Joan VS Jack Death Match in Nifty Noir “Sudden Fear” 1952

Jack Palance lights Joan Crawford's fire in 1952's "woman in jeopardy" film noir,
 "Sudden Fear."

I watched Sudden Fear starring Joan Crawford for the first time in years, with renewed interest. The film has grown in reputation in recent decades, what with several high profile film critics championing the film noir flick as a classic. 

Sudden Fear was the first film Crawford made as an independent after leaving her second long term studio contract, this time with Warner Brothers. Like the post-MGM Mildred Pierce, Sudden Fear gave Crawford’s career a shot in the arm. Fear was not in the same league as her biggest comeback with Mildred, but was enough to keep her career going in its 4th decade, especially in 1950s Hollywood, when the studio system was swiftly beginning to wane.

Joan Crawford gets to be glam and serious in the 1952 suspense noir, "Sudden Fear."

What I remembered as a solid star vehicle, is currently called one of Crawford's finest films. Well, I still think Sudden Fear is a solid star vehicle, not a classic, yet admirable in its own right. The nifty noir is not Mildred Pierce, Humoresque, or Possessed by any means, but closer to Crawford's slick star vehicles like Flamingo Road and The Damned Don't Cry. And Sudden Fear is certainly more substantial than camp classics that followed, such as Queen Bee and Female on the Beach. 

Though "Sudden Fear" was filmed on a moderate budget,
these essentials were provided for Miss Crawford's wealthy character.

An expert collection of artists were rounded up for Sudden Fear, a “woman in jeopardy” thriller: director David Miller, skilled with star actors; screenwriter Lenore Coffee, who had worked at Metro with Joan; Sheila O'Brien, Joan's favored designer, for the costumes; cinematographer Charles Lang; and composer Elmer Bernstein for the ominous, booming score. Newcomer Jack Palance was cast as the younger husband, and noir queen Gloria Grahame as the other woman. Bruce Bennett, who had played Mildred Pierce’s first husband Bert, was a good luck charm, as the family lawyer, and Flamingo Road co-star Virginia Huston played Joan’s secretary.

Joan Crawford with Bruce Bennett, Virginia Huston, and Jack Palance in 1952's "Sudden Fear." Huston reminds me of Carole Lombard here.

Many veteran film divas have done a "woman in jeopardy" movie, so it's only fitting that superstar Joan starred in several of this genre. Throughout her film stardom, Crawford’s movies often cast her as adversarial characters toward her leading men, which intensified at WB. And with Sudden Fear, the adversarial became antagonistic, with Joan often fighting for her film life.

While Joan often played working girls and women, which played off her well-known backstory, Crawford loved to play "great ladies" on-screen and labored to be thought of as one off-screen. As Myra Hudson (no relation to Blanche or Jane!), she's an heiress who has found further wealth and prestige as a playwright. The heiress/playwright is so loaded that she plans on leaving her inherited wealth to charity. 

Joan Crawford's heiress/playwright revises her will in hubby's favor, with her
 recorder. And will soon hear back a message from him! 1952's "Sudden Fear."

Crawford is great fun to watch as the playwright planning her life and dictating missives to her recorder in the most dignified of tones, as if she’s giving a sermon. Yet, there's a genuine warmth to her character as the lonely career woman who lets love come later into her life. Just a few years later, Joan herself would find the same, after being single a decade, when she married Pepsi’s Alfred Steele.

Joan Crawford as Myra Hudson, heiress and playwright, in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

When Crawford's Myra has to let the leading contender go from her latest play, the actor leaves in an angry huff. But a "chance" meeting on a train trip from NYC's Broadway back to California's San Fran, they meet again and fall in love. Myra is in seventh heaven, but Jack Palance as Lester Blaine is steadily revealed to be the schemer from hell. 

