Jane Wyman Lifts ‘The Blue Veil’ 1951

 

Jane Wyman is the governess who wears "The Blue Veil" from 1951.

The Blue Veil is a most straightforward melodrama, a tearjerker tale of a life-long governess, of what was once called a "woman's picture." The 1951 film was released through RKO, a moderate hit in its day with mostly positive reviews, but today is mostly forgotten. This is because there’s nary a good copy to be had and is rarely shown. Whether it’s copyright or estate issues—it’s actually a Norman Krasna and Jerry Wald production—The Blue Veil deserves to be restored.

Jane Wyman as Louise Mason wears the traditional governess/nanny "Blue Veil."
 With Cyril Cusack as the toy store owner who admires "LouLou."

As The Blue Veil takes place over several decades and still clocks in at the standard one hour and forty five minutes, some of the events and especially reactions seem a bit perfunctory. What helps is the cast is populated with old pros, who convey the most with each scene. Yet, it is Jane Wyman's warmth and strength that hold this episodic tearjerker together, and nabbed Wyman a Best Actress Academy Award nomination.

Jane Wyman is a young widow who just finds out her new baby has died,
in 1951's "The Blue Veil." Jane was 34 when this was filmed.

There is the era's "get on with it" attitude toward trauma and life changes evident in The Blue Veil. For example, within the first five minutes, Jane Wyman's Louise Mason goes from a war widow with a baby, to suddenly losing her child, with a doctor who comes in and gives the world's most generic non-explanation, capped with, "…we did all we could for it." Later, a practical employment lady who thinks that Louise should be a nanny ASAP to ease her pain! Likewise, when Louise is eased out from her duties after the widower boss remarries, his new bride asks how many weeks it will take the nanny to teach her everything about caring for the baby. No time for therapy back then!

Jane Wyman as nanny Louise Mason, with her first charge. Charles Laughton is her
 boss and Vivian Vance is his new bride. "The Blue Veil" from 1951.

While the “mother love” storyline can be very sentimental, Jane Wyman's acting is warm, but not sticky sweet. That's why I enjoy Jane in movie soaps. Some movie fans think of Wyman as dull, but I find her acting naturalistic. Especially when shed of glamour, Jane Wyman appeals with those huge doe eyes and soft but firm voice. She suggests deep feeling without the diva posturing so typical of the era. I find Wyman’s acting more in keeping with Barbara Stanwyck and Olivia de Havilland than say, Crawford or Davis. 

The Blue Veil starts after WWI and ends after WWII, so Jane's Louise goes through a series of jobs, with the governess/nanny/nurse in the "blue veil" uniform connecting deeply with several families.

Louise's first charge is Freddie, whose mother died giving birth, almost the reverse of her own situation. The widower is Charles Laughton as Frederick, most appealing as the lonely man, in a rare normal role. Laughton and Wyman have a nice rapport, and the businessman proposes to Louise. She wisely turns him down, feeling two lonely people does not make for a happy marriage. So secretary Vivian Vance soon accepts his proposal instead, and lives the dream of a prosperous businessman's wife. An example of how even-handedly The Blue Veil is told, Vance's character is pragmatic but not a villain. While Wyman’s Louise is saddened by her departure, she made the call, and accepts the situation gracefully.

I love overlap "dissolves"from classic films. Here, Jane Wyman's nurse says goodbye
 to her first child, then shown leaving to find a new job, from "The Blue Veil."

If Wyman's Louise was a young war widow just after WWI, that would put “LouLou” in her early '50s at the post-war end of this film. As Louise starts caring for her last child, each subsequent scene makes her looks older. By the finale, Wyman looks like Margo in Lost Horizon, after she escaped Shangri-La!

At the finale of "The Blue Veil," Jane Wyman's nanny is suppose to be in her early
 '50s, but looks like Helen Hayes in "Airport!"

Next, “LouLou” cares for two boys, the younger especially attached, the sons of a wealthy couple, with Agnes Moorehead in sympathetic mode as Fleur Palfrey. Moorehead acted five times opposite Wyman: Johnny Belinda; The Blue Veil; Magnificent Obsession; All That Heaven Allows; and Pollyanna.

Agnes Moorehead is Jane Wyman's second employer in 1951's "The Blue Veil."

