim as his sidekick.  What distinguished this film for me was the emotional resonance and the final payoff, when Cooper had to literally crawl on his knees back to his love to gain her forgiveness.  It was working on this film that Cooper and Velez started a romantic relationship that lasted a few years.  Their chemistry in the film oozes from the screen. 

DUDE RANCH (Frank Tuttle, 1931)-- This was a farce in which enterprising business owners run a fake 'Dude Ranch' as a tourist attraction. The trouble?  Not enough going on threatens business.  So they hire a family of traveling circus performers to impersonate cowboys to liven things up with horses, gunfights and the like.  This showcases the comic skill of Jack Oakie who was in his element here with his double takes and 'aw shucks' charm-oozing persona.  Eugene Pallette is also tremendously entertaining with and also despite his totally un-PC act as a Native American.  Great example of verbal and physical comedy at a breakneck pace. I'd love to see this movie discussed in TCM's Slapstick course! 

Cast of THE POOR RICH (IMDb)

THE POOR RICH (Edward Sedgwick, 1934):  Another rousing comedy with some of the best character actors to grace the screen in the 1930s, or any era. The cast is composed of Edna May Oliver, Edward Everett Horton, Andy Devine, Thelma Todd, Una O'Connor, Leila Hyams and Grant Mitchell.  All contribute in what is a master class of comic timing, both verbal and physical.  The plot concerns a brother and sister (Oliver and Horton), late of the landed upper class but now completely destitute, who return to their family home in ruins, and attempt to try to rebuild while keeping up the ruse of their class for important and class-conscious visitors.  My only complaint with this one was Thelma Todd has too little to do and didn't get to showcase her natural ebullience as a comedienne.

Honorable Mention:  THE TEXAN, also with Cooper, and the short silent drama starring Norma Talmadge called UNDER THE DAISIES. 

The Extras
A huge 'dealers room' in a neighboring space provided much browsing pleasure.  Original film stills and magazines in great shape, hundreds of books on film at low prices, and DVDs galore, added to the vintage feel of the festival, and I must say I enhanced my collection just a bit :

Making the festival for me was the opportunity to get to know some new film friends, some of whom I met at the Turner Classic Film Festival, and others only online.   They inspire me with their passion, knowledge, and ability to express their love for film across multiple online platforms. 

A few blogged about their experience, and @classicmoviehub and @citizenscreen created a video log:

Check out these other first-person accounts from film friends:

Raquel Strecher's account

Jeff Lundenberger's account

I'm already looking forward to Capitolfest 2017 in August 2017!  The featured star will be Fay Wray.

Western Movie Summer Part 3: Two 'Border Westerns' from the 1950s

It's been about a month since I last posted an update from my 'Western Movie Summer', but despite that I've been watching as many Westerns as I possibly can squeeze in.  Following the general outline of the podcast course I'm well into in the 1950s now.  For this post I contrast two films from the beginning and end of that decade: John Ford's RIO GRANDE from 1950, and THEY CAME TO CORDURA, (1959) directed by Robert Rossen.  While having somewhat similar themes, the two films approach them very differently, and in many ways the first feels like a late 1940s film, while the second prefigures the more gritty 1960s.

RIO GRANDE

Any classic movie buff or Western fan will no doubt be intimate with much of John Ford's exceptional and award-winning directorial work.  His output is staggering: 146 films starting in the silent era through the mid 1960s.  While not exclusively focusing on Westerns, he viewed himself as a storyteller of that great American frontier:  "I'm John Ford. I make Westerns," he was quoted as saying.  RIO GRANDE falls near the middle of Ford's career and is the last of the now-dubbed 'Cavalry Trilogy', which also included SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON and FORT APACHE.

John Wayne sporting a mustache, with O'Hara

This one stars Ford favorite John Wayne as a Union Cavalry Fort commander in Texas near the Mexican border.  He must confront a threat of marauding Apaches who threaten the U.S. settlers from their base camp in Mexico.  He's told initially that he cannot take his troops across the border under any circumstances.  At the same time he must also deal with an estranged wife (Maureen O'Hara) who shows up looking for their son (Claude Jarman), who dropped out of West Point and has enlisted in his father's regiment to the dismay of both parents.  The film is in black and white, which apparently was not the choice of Ford, but Herbert Yates, head of Republic Pictures, nixed color photography.  The B&W is effective though, as it somewhat distances us and makes us feel the 'myth' of the west as opposed to the reality.  Ford's characteristic humor emerges often in this one, especially through Victor McLaglen's befuddled sergeant.  The romance engages us, and the first pairing of Wayne with statuesque, strong-willed beauty Maureen O'Hara would strike cinema gold.  The camaraderie among the troops, both enlisted and officers, feels natural with Ford's 'stock company' actors including Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. all acquitting themselves well.  With the beautiful photography and great action sequences, the film struck me as emblematic of the best output of the studio era:  although it doesn't question the social and political consensus, it presents a psychologically layered and complex character drama.