Stranger on a train, indeed! Jack Palance as Lester Blaine, in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

While Crawford gets to emote up a storm as Myra Hudson, David Miller was an adept studio/star director. He lets Joan give a diva performance without going totally over the top in this taut thriller. Crawford's expressions of loneliness as well as happiness as the betrayed bride are most believable. Joan’s solo scenes in Myra’s study and hiding out in Irene's apartment in climatic scenes are played big, but not to the total point of ridiculousness. Joan uses all her accumulated acting skills and tricks to put this character and story across and got a well-deserved Oscar nomination. Only a few times are there camp moments: Myra's imagining the different ways hubby Lester could kill her while bug-eyed with fear or Joan hiding in terror at Irene's before the finale, sweating like she’s in a sauna, instead of closet. 

Joan Crawford strikes one of her go-to movie poses in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

What I found interesting is that Myra's career as a playwright is a stellar success, but has no romantic life. She is great at creating characters, but not a great judge of character, and is fooled by this actor—and a “charm boy,” at that! Also interesting is that Lester Blaine's shady past is not spelled out. What really did happen at that house on Fire Island, for instance? Lester is a hot head, yet amazingly keeps his cool as he jumps through hoops in Myra's world.

Once the facade is dropped and Myra finds her life in jeopardy, Sudden Fear goes into overdrive as the newlyweds plot to kill each other. How fascinating that the genteel playwright's gut reaction is to fight back with her own plan of murder. Yes, she drops and shatters the recording of Lester's murderous intentions. But I think the authorities would easily believe old money Myra over no-name actor Lester. Hey, film noirs aren't renowned for their believable plotting. So, game on!

Who's zoomin' who? Myra and Lester let the death match begin in "Sudden Fear."

I won't give away the endless twists except to say that when it comes to the finale, Lester and Myra make such a racket in their death match that it's amazing the entire neighborhood isn't awakened by their Tom and Jerry-style chase!

How intriguing that a number of the plot twists hinge on accessories of the day that are now a thing of the past: monogrammed kerchiefs, stationary, and head scarves. In this film noir, everyone smokes like chimneys, have guns tucked in their furs and overcoats, and notes hidden in gloves!

There are also some nods to living legend Crawford's way of life: her overly coordinated wardrobe, ankle strap shoes, and even an extremely organized list of a revenge timeline against her hubby and his girlfriend.

Like Joan Crawford herself, Myra Hudson is very organized, right down to her murder timeline, in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

Jack Palance got his big break with Sudden Fear. As the beginning actor who becomes the husband to older, wealthy playwright, Palance goes from charming suitor to doting husband to brutish opportunist skillfully. Palance is intense, made even more so with his severe facial features. Jack got a Best Supporting Actor nomination, though he was actually the film’s leading man.

Jack Palance, with his intensity and severe looks, was perfect as the villain husband,
in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

As with Myra, Lester Blaine has a dualistic personality. The one he shows to Joan's Myra is sensitive and cultured as the struggling young actor. Quoting Shakespeare, reading to her, and solicitous to her needs, plus letting her monogram everything he owns! Then when scheming with Gloria's Irene, Lester's animalistic, even when he is showing affection.

Irene Neves, Lester’s partner in crime, is played by Gloria Grahame. It just happens that Irene has also changed coasts, from New York City to San Francisco. And with no visible means of support, Irene has started dating a friend of Myra’s family, "Junior," played by a young Mike Connors, here billed as “Touch.”

Gloria Grahame as the vixen of "Sudden Fear" has some of the best lines! Here she is with a very young Mike Connors as her suitor.

Gloria's performance as the sexy, poisonous little Kewpie doll is delicious. Gloria’s a bit of droll comic relief from the glowering intensity of Crawford and Palance. Grahame won a supporting Oscar that year, not for Sudden Fear, but for The Bad and the Beautiful.

The ex-couple re-team for a more drastic plan. Unfortunately, one of their debriefings takes place in Myra's study, which has a state of the art recording system that was left on. The revelation in Myra's library is skillfully done, as is the murder as it's supposed to happen, as opposed to how it really goes down. It's all a bit far-fetched for my taste, but is still great fun to watch. The final scene has Joan walking off into the wee hours alone, as was often the case!

A striking moment by Joan Crawford in 1952's "Sudden Fear," when Myra Hudson sees what she has become. 

A look at Joan Crawford sparring with Jeff Chandler, Female on the Beach:

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2023/01/love-is-beach-for-lana-joan.html

One of the many absurdities of FX's "Feud: Bette and Joan" was 70ish
Jessica Lange recreating snippets of Crawford's greatest hits.
For "Sudden Fear," Jessica looks more like Kaitlyn Jenner than Joan!