Here, she meets Richard Carlson as the boys’ tutor, Jerry. A warm charmer and dreamer, he wants more than this temporary gig. He gets a teaching job offer in Syria—of a century ago! He wants Louise to run off with him and marry. That Jerry is weak of character shows when he's easily discouraged by Moorehead, then Wyman herself, when they both make valid points of his intentions. On the train, he projects his doubts on Louise, who then calls it off and goes back to her job.

I love this warm romantic scene between Jane Wyman & Richard Carlson in 1951's
 "The Blue Veil."

Some time elapses when Louise now takes care of the daughter of Annie Rawlins, an aging musical stage star. Her daughter Stephanie, played by 12 year old Natalie Wood, adores Louise. As is usually the case, the child becomes attached to doting nanny LouLou. Annie is good-hearted but thoughtless and often a no-show at her daughter's big life moments. When Stephanie calls Louise her mother at her confirmation, the nanny lets her mother know that it’s best to leave. This sets up a major tearjerker scene, when Louise tells Stephanie she has to go. Wyman and Blondell were old pros by this point and play with their typical naturalism. Wood is remarkable as the disappointed daughter and plays her big scene, begging Louise stay, quite movingly.

Tearjerker scene from "The Blue Veil," when Jane Wyman's governess realizes it's time to move on. Young Natalie Wood as her charge & Joan Blondell as the mother.

Natalie Wood was 12 when she made "The Blue Veil."
She is quite good as the girl who becomes attached to Wyman's nanny.

I was a bit surprised that Blondell got a supporting actress Oscar nomination for The Blue Veil. Her role is brief as the good natured broad, and she isn't doing anything new. Yet, she got no nods for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Nightmare Alley, in roles that were bigger and juicier. But that's Hollywood, where some very strange Oscar nominations and wins were awarded in the ‘50s. Gloria Grahame in The Bad and the Beautiful and Jan Sterling and Claire Trevor for The High and the Mighty come to mind.

Dan O'Herlihy & Audrey Totter play a young couple who go to England during WWII,
 leaving their baby boy with Jane Wyman's dependable nanny, in "The Blue Veil."

Louise's last stint as nanny comes for Helen and Hugh Williams, played by Audrey Totter and Dan O'Herlihy. They have a baby boy, Tony, and LouLou fits right in. Then British hubby Hugh is called off to war. When he is reported missing, Lulu holds down the fort while Helen goes off to find him. He is wounded and later dies, and she stays on for the war's duration. After the war, Helen stays on, for very vague reasons. By this time, Lulu is caring for Tony for free, even working to support him! While Lulu has taken care not to become too attached to her charges in the past, this time she does. When Helen finally returns, the boy is a grade-schooler playing baseball. Lulu attempts to run off with Tony, but is found. Totter’s Helen now has bulldog husband Henry Morgan in tow, who wants to press charges. But the district attorney shames them for their lack of communication, appreciation, or payment. Louise is heartbroken when they leave with Tony.

Have a hanky handy when Audrey Totter's Helen comes back nearly a decade later
for her son, in the care of Jane Wyman's nanny, from 1951's "The Blue Veil."

By this time, Louise is looking like and acting like a latter day Madame X, but having had none of her fun! Along the way, Louise turns down a third offer of marriage, from irascible but good guy Frank (Cyril Cusack), who owns a toy store that she frequents for her charges. Unfortunately, he dies of a heart attack when the police come looking for Louise.

Jane Wyman's nanny is now an elementary school janitor in 1951's "The Blue Veil."

Louise winds up as a janitor at an elementary school, to be near children. Today, she'd probably be pegged as a predator, but that's another discussion! Going home one day, she nearly steps out in front of a car, but is saved. At an eye doctor for a checkup, he turns out to be her second charge, Robbie Palfrey, who was once afraid of storms. Unbeknownst to Lulu, he arranges a dinner for her and her previous kiddos. With their spouses, they enjoy a lovely reunion, with Robbie announcing he wants Lulu to care for his own children. At this point, you will have used up a box of tissues!

Jane Wyman's "LouLou" is asked to be nanny to her one-time charge's children in
the finale of 1951's "The Blue Veil."

One of Jane Wyman’s smaller films, like the likewise underrated So Big, The Blue Veil is a straight up soap, but played with genuine feeling. Director Curtis Bernhardt, who made his name at WB, did well with actors and keeps this movie moving along smoothly. The Blue Veil feels more like a ‘40s movie in the increasingly modern ‘50s film world, but if you’re in the mood for cinema suffering with an uplifting finale, Wyman and a stellar cast are worth watching.