Gorgeous, strong Maureen O'Hara

Prof. Slotkin makes the case that the film projected a political/military view that in order to protect the world from communism, which was emerging as the next major threat, the U.S. government might have to break laws to take right action (e.g. in Korea).  In the film, the law broken here is 'crossing the border' into Mexico, which the film presents as ultimately the right thing, to save the children taken captive.  That Maureen O'Hara's character comes around to approving this action validates this view.  The other major theme Ford subtly tackles here is the familiar one -- the definition of manhood and passing the torch to the next generation.  We see this struggle in how Jarman's character tries to gain the approval of his father, and the difficulty Wayne has in accepting his son when he hasn't proven himself.  Well, ultimately Jarman does, by pulling an Apache arrow out of his father's chest; O'Hara comes around to her husband's world view, and all is reconciled to the man's view of heroism and right action.  

While Victor Young composed the score, the highlights for me were the songs interspersed through the movie, performed by the 'Sons of the Pioneers' western music group.  They were written into the script as a regimental troupe of musicians, and when they played, the action stopped and you were treated, along with the cast, to a gorgeous bit of musical history.  This added to the nostalgic tone of the film.  Check out this video clip of a key scene with the musical serenade:

THEY CAME TO CORDURA

Based on a 1958 novel by Glendon Swarthout, adaped by Ivan Moffat and director Rossen who had been blacklisted, this is a very different film.  First, I admit to watching this for Van Heflin, clearly a current obsession, but who elevates every film he's in. This one is no exception.  The star, though, is Western film hero Gary Cooper, near the end of his career.  He plays an army officer who had been disgraced because of actions seen to be cowardly, and must now earn his pay by identifying those soldiers whose bravery should earn them the Congressional Medal of Honor.  He's stationed with a Cavalry outfit in 1916 that is ordered to raid a hacienda in Mexico against a band of Pancho Villa's soldiers who are taking refuge there in their ongoing rebellion.  The hacienda is owned by none other than Rita Hayworth, here an American ex-pat on the 'wrong' side.  Ultimately, the battle is won, Hayworth's taken prisoner, and Cooper must remove several men along with Hayworth -- these men Cooper himself witnessed acting heroically, and will see that they escape from further harm to claim their award and thus be examples for all other fighting men.  He's required to get this disparate group, including Heflin, Tab Hunter, Dick York, Michael Callan, and Richard Conte, back to Cordura in the U.S., and the main part of the film is their difficult journey.

The film's theme after the opening titles

It's a film that isn't subtle about probing the concept of bravery, cowardice, and manhood.  In fact, contrary to RIO GRANDE, actions in battle against the enemy are not what define a man, but instead  how he treats his fellow humans in the ordinary struggles of life.  So here, each of the soldiers who appeared brave in battle are found to be vain, opportunistic, or criminal, and all treat Cooper with contempt.  Heflin's character, a sergeant, is a particularly nasty piece of work. After the group loses their horses to hostile native Americans, they find themselves lost in the desert, growing desperate as their food and water supplies dwindle.  In that literal and figurative cauldron, the moral drama plays out -- man against man, man against woman.  And, there is no question here about the legality of crossing the border to carry out a military action.

Rita Hayworth openly taunting her captors by pouring away liquor, as Cooper looks on

After a set-up similar to many Westerns of the era, with the portrayal of the men in the army outpost and then the raid on the hacienda, it quickly comes a different movie, an unrelentingly brutal one with just the main characters fighting the elements and each other.  Rita Hayworth sets aside her glamorous image, and while she's still beautiful, she has to fight throughout to retain her personal dignity.  Her strength matches Cooper's, who, overall stoic as usual, ultimately finds his inner hero.   The production was plagued with problems. Dick York suffered a back injury that limited his career.  Most scenes had to be re-shot due to a mid-filming unplanned location change. Heflin said it was the most physically demanding film work he'd done.  Yet, it marked a turn toward a less romanticized view of the western myth, and the U.S. military in particular.

The men find a source of water, only to find out it's contaminated.