Harry Belafonte’s Bleak “Odds Against Tomorrow” 1959

 

Happy here, Harry Belafonte stars in the grim noir "Odds Against Tomorrow."

Odds Against Tomorrow has been called the last film noir by some, but for me, it's a fascinating character study, with a clear-eyed look at mid-century NYC.

Dave Burke, a bitter ex-cop, has a “surefire” plan to hold up a specific bank. He enlists two men who badly need the money. Johnny Ingram is a black musician and gambler who owes big time to some small-time gangsters. Earle Slater is an ex-con with a bad temper, and relies on his good-hearted girlfriend for dough. Two big problems: One, neither man has ever committed robbery. Second, Earle is an old-school racist and Johnny is a modern black man who doesn't kowtow to whitey. Need I say that this well-planned heist is doomed from the start?

An eerie moment when Robert Ryan's racist goes out of his way to grab the little black girl.

As well-done as the script is in leading to the bank robbery, the story of these two desperate men is what makes this movie compelling. Much has been written about this cult film, so I'll just refresh the basics: Odds Against Tomorrow would considered an indie film today. Shot on a modest budget, the talent involved wanted to work with hot young star Harry Belafonte, who also helped put this film together. That, plus respected director Robert Wise, who was just coming off of I Want To Live! The cast is an intriguing mix of veteran stars like Robert Ryan, Ed Begley, Shelley Winters, and Gloria Grahame, opposite Harry Belafonte, plus future name actors like Wayne Rogers, Richard Bright, Zohra Lampert, and Cicely Tyson, as the nightclub bartender. 

Right, Cicely Tyson is the amused bartender at the club where Belafonte's Johnny sings.

The movie is a moody snapshot of late '50s NYC, with director Wise using infrared film for some exterior scenes to give the city a bleak, cold look. This film is throwback to the economic storytelling from Wise’s early career, and one of the best, Dede Allen, was the film editor. The taut, no-nonsense script was by blacklisted screenwriter Abraham Polonsky, working under a pen name. The great jazz score is by John Lewis, which creates a melancholy mood. Unlike most studio movies at the time, life in the Big Apple isn't prettified for audiences here. One of the men in the park scene asks the cops why nobody goes to the park at night anymore. His answer is, those darn kids. The ex-cop lives in a grand old apartment building, which has seen better days. The gambler/musician lives the night life while his ex-wife is mingling with white folks over PTA luncheons. Racism isn't romanticized, either. In Earle’s first scene, he side steps into a group of kids playing, grabs a little black girl, and tells her to be careful, calling her a "pickaninny."

Gloria Grahame gives a quirky take on Ryan's oddball neighbor in "Odds Against Tomorrow."

Shelley Winters as Lorry, Ryan's sympathetic girlfriend, in "Odds Against Tomorrow."

The realistic acting and storytelling really are what’s riveting about Odds Against Tomorrow. Shelley Winters is truly unglamorous as Earle's long-suffering girlfriend, who can't help but mother hen him, which further infuriates him. Gloria Grahame is the neighbor who’s turned on by Earle's prison past. Gloria plays the role in a peculiar fashion, which seems like something out of Touch of Evil or Twin Peaks. Richard Bright, who became a popular character actor in the "New Hollywood," was just a baby here. As Coco, he’s of the gangsters who just happens to be gay, and loves to come on tauntingly to Johnny. Wayne Rogers makes a strong impression as a soldier who makes the mistake of picking a bar room fight with Earle. Zohra Lampert is the bar girl he's trying to impress. In the night club scene, Diana Sands and Cicely Tyson are uncredited but instantly recognizable as the hostess and bartender, observing Belafonte's drunken antics.

Richard Bright as Coco, who's just wild about Harry in "Odds Against Tomorrow."