Here’s my look at one of Jane Wyman’s best latter day roles, in Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows, with Rock Hudson: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/10/all-that-heaven-allows-1955.html

A stellar cast is a bonus in 1951's "The Blue Veil," but Jane Wyman's performance as
 Louise Mason, a nanny for over three decades, holds this film together.

 

‘All That Heaven Allows’ 1955

 

Romance alternates between dreamy & nightmarish for Rock Hudson & Jane Wyman.

Magnificent Obsession made Rock Hudson a star in 1954; Giant then turned Hudson into a superstar in ‘56. All That Heaven Allows came in between, and shows Rock at his most natural. He's warm, straightforward, and his speaking voice—on which he worked hard—is soft, yet masculine, and deeply soothing.

Rock Hudson's memorable first close-up as Ron Kirby.

Ron Kirby is one of the most interesting characters that Rock Hudson ever played. His gardener turned tree farmer marches to his own drummer and doesn’t care what others think. These characteristics are not heavy-handed, just who Ron is. What a shame life couldn’t have imitated art for Rock Hudson, who was stifled by the Hollywood closet.

Rock's landscaper Ron dreams of living off the grid as a tree farmer.

With a career goal of more than the local gardener, Rock's Ron dreams of agricultural college and nurturing a tree farm. One of his last landscaping customers is Cary Scott, played by Jane Wyman. She's a well-to-do widow and pillar of the picturesque community. She’s older than Ron, as well as above his socio-economic station in life. (Wyman was actually just eight years older than Hudson.) The news of the characters’ ensuing romance runs rampant among Cary’s circle, fanned by so-called friend Mona, the malicious gossip of the group.

Jane Wyman is touching, yet restrained as Cary, a lonely widow who finds love.

I always liked Jane Wyman as an actress. Her kewpie doll looks (the snub nose, apple cheeks, and Bambi eyes) were always an intriguing contradiction to her direct acting style. I thought Jane was a bit undervalued as an actress because she didn't overact. In that respect, she reminded me a bit of Barbara Stanwyck, who was also no-nonsense in the dramatic department. But with Jane's cherub face, she usually played the wide-eyed heroine, not the gun toting villains that flinty-faced Stanwyck so often played.

Wyman's conventional matron reads up on what is essentially Ron's life philosophy.

In Heaven especially, Jane wore simple makeup, coloring within the lines, unlike other divas. Her clothes, by Bill Thomas, were chic and fit Cary’s character. Wyman never went caricature, perhaps that's why she's not as well-remembered as some of the legends. Nearly 40, Jane cuts a fine figure in a cocktail dress, still possesses an expressive, pretty face, all without bothering to try to convince audiences or herself that she's still 25.

Ron & Cary run into one another at Christmas time, after calling off their marriage. 

Wyman and Hudson have a warm, subtle rapport and both play well to the soft-spoken, gentle side of their personas. Though Magnificent Obsession is an awesome wallow, there's far more genuine romantic and social angst here in All That Heaven Allows. 

The cast is tops. Agnes Moorehead gets to play a sympathetic role as Cary’s best friend, Sara. While she’s strong-minded, Moorehead isn’t waspish, as she often was cast in later years. And Agnes, who could have easily have played vicious Mona, gets to play Cary’s one true blue friend Cary, and comes across as a complex and real. 

Agnes Moorehead is spot on as Sara, Cary's best friend who senses something's up.

William Reynolds and Gloria Talbott are perfectly obnoxious as Cary’s self-centered children. Hayden Rorke sports old-age makeup once again as the plain-spoken family doctor who tells the widow that her headaches are caused by what other people think! Virginia Grey, a favorite of Heaven producer Ross Hunter, is most appealing as Alida, from Ron’s cadre of free-spirited friends. And a special shout out to Jacqueline de Wit as Mona, the town troublemaker. She is so good, you just want to give her a swift kick in the ass!

Malicious Mona, played by Jacqueline deWit, is right in the middle of starting trouble!

Then-small studio Universal was great at creating lush production values on a modest budget. Russell Metty’s cinematography is superb, especially with the lighting. The big emotional scenes are so suffused with light that they look like dream sequences. The mix of sets, the studio back lot, and miniatures, all expertly suggest a cozy small town where life is seemingly carefree. Frank Skinner’s sound track, with inspiration from from Franz Liszt, is lovely and complements the visuals perfectly. 