What's great about Ed Begley's ex-cop, Harry Belafonte and Robert Ryan's ne’er-do-well cohorts, are that they aren't rationalized, but aren't demonized, either. Begley's former cop Dave is embittered at being sold out by his superiors, but seems like a decent man, in terms of his offer to the two men. Begley, who excelled at corrupt creeps, is most believable as a man who just wants his perceived due. Belafonte's musician is a player and a bad gambler, but Johnny is aware of his flaws as a man. Belafonte, who could be a bit stiff as an actor, luckily had charisma and good looks to spare. And Harry gives one of his best performances here. He's strong and intense, playing a John Garfield-like character. In the scenes where he's up against an ex-wife, mobsters, and a racist partner, he's convincingly desperate. The most difficult character is Earle, who has been in prison twice for assault, and is a walking time bomb. Luckily, the subtle script is in sure hands with the brilliant Robert Ryan. The actor was equally great playing heroes and villains, so here he captures the complicated racist loser. 

Infrared photography for "Odds Against Tomorrow" exteriors makes racist relic Earle look ghostly.

Odds Against Tomorrow is really more than a noir or a heist film. It's about two men trying to live in modern America. Belafonte's Johnny, though smart and proud, doesn't seem to fit in. His gambling life and fast living aren't getting him anywhere, and he resents seeing his wife mainstreamed into white society. Ryan's racist is most timely to today’s film viewers. Earle was a war hero, but is considered a middle-aged relic. The young soldier in the bar room reminds him that Earle was in the last war, his solving problems with his temper and fists have landed him in prison twice, and his knee jerk racism rankles those around him.

The finale bank robbery's a bust. Ed Begley gives great support in "Odds Against Tomorrow."

Odds Against Tomorrow is a good look at what makes a racist, the individual who feels the world has passed them by, and is looking for a scapegoat. In the film, Earle constantly looks to blame Johnny for any mistakes or missteps in their planned heist. Dave's ringleader more than once has to tell Earle to back off, but he just can't help himself, and ultimately his hate and distrust is responsible for the heist going awry. 

Some film fans find the ending of Odds Against Tomorrow a bit too clever. I can see their view, but the ultimate point is still the truth. When you're dead, it doesn't matter what color you are.

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Robert Ryan & Harry Belafonte relaxing on the set of "Odds Against Tomorrow."

 

 

It's Curtains for 'The Cobweb' 1955

One flew away from the cuckoo's nest!

“The trouble began…” So begins the fevered film version of William Gibson’s novel, The Cobweb. Gibson, best known as the playwright of The Miracle Worker and Two for the Seesaw, wrote the story, inspired by his psychotherapist wife's tenure at The Menninger Clinic. I’ve never read the book, but somehow I don't think the brilliant Gibson plotted The Cobweb like another MGM Grand Hotel-style, all-star soap opera. 

Pulp fiction? Playwright William Gibson's novel.

The original casting for the film’s romantic triangle was MGM mannequins Robert Taylor, Lana Turner, and Grace Kelly—this was more apt for the super-glam soap opera. Instead, familiar film noir faces Richard Widmark, Gloria Grahame, and Lauren Bacall assumed the roles of the idealistic clinic head, dissatisfied wife, and the lonely art therapist—which gives the film a bit of grit.

Sensitive Stevie Holte talks about flowers, art, and life with the sultry and sweaty doctor's wife, played by Grahame.

Widmark’s Dr. McIver has the cockeyed notion that patients should be treated like people, not caged animals, which has the old guard gunning for him, natch. On the home front, his wife Karen is bored in EVERY way. Since the doc is an idealist, Meg, the other woman who pines for him, is also so very noble.

Chaos over curtains for the library!

The film depicts the institution's staff and family as neurotic as the patients. At one point, Widmark declares that he feels they are all trapped—yes—in a cobweb! Only in the melodramatic world of Vincente Minnelli would a film's drama hinge on drapes. And it's curtains for The Cobweb characters, as the various contingents are determined to have their way over the patient lounge's new decor: Lillian Gish as the domineering Miss Inch is aptly named, as she never gives an one, and wants the curtains made cheap; Gloria Grahame's Vicki needs a project, with money or permission no object; and Lauren Bacall's art therapist Meg has the progressive idea of letting an angst-ridden artist/patient design them. Who will prevail?

Susan Strasberg & John Kerr play two patients, attracted to each other,
who venture to the outside world on a date.