Wyman's serene small town matron feels like something's missing from her life.
Hint: The Chinese Elm clippings were cut by the dreamy gardener!

Douglas Sirk’s modus operandi in a nutshell: smooth surface soap opera with an underlying subversive point of view. There were very few mainstream films questioning the post-war America way of life. Beneath this ‘50s version of a country club Lady Chatterley and her gardener with a Woody, is a woman who attempts to step out of her role in society, and a man who marches to his own beat, and the wrath they incur when they attempt to bypass convention. All this in a mid-century soap opera!

Director Douglas Sirk with the stars of "All That Heaven Allows."

The first time I watched All That Heaven Allows, I was knocked out that a mainstream '50s movie would criticize the era's bland conformity. The town gossips and selfish children are written and played as total caricatures, and Sirk enjoys skewering them. Cary’s two self-centered children, both young adults, make you wish Joan Crawford was playing Cary, so that she could give them each her trademark slap in the face. Even television takes its lumps, as Cary’s family and friends are all pestering her to buy one for companionship. She resists, but when she and Ron break up, her meddling kids console her with a TV for Christmas, with the screen reflecting Carrie's inconsolable face.

Cary's selfish brats give her a TV set as a Christmas consolation prize for breaking up her and Ron. The first time I saw this stunning scene, I wanted to throw something at MY television!

Some Douglas Sirk detractors say that he was merely a more stylish technician of cinema soaps than other studio directors. NOT true! And they totally miss what Sirk creates in his '50s films. The stylized soap is merely the surface and highly entertaining in its own right. However, nothing Douglas Sirk does is by chance or by rote. The questioning glances, such as when Agnes Moorehead's Sara takes note of Rock's Ron Kirby working in her best friend's yard. Or the scene where Cary's son Ned angrily argues with his his mother in front of a screen, that makes them look like they’re at confession. Most crucial of all, Cary's uncertainty as a woman in love again gets many subtle setups: her troubled reflection in mirrors or most touchingly, the screen of a TV set that's a sorry substitute for Ron.

One of the many strikingly lit scenes of "All That Heaven Allows."

If you don't believe me, consider the films that Ross Hunter did without Douglas Sirk: Backstreet, Portrait in Black, and especially, Madame X. They are all great fun, but with little depth or subtext. With Hunter, it’s all just suffering glamour stars. Todd Haynes tried to emulate Douglas Sirk’s stylized melodrama with subliminal social content in Far From Heaven, upping the ante by giving the unhappy heroine a BLACK gardener lover and a GAY husband! Still, this Heaven felt like an exercise in style, with little of the heartfelt style Sirk gives his lead characters in All That Heaven Allows.

Wait for my ungrateful children to call or for my outdoorsy young husband Ron to come indoors and rock my world? Tough call, Cary!

Even today, some critics and movie fans still dismiss All That Heaven Allows as a stylish but dated soap. I couldn't disagree more. This film may be my favorite of Sirk's '50s films. The message woven throughout the film is to not give in—whether to social convention, materialism, ageism, or sexism—and to thine own self be true. Heaven reminds me of Now, Voyager in its genuine uplift.

Love this movie poster for "Heaven" that looks like a juicy paperback novel cover!

All That Heaven Allows is proof that Rock Hudson could be more than a mere Hollywood heart throb. Rock was often cited as an example of the handsome hunk that was a hack. His performance in this film alone defies that stereotype. I can think of many stars, male and female, that got the big build up, and who were just glamorous mannequins. Universal's Tippi Hedren and John Gavin quickly come to mind. 

Rock & Jane flourish in Sirk's genuine romanticism of "All That Heaven Allows."

Rock was no Marlon or Monty, of course. Hudson was still more than just a pretty boy and the man had his moments during his 15 years as a top leading man. Yet, sometimes it is the stars' smaller movies, where fans can see them at their most genuine, and remind us what made them special. For me, that’s Rock Hudson as Ron Kirby in All That Heaven Allows. Rock is at his most relaxed, confident screen self, the ideal of the man Hudson might have wished to be off-screen.

Rock Hudson never forgot Jane Wyman's kindness & encouragement when he was a nervous newcomer in "Magnificent Obsession,"their first film. Thanking her, Jane told him to pass it on. Decades later, Sharon Stone landed one of her first major roles in a Hudson TV movie,
and Stone lauded his helpfulness toward her.

FYI: I put all the overflow from my blog on my public FB movie page. 

Check it out & join!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/178488909366865/