MGM's then-resident sensitive young man John Kerr plays the troubled Steve Holte, who runs away from the clinic at the start and near the end of the film! While his performance is as good as the rest of the cast, Kerr's somewhat feral looks make it easy to see why his career was short-lived in an era of Tab Hunter types. But I found Kerry quite effective. 

One of many strange moments, when Richard Widmark tucks in his unbuttoned shirt
without unbuttoning his pants!

Richard Widmark was one of those golden era actors who seemed so natural on the screen and makes the preposterous proceedings almost believable here. Gloria Grahame's natural brass as his wife gives the soapiness some much needed humor. Also, was it in Gloria's contract that she always must look slightly sweaty? I was getting a Maggie the Cat vibe from Grahame here, as the frustrated wife who needs to cool off.

Lauren Bacall got second billing, but fourth-billed Gloria Grahame got all the scenes!

The movie is so overstuffed with characters and situations that Lauren Bacall has nothing to do but look lovely and lonely from the sidelines. Bacall doesn't even have a scene of her own until thirty minutes in and her first kiss with Widmark comes near the film’s finale. There is pleasure to be found in Lauren playing a sympathetic lead rather than her usual snarky self. Then-rising star Susan Strasberg has it even worse. Aside from a few scenes with Kerr toward the end, Strasberg’s always in the group scenes. Surprising, since Susan broke out big in Picnic the same year.

Gloria grabs the fabrics situation by the horn in this climactic curtain scene!

Lillian Gish is amusingly hammy as the firebrand Victoria Inch. And whoever thought of Charles Boyer for Dev, the clinic's former head honcho, must have been out of their mind. As the deluded, drunken, ladies man, Boyer, with his inimitable French accent, is somehow stuck out in the Kansas cornfields. He comes across like Pepe LePew, especially when drooling over Grahame’s character. Was it considered clever to cast Hollywood's most famous neurotic, Oscar Levant, as a mother fixated patient? For me, while rightly famed for his wit, his screen presence always escaped me. 

Fans of golden era Hollywood melodrama will probably The Cobweb, but other movie watchers will probably draw the drapes on this florid film.

Gloria Grahame brings the fever AND the floral curtains to 'The Cobweb!'

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The Bad and the Beautiful 1952

Kirk Douglas is the bad-ass movie producer with beautiful star Lana Turner limp in his arms.

Vincente Minnelli’s 1952 take on Hollywood, The Bad and the Beautiful, is delicious melodrama. Yet, the movie-making saga doesn’t have the bite of the two show biz tales that came two years before: Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve.

Since this tinsel town takedown was filmed at mega-glam MGM, it’s no surprise that the film focuses more on the beautiful, rather than the infamous bad side of Hollywood.

Kirk Douglas as the ruthless producer, Lana Turner as sad superstar.

Still, The Bad and the Beautiful is filled with juicy archetypes based on real show biz types. The two standouts are the leads: Kirk Douglas as Jonathan Shields, a ruthless, David Selznick-style wheeler-dealer producer; and Lana Turner as Georgia Lorrison, a lush starlet haunted by her late legendary father, patterned after Diana Barrymore.

Kirk Douglas hit his ferocious stride in the early ‘50s as this Hollywood heel, with a heart deep down—somewhere around his heels.

Lana Turner has one of her very best roles as the high-strung Hollywood star. While her early scenes as the drunken starlet are depicted as just toned-down Turner, Lana gives a straight-forward performance. Later, as Georgia becomes a star, the latter-day lacquered Lana takes over. I love the insane intro to Lana’s character in her flashback: Turner reclining on a day bed, costumed in a powdered wig, britches, and buckled shoes, as if she’s starring in the MGM version of Hamilton!

I'm ready for my flashback! Lana as Georgia, apparently starring in the MGM version of 'Hamilton!'

The entire cast is fine, with Metro starlet Elaine Stewart a scene stealer as Lilah, a bitchy starlet. A curiosity to me is why the great Gloria Grahame won Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Rosemary. Grahame, as the southern belle wife of writer Dick Powell, doesn’t even appear until the last third of the picture. Gloria’s nearly giddy as the sexy, pesky spouse…but the role pales in comparison to Grahame’s other memorable movie work. And when Rosemary dies, it’s off-camera. Typical off-target Oscar honor, I guess.

Gloria Grahame and Dick Powell as the southern academic couple who answer the call when Hollywood rings.

Director Vincente Minnelli and cinematographer Robert Surtees give The Bad and the Beautiful a stylish, virtuoso visual look. Studio life, movie-making, eerie mansions, showbiz parties, and more, are all depicted grandly. Most famous—rightly so—is Lana Turner’s careening car ride, after an ugly confrontation with Douglas. Georgia’s out of control emotions are matched by a sudden rainstorm as she speeds away. The scene climaxes with a hysterical Turner pulling over, collapsing in tears. For those who think that Lana Turner couldn’t act, I say she could—when she chose to.

Considering how many movies have been made about Hollywood, there have are surprisingly few good ones, much less great. As deep dish goes, The Bad and the Beautiful is great as entertainment, but glossy as drama. Fun film-watching, nonetheless!

Hollywood's no joyride for Lana Turner's troubled star in 'The Bad and the Beautiful!"

'It's a Wonderful Life' Still Has Wonder 1946

'It's a Wonderful Life' opens and closes with a Christmas theme.

It’s a Wonderful Life has been revered—and occasionally reviled—from about every angle. What’s left to say about this 1946 film, about a suicidal man and his guardian angel, which went from half-forgotten to holiday favorite?

The Baileys wonder if they should go back to the bank!

I can only add that It’s a Wonderful Life, along with a few other favorite films, was an important part of my childhood. As an adult, I haven’t watched the movie every year like I did as a kid. When I do watch, I see Hollywood storytelling at its best. And that beneath the story’s sentiment is the slightly melancholy message that each person matters in this world.

It’s a Wonderful Life is a movie that started popping on local TV across the US in the early 1970s, when the rights fell into public domain. Our family first started watching it in on the afternoon movie. Our Upper Michigan TV channel ran old films during the week for 90 whopping minutes, before the local news. Since It’s a Wonderful Life ran 130 minutes, it had to be aired on two days.

George & Mary Bailey of Bedford Falls. This was Donna Reed's first starring role.

During my upbringing, Life was a welcome tradition in our family. Our Manistique family related to small-town Bedford Falls, with its poor, working-class people. We loved the familiar faces of the cast—hey look, there’s Grandma Walton playing a bank customer! We loved to hate Bedford Falls own Scrooge, Mr. Potter. And we really loved the fantasy look at Bedford Falls as Potterville, when George Bailey gets his wish that he’d had never been born. And like The Wizard of Oz, us smarty pants Gould kids never tired of the story, in fact, we enjoyed the repetition and pointing out the movie’s miniscule details.

Drew Barrymore's great-uncle Lionel as Mr. Potter!

As an adult, I fell away from watching It’s a Wonderful Life because it hadn’t yet been hailed as a re-discovered holiday classic, and was still run on afternoon movie shows. I have caught Life a few times in the last couple decades, and while nostalgia certainly figures into my feelings, I still find It’s a Wonderful Life an incredibly moving as well as entertaining movie. The film is the American counterpart of A Christmas Carol.

Director Frank Capra has often been criticized as a filmmaker version of artist Norman Rockwell. While there’s truth to that comparison, both men were meticulous artists and suffered from depression, which made their optimistic work a bit dark around the edges at times. In Capra’s case, both he and star Jimmy Stewart had come back from World War II changed men. They weren’t sure what kind of films they wanted to make. Capra was intrigued by a story about an ordinary man who still had a great impact on the people around him. Stewart was interested, but no longer wanted to play the folksy good old boy roles that made him famous.

Gloria Grahame played Violet, Bedford Falls bad girl with a heart of gold.

It’s a Wonderful Life had its critics upon its Christmas 1946 release and beyond, citing Capra’s sentimental whimsy as naïve in post-war America. Ironically, though Life wasn’t the flop that legend has it—as was said of The Wizard of Oz—yet audiences found the story depressing. Like Oz, Life was a costly film to make, and despite some good reviews and Oscar nominations, was not a great comeback movie for the director and star. And as the case with Oz, television is the medium that made Life a classic, a perennial favorite.

What I enjoy about It’s a Wonderful Life is that the film has the greatest qualities of old-time Hollywood film-making. Yes, it’s sentimental and the plot hinges on chance—every time George Bailey tries to bail out of Bedford Falls, something life-changing happens and he gets pulled back home. But I have no patience for today’s movie watchers who criticize past cinematic conventions by today’s standards, as if to demonstrate their coolness. I find it ridiculous that at least two generations of moviegoers, whose movie diet is mostly big-screen cartoons, can’t tolerate another era’s movies, because they’re not believable. It’s called suspension of disbelief, people.

George Bailey is not feeling so wonderful about his life.

In fact, in It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey is not always such a wonderful guy. George is bored with small-town life and longs to travel the world. But Bailey’s sense of obligation keeps him tied to the family banking business due to his father’s death, financial mismanagement, and WWII. Stewart truly should have won an Oscar for his multi-layered portrayal of George Bailey, a decent everyman frustrated by his lot in life. Stewart is not always saintly. Think of the scene where George calls upon Mary, at the insistence of his mother. With interference from her mother and rival Sam Wainwright calling, Bailey rails at poor Mary about not getting tied-down to the same small town and woman. The scene is emotionally heart-felt, despite being one of the least romantic proposals in movie history. Or how about the scene where George’s befuddled Uncle Billy loses the bank’s money? Again, Stewart is no saint, ranting that he won’t take the fall. This is capped by the disturbing domestic scene—especially for a ‘40s movie—where Jimmy’s George Bailey takes his frustrations out on his entire family, before bailing to the nearest bar.

Thomas Mitchell, Scarlett O' Hara's dad, plays Uncle Billy.

Life is a great example of old-style filmmaking where all the threads of the story come together and create a beautiful piece of storytelling. All the strands of George Bailey’s life and the people who know him come together memorably. Which is the point of It’s a Wonderful Life: each person’s life has an effect on another.

H.B. Warner & Robert J. Anderson as the bereaved druggist and young George. 

What I’ve always loved about this Frank Capra classic is that the brilliant casting. Capra was famous for starring American icons like Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper in his films and surrounding them with great character actors. It’s a Wonderful Life has one of the best ensembles in film history. Aside from Stewart in his signature role, Life gave Donna Reed her first starring role. Reed’s ideal as the girl next door, warm and real. Lionel Barrymore is one of movie’s great villains as Bedford Falls’ rich and rotten Mr. Potter. Thomas Mitchell, famous as Scarlett O’Hara’s father in Gone with the Wind, plays his other most famous role as alcoholic, forgetful Uncle Billy. Beulah Bondi, often cast in maternal roles, has her most famous mother as Mrs. Bailey. Her warm presence makes the later scene where she harshly doesn’t recognize son George most startling. Gloria Grahame got her first break as small town vixen Violet. H.B. Warner, famous in the silents as Jesus in King of Kings, does a heartbreaking turn as Mr. Gower, the drunk druggist. The intense scene where young George Bailey makes Gower realize he’s accidentally poisoned a prescription always makes me tear up. Robert J. Anderson is naturally appealing as young George—unlike many child stars of the era. Ward Bond and Frank Faylen were so likeable as Bedford Falls’ Bert and Ernie that Sesame Street named two of their puppets in their honor!

Henry Travers' turn as Clarence didn't even get an Oscar nod!

Of course, the scene stealer of It’s a Wonderful Life is Henry Travers as Clarence, the angel in need of wings. Travers was a popular working actor, but Life was the cherry on top of long career—he retired from acting just three years later.

To George Bailey, the richest man in Bedford Falls!

Given the acting style of classic Hollywood, the film’s entire cast, from the stars down to the bit roles, is remarkably natural. This great acting ensemble, along with Frank Capra’s superb storytelling, is why It’s a Wonderful Life has stayed in the hearts and minds of audiences for 70 years.

Here's another holiday themed movie with James Stewart and the great Carole Lombard, as struggling newlyweds in Made For Each Other, my look here: 

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/01/lombard-stewart-are-made-for-each-other